Denver Nuggets: Remainder of season should be devoted to development
By Andrew Dill
The Denver Nuggets have been a major disappointment this season to say the least. After a 106-96 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night, the Nuggets find themselves slotted as the 11th seed in the Western Conference standings – they won’t be climbing the standings any time soon. The main focus for the Denver Nuggets for the remainder of the 2014-’15 season should be devoted to development. That means rookies Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris should see the floor even more.
Denver is a team that features an abundant of role players, which makes them an ideal trade part prior to the trading deadline. Players such as Arron Afflalo and Wilson Chandler have been heavily rumored to be on the move, but they shouldn’t be the only ones Denver should consider trading.
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I know many Nuggets’ fans would hate to hear this but Ty Lawson should be one of them. Lawson is having a career-year, racking up quiet double-doubles due to Denver’s woeful record. Lawson torched the Lakers Tuesday night at the Staples Center, recording 32 points on 12-of-20 shooting, collecting 16 assists, 2 steals, and 3 rebounds. Although I believe he was snubbed from the All-Star Game, Ty continues to impress night-in and night-out.
Lawson is averaging 16.6 points on 44.2% shooting, collecting 9.9 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.26 steals per contest. Erick Green could get a little seasoning if Lawson were to be traded, but don’t expect many wins if such a trade were to occur.
One thing Denver needs to do for sure is trade shooting guard Arron Afflalo. Afflalo signed a one-year deal with the Nuggets this offseason with a player option for the ensuing season. Don’t expect Afflalo to accept it and rightfully so. This season has been a complete disaster from top-to-bottom. Afflalo has reportedly received trade interest from five teams, two of which were the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat.
I expect Denver to make a couple more moves prior to the trading deadline, which should pave the way for rookies Jusuf Nurkic, Gary Harris, and Erick Green to receive more playing-time. It’s time to cash-in and start anew with the Denver Nuggets.