The Denver Nuggets are on the verge of signing veteran free agent Al Harrington after being stymied all offseason in their efforts to fill the gaping hole at power forward.
The Nuggets had pursued an assortment of other veteran free agent forwards, most notably Jermaine O’Neal and Udonis Haslem.
O’Neal went to Boston to fortify their bulky interior. Haslem took less money to re-sign with Miami in pursuit of another Championship in his hometown. Other big-time PF’s on the open market included Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire, but Denver watched as each in turn chose large-market Eastern Conference teams Chicago, Miami & New York respectively.
That left Denver scraping the bottom of the barrel… and willing to pay a steep price for the privilege.
Harrington played with the New York Knicks most of the last two seasons, and has had a renaissance of sorts following a couple of down years in Golden State. The 12-year veteran played the first half of his career in Indiana after being drafted by the Pacers in the 1st Round of the 1998 Draft.
Post-Pacers, two seasons with Atlanta and two with Golden State drew a stark comparison on Harrington’s career.
In Atlanta he was at the apex of his productivity, averaging 18 points and 6.9 rebounds a game. The following two seasons with the Warriors (briefly interrupted by a return to Indiana) saw his stat line decline precipitously through the end of the 2007-2008 campaign. Harrington averaged 17.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game last year in New York after being traded to the Knicks early in the ’08-’09 season, a move that spurred his rapid return to relevance as he had the best statistical season of his career.
We in Nuggetsland have to wonder, though, if the 5-year, $34 million deal that Denver has reportedly offered Al will be worth it in the long run. The move reeks more than a little of desperation, but was actually the product of a bidding war with Dallas as both the Mavericks and Nuggets scrambled to keep up with the rest of the league’s contenders. The offer that Harrington appears ready to sign would constitute the full mid-level exception, effectively a max deal for a second-tier free agent.
Harrington will be 35 by the time the proposed contract expires, though, and his inconsistent career promises nothing in the way of guaranteed production.
The Nuggets are obviously frantic to show Carmelo Anthony (who has still declined to sign a contract extension) that they are willing to do what it takes to surround him with the talent required to win a Championship. But Melo could be gone after next season if he doesn’t re-up, and the Big Al Signing would go down as another in a litany of poor choices by the Nuggets’ front office since drafting Nene & Melo in consecutive seasons.
Then again, Harrington has typically been on teams light in talent, and his glory years in Atlanta mirrored their rise to semi-prominence in the East. If Al can be a healthy alternative to the perpetually injured Kenyon Martin & Chris Andersen at big forward, he may provide those two with the light early-season load necessary to keep them fresh until the playoffs. (Neither K-Mart or Birdman are expected to start the ’10-’11 season after matching knee surgeries in this offseason.)
The Nuggets were scary good when they were all healthy in the first half of ’09-’10. Kenyon’s potency at 100%, combined with Harrington’s added length (6’9”) off the bench and the inspiring return of coach George Karl could be enough to keep Denver afloat in the stacked West.
But another disappointing early exit from the playoffs would likely pave the road to New York for Carmelo, and with him would go the Nuggets’ hopes of winning an NBA Title.
Comments
Kenyon's contract is really starting to put the crush on the Nuggets compounded by his and Birdman's knee injuries. I hate to say this, but the best move they made a year or so ago was to dump Camby's large contract for nothing. At the time, it looked horrible as a fan, but lead them to the West Conf Finals and gave them some cap releif. They need to bite the bullet and do the same with Kenyon or Nene or both now and begin to rebuild with younger, cheaper, versions of those guys. Al H is in the same vein as Camby, Kenyon, and Nene in that he is a big guy who likes to work jump shots and is highly paid and on the wrong side of 30. They need a Joakim Noah type player in the mix on their front line in the 5-7 mill range of payroll.
Kenyon's contract doesn't hurt as much this year, as it would next year. If he comes back from a third major knee injury and can be effective, we may get him to sign a one or two year deal at a fraction of his current cost. For that reason (and because there is not another big free agent on the market worth throwing money at) I think Martin is fine playing out the 2010-2011 season in Denver.
Of course, if we could get ANYTHING for him in the way of a younger big man, it would be worth the trade. There are rumors that we are trying to dump him on Golden State in return for Andreis Biedrins. We should be so lucky.
Nene isn't tough enough to play center. If we can land a true center, I'd like to see Nene move to PF. His mid-range jumper isn't bad, and his size & quickness in the post makes him the superior offensive threat compared to Kenyon and Andersen.
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