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Nuggets will need to add more than Ty Lawson to remain elite
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The Nuggets have a new backup point guard.
Ty Lawson, the 18th overall selection in this year’s NBA draft, will hopefully provide Denver with a spark off the bench and much needed rest for venerable starter Chauncey Billups. To obtain Lawson, the Nuggets gave up a conditional first round draft choice in 2010 (which they originally acquired from Charlotte). The 5’11 junior from North Carolina led the Tar Heels to a NCAA National Championship in April.
Considering the Nuggets seldom actually come away from the draft with an actual first round pick (Linas Kleiza, from 2005, is their most recent draftee), along with the known fact that they were in the market for a backup point guard, the trade has been widely praised.
Yahoo! Sports columnist Dan Wetzel ranked the Nuggets among the “winners” on draft night. John Hollinger, basketball writer for ESPN.com, gave Denver credit for “best use of a future pick.” Chad Ford, NBA Insider for ESPN.com, gave the Nuggets an ‘A-minus’ for their efforts. The experts from NBAdraft.net said the trade was “an excellent move for Denver … Lawson is almost impossible to guard one-on-one.”
At this point, unless Lawson shows up to camp overweight or grossly intimidated by NBA competition, it’s hard to find much to complain about regarding Denver’s draft night results. By selling its second round pick to Houston, Denver will have extra money to use in re-signing free-agent big man Chris Andersen.
Unfortunately, based on the moves made by other teams among the NBA’s elite, Denver’s acquisition of Lawson and the likely re-signing of Andersen will simply not be enough, if the Nuggets hope to remain competitive.
The Nuggets, as we all know, finished with the number two seed in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, and took the eventual-champion Lakers to Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. Billups, Carmelo Anthony, Nene, and J.R. Smith return as the talented, mostly young, core of the team.
Fans hope the young players continue to develop, and the Nuggets can build on their conference finals experience. However, the Spurs – who have considerable experience in winning the NBA Finals – jumped right back into the league’s upper echelon by obtaining forward Richard Jefferson from Milwaukee. Keep this in mind: the Spurs won 54 games last season, that’s the same amount as the Nuggets.
Adding Lawson to the Nuggets’ core simply doesn’t measure up to the addition of Jefferson to Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. Not to mention the fact that eastern conference finalists, Cleveland and Orlando, have added Shaquille O’Neal and Vince Carter, respectively, to their cast of characters.
The Nuggets need to do more.
George Karl, known for his reluctance to play rookies, said he would prefer to have both Lawson and Anthony Carter available as back up point guards. Carter is an unrestricted free agent. If he is willing to sign a one year contract for the veteran minimum amount of money, then re-sign him. Otherwise, let him go.
Smith should finally emerge as the starting shooting guard next year, sending Dahntay Jones to the bench – or out of town. Jones, a defensive specialist, is also an unrestricted free agent. Athletic second-year guard Sonny Weems may be called upon to replace Jones in Denver’s rotation, much to Karl’s likely chagrin, in the probable event that Denver can’t afford to re-sign Jones.
It would seem that the Nuggets’ most obvious need for help is in the size department. Denver must add depth to its front line whose bulk consists mainly of Nene, Andersen, and Kenyon Martin. Martin, coming off his best year since joining the Nuggets, should ideally be used as trade bait. However, with two years remaining on his massive contract, Denver is highly unlikely to find any suitors. In any event, Denver needs to add size to its roster.
The ideal addition, from the Nuggets’ perspective, would be New York Knick big man David Lee. He is a restricted free agent, likely to command a considerably higher salary than the $1.8 million he made last year. He averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds, last season, for New York. The Knicks seemed as though they may have been preparing for his departure, as they added center Darko Milicic and power forward Jordan Hill, on draft night.
Either as a starter, or coming off the bench, Lee would be a welcome and major contributor for the Nuggets. His addition, combined with Lawson, would more than offset the potential losses of Jones, Carter, Kleiza, and Johan Petro.
Kleiza, like Lee, is a restricted free agent. He also made $1.8 million last year. Maybe the Nuggets can find a way to swing a sign-and-trade deal involving the two. Denver would likely have to take steps to sweeten the pot for New York, since Lee is one of the Knicks’ most consistent players, whereas Kleiza – while talented – has often been brutally inconsistent during his Nugget tenure. He probably stands to make less money, next year, than Lee.
If the Nuggets were able to land a big man of Lee’s caliber, it would give them an eight man rotation of starters Anthony, Nene, Smith, Billups, and either Martin or Lee, with Andersen, Lawson, and either Martin or Lee off the bench. Weems and Renaldo Balkman, two players Karl has been reluctant to play, also remain on the roster. Balkman seemed to contribute quite positively during his limited minutes last season.
That type of lineup would represent Denver’s best chance at keeping up with the NBA’s improving elite teams. To accomplish it, another major move is required.
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