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While LeBron James decides he wants to own the Liberty Bell or be the boss of Magic Johnson at the conclusion of the free agency, the Nuggets hope someone will respond to their advertising " Manimal, free to a good house, "allowing Denver to build momentum for 2019.
The Nuggets failed to make the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season, are intertwined in luxury tax nodes and were unable to bribe any team in the league to take Kenneth Faried out of their hands. Behind all this new city, the brains (basketball president Tim Connelly and general manager Arturas Karnisovas) would share a very hot seat.
In Denver, it's called progress.
OK, some people might find
Of course, they could be the same ones who believe that if Earl Boykins was in charge of the reception and that George Karl had been retained as a coach, James would already be looking for the right guy. a house in Cherry Hills. Vil Lage and the Nuggets, not the Warriors, would be the champions of the league title
Actually, if Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Will Barton were playing for the Lakers rather than for the Nuggets, there would be no would have no suspense on the uniform. James would wear next season. He was texting one of his NBA superstar pals with the order to skip the next flight to LAX and train a great team that could destroy Golden State.
But basketball is not fairer than the rest of life. And the reality in Denver is this: It was bad that Connelly offered Paul Millsap a salary of $ 31 million to be the 13th best striker in the league last season, based on Real-Plus Minus analysis. It's worse than Wilson Chandler, Darrell Arthur and Faried are three players who combine to make $ 34 million in salaries, while their cumulative business value is dangerously close to a net zero.
So the place where Denver had to start to regain his momentum was Barton. At the age of 27, it is valuable for this team in many ways, to provide a spark on the bench to score 15 points per night to execute the offense on a missing list of natural points guards. I love Barton because he brings a fiery competitive edge to a team that sometimes misses too – how do you express it delicately?
That is why the Nuggets had to make an agreement with Barton the first order of the day during the first few minutes of free agency, even though the cost was in the order of $ 13 million per year. If they had let Barton go, their desire to finish among the top four teams in the Western Conference standings next season would have been a pipe dream
Connelly said the next step for the Nuggets is to make the playoffs. The management of the franchise firmly believes that if Millsap had not been injured last season, this box would have already been checked. It's a fair argument, but it's also harder to fill seats at the Pepsi Center with results from willa, shoulda, coulda than with actual results.
Here is my optimism: in a year, when the current tightening of the luxury tax lightened by the expiry of long-term player contracts with no future in Denver, Connelly could be in a much better position for no only continue, but also sign a free agent brand. If Jokic continues its progression to star status, maybe the Nuggets are considered the league's most prominent team in 2019, as Philadelphia is now. If I dream on behalf of Denver, I hope James will surprise the people who made him leave Cleveland with a return to the Cavs on a one-plus-one deal, which would give him the chance to 39, explore the free agency again the next summer
Wait until next year?
We are all tired of hearing the Nuggets preach patience. No matter who is on the list, Denver must win 50 games and qualify for the playoffs in the coming season. Nothing less, and coach Michael Malone will not be the only guy at the Pepsi Center to feel the heat.
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