Latest Forum Posts

christian louboutin
by lostbook 2010/07/30 18:09
Re:Dismal
by MakesAMillion Graves 2010/04/22 12:00
Dismal
by beckmanrs 2010/04/20 00:47
How Far Can the Nuggets Go?
by NuggDoctor 2010/03/28 08:16
Re:60 Wins
by NuggDoctor 2009/12/17 11:16
The Trade That Makes Denver a Legit Contender
Written by Nick Sclafani   
Thursday, 28 January 2010 14:22
(Denver-CO) Good morning, Nuggets Nation. Believe it or not, I’m going to write an op-ed piece for the first time in what seems like an eternity. The Nuggets have quietly become the hottest team in the NBA by winning eight straight games and have improved to 31-14 overall or, if you will, are currently the third best team in the NBA by league standings.

Even with Carmelo, the league’s currently leading scorer, having missed the last two games guys on this roster have picked up his slack and given me reason to believe that with the right trade. The Nuggets really could be a contender at the end of this thing.

But…

If there has been an area the Nuggets could improve themselves the most at it would in the middle and the recent rumblings with J.R. Smith’s immaturity have made him the speculation of trade talks as well.

So…

Why not kill two birds (no pun intended, Nene) with one stone?

I was catching up with childhood friend, former high school football teammate, and current Denver Bronco, Matt McChesney this morning when, naturally, our conversation turned to the current sports landscape and we broached this very topic.

And after many a debate, explanations of countless trade exceptions, and failed trade machine scenarios we had done it (theoretically)!

Amare Stoudemire for Nene and J.R. Smith.

Amare Stoudemire’s salary for this season is $16,378,325 and he has a player option for next year worth 17,686,100. Nene is slated for $10.52 million this year and $11.36 million next with a player option on a third year for $11.6 million. J.R. Smith has two years at 5.5 million and $6 million.

The numbers work according to ESPN’s Trade Machine and with the trade exceptions the Nuggets actually free themselves up a bit financially for the upcoming feeding frenzy of big free-agent names.

That aside, can you imagine this team with Amare Stoudemire in the starting line-up with Carmelo, Chauncey, Kenyon, and Afflalo? Scary. Stoudemire is averaging 20.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, a block, a steal, and an assist and he plays on a team where the opposition matches up with him in accordance to their best front line defensive player whereas in Denver, it’s Carmelo.

This also keeps the Birdman, the under-utilized Joey Graham, Ty Lawson, and the seldom used veterans Malik Allen and Anthony Carter all coming off the bench while letting someone else put in their time with the erratic and unpredictable, J.R. Smith.

To me (and Chez), this trade made Denver every bit as equipped to compete for a title because it puts the Nuggets with a complete package of inside scoring, outside scoring, and leadership. Amare can get his inside. Camelo can just flat out get his. And with Chauncey’s leadership at the helm, I like our chances against the other elite, triple-threat, teams in both conferences.

Remember, Boston has Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo. The Cavaliers have LeBron, Shaq, and Mo Williams. The Lakers have Kobe, Pau Gasol, and Ron Artest. The Nuggets COULD HAVE Chauncey, ‘Melo, and Amare Stoudemire…

Go Nuggets!

Ballhype: hype it up!
Comments (10)Add Comment
...
written by Jon-Michael, January 28, 2010
What an interesting idea. Although I would love the idea of Stoudemire playing in the powder blue and how it would redeem Denver from passing on him two years in a row in the draft, I really line Nene. He's a better one-on-one defender and can hold his own against the Tim Duncan's and Kevin Garnett's of the world.

For all the points Amare scores, how much would he score without Steve Nash as his point guard? He would be a liability defensively as well.

Truthfully I'm torn. JR would love hoisting three's with Steve Nash and Nene would be a defensive upgrade for the Suns.
uhh
written by Dannnyboy, January 29, 2010
Yea Great idea. Get a broken down 6'10 player who cannot play defense or rebound. Lose your X factor of the bench and Nenes defensive presence/passing. You sure know a ton about basketball
...
written by NuggDr, January 29, 2010
Same rebounding average and more points per game... All-Star... Who knows what about who?
...
written by DANNYB, January 29, 2010
How many rebounds did Amare have last night silly goose. He only gets 20 because Nash leads him to the basket and sets him up for open jump shots.
...
written by Talkb3, January 29, 2010
I don't disagree the Nuggs could be legit. Unfortunately, the trade you propose, I don't think, is viable. First of all, what you are really trading is one starter (Nene) for another (Stoudemire), and then trying to unload a cancer (J.R.). Why would the Suns, or any team for that matter, consider a trade involving J.R.? He and the Nuggets brass have blown it. He may have been trade bait at one time, but he has quickly become "baggage" that every team knows about. I bow to your basketball knowledge, but, I tend to think that Nene still as an upside, and Stoudemire is the next Antonio McDyess (? can't remember how he spells last name), ability/health-wise his best days are behind him. I know what his stats are this year. Those stats wouldn't hold/mesh with the current Nugget starting rotation.
...
written by NuggDr, January 29, 2010
How quickly we forget that Chauncey is every bit as good as Steve Nash and twice the winner when the chips are down.

And tell me this, DB since you tried to insult my knowledge of the game... How many double-double's does Nene have this year? How about for Amare?

How about double-figure rebound games period?

Forget about how many boards Stoudemire grabbed last night because although he grabbed just one (pitiful) board last night. Nene has plenty of shit for nothing games on the glass and far fewer good nights offensively.
...
written by Nugs, January 31, 2010
I don't think this trade is what we should be looking at. Yes we need to upgrade our bigs, but Nene isn't the problem, him a Martin are a good tandem. The problem is depth. Swapping him for Amare doesn't solve that, and whether it is an upgrade is debatable (on a team with plenty of scorers, I will take Nene's better FG percentage over Amare's point production).

Right now the Nuggets have the BEST record in the NBA against over .500 teams. That bodes well for playoffs and I think the team we have now is a championship contender. It would be foolish to make a trade that brings the risk of disrupting the chemistry we have now, and both Nene and J.R. have been a big part of our success.

The only player I would be happy letting go of is Chris Anderson. I swear he averages double digit mistakes a game for his few big plays. Unfortunately, I don't see him going anywhere.

All that said, if a trade is possible that adds depth to our front court, I would like to see us look at bringing in Brendan Haywood, whose contract is up at the end of this season, from the Wizards. Wouldn't take as much to get him as it would for Amare. He scores less (again scoring is not the upgrade we need). What he brings is top ten in the NBA rebounding and shot blocking, and length that matches up nicely with the Lakers. And unlike Anderson, he doesn't commit a whole lot of fouls and bone-headed plays looking for those blocks.

Again, the viability of this trade is the question for me. Not sure how much they would be asking for or how much I'd be willing to let go of. But he has been mentioned in trades already (Portland for one) and as much as I do like what JR brings, I would think about a trade if it brought the added depth to our bigs and the qualities we need in a player to add to the team we have already. Throw Anderson in there and I'll be happy.
...
written by Stumbleweed, February 01, 2010
We're already a legit contender. And Amare has no heart these days... and that is in addition to his questionable nose for (and effort) rebounding, his negative defensive impact, his lack of size (smaller and far weaker than Nene who already struggled with Bynum and the like), and his prima-donna "max player" attitude.

I would be PISSED if we did that trade. Pissed. And I'm an Amar'e fan despite everything I said above.
...
written by JR Maness, February 05, 2010
I see what you are saying. However, for all the flashy dunks and points, he turns the ball over like a madman. Not to mention he is a terrible defender and is also a black hole in the paint and that is the last thing we need with this team when you have Melo and Chauncey Billups. Not to mention his health is a concern, if it isn't his eye it is his knees. We would lead the league in microfracture surgeries.
...
written by Jay Malmo, February 14, 2010
Check out www.theleftcoastbias.com. Its an awesome website devoted to sports on the west coast. I just wrote an article breaking down the trade possibilities for each of the teams in the northwest division, including the Nuggets!


http://theleftcoastbias.com/?p=756#more-756

Write comment

busy
< Prev   Next >
 

About Bloguin

Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics.

Advertisers

The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.

Most-Wanted List

The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. Here are some of our high-priority areas that we're specifically looking to grow. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.

  1. NBA/Basketball Blogs
  2. NFL Blogs
  3. Major League Baseball Blogs

The Bloguin Login

The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account!