# Time to Rework Roster?



## RoddneyThaRippa (Jun 28, 2003)

After watching these gut-wrenching games since Iverson has been here, are in need of a complete revamp of the roster? Here are my main concerns: 

1) No shooting, which minimizes the effect Iverson and Carmelo have. 

2) Lack of backcourt depth and versality. Diawara is great defensively, but he is awful on offense. Kleiza hustles, but does little else. DerMarr is useless. We need a combination of players off the bench that can score, play defense, and shoot. We just don't have that. 

3) Lack of inside scoring. Despite his recent dementia, Camby isn't a scorer. Najera is great on cuts and putbacks but isn't a player you can dump the ball to. Evans is improving but hardly an option. Nene could be our low post guy, be he can't finish. Carmelo is the only guy who can consistently score in the post and at times this season, that has really limited his offensive game. 

Does this call for a roster overhaul? I think it does.


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## melo4life (Jun 5, 2006)

then wat would your roster be???
C-
PF-
SF-
SG-
PG-


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## Zuca (Dec 4, 2003)

I agree that a true backup SG would really help this team...


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## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

The team the current front office has assembled hasn't even played 1 game together. Calling for a roster overall at this point is moronic.


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## RoddneyThaRippa (Jun 28, 2003)

cpawfan said:


> The team the current front office has assembled hasn't even played 1 game together. Calling for a roster overall at this point is moronic.


Yeah, it's moronic, except when you look at the fact that we have a total of four decent shooters on the team. Yeah, you're right.


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## RoddneyThaRippa (Jun 28, 2003)

melo4life said:


> then wat would your roster be???
> C-
> PF-
> SF-
> ...


C - Camby
PF - Nene
SF - Carmelo
SG - JR
PG - Iverson

The starting lineup is just fine. We need to rework the bench, which would include bringing in a defensive shooting guard that can actually hit a three, someone who can score, and another backup point guard. Kleiza needs to go, Diawara probably needs to go, DerMarr needs to go, and we need to thin out the frontcourt depth. Overall, the makeup of this roster needs to be more shooting heavy with versatility off the bench. To say this is a chemistry problem is, well, moronic.


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## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

RoddneyThaRippa said:


> Yeah, it's moronic, except when you look at the fact that we have a total of four decent shooters on the team. Yeah, you're right.


Teams aren't always what they appear to be on paper. The Nuggets have two of the most dynamic scorers in the NBA and they are going to put tremendous pressure on the opponents. 

The Nuggets can finally play as fast as Karl wants all 48 minutes


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## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

RoddneyThaRippa said:


> C - Camby
> PF - Nene
> SF - Carmelo
> SG - JR
> ...


Nene needs to come off the bench. The days of him being a PF are basically over. When Camby is traded in two seasons, Nene will be the starting center.


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## MillerTime (Jul 6, 2003)

I don't really think they need major changes to their top players, the core is there, and even i'd go to say your starters are very good, but your weakness in my opinion is your depth. Steve Blake was a good addition but theres little else to the bench. Miami improved their bench last year and won the title... before then they had outstanding starting 5 and weak bench.


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## 77AJ (Feb 16, 2005)

It's true the Nuggets bench needs a lot of work. I say get rid of Evans keep Najera. Move DerMarr, Kleiza but keep Diawara. He's solid on defense against other teams big gurds ala Tracy McGrady. Bring in some shooters for our second unit. That's the one area Boykins helped the Nuggets, is he was a spark plug for scoring off the bench. However the core of this team is great. I just hope K-Mart can come back, and contribue.


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## nbanoitall (May 21, 2004)

The bench and the rotation seems to actually be in the process of an overhaul. So certainly I cant say its moronic. 

Rumor has it the Nuggets just offered Blake for the cavs couple of million dollar exception.

Truth be told the bench needs some serious work. So far the new front office has done what it needed to do. They got a quality two guard (JR Smith). They made a huge move to bring in a super star (AI, we shall see how that works). They moved a guy that would opt out for Bobby Jackson type money (Boykins).

All gravy. The team needs a third point guard. Something has to be going on behind the scenes that we dont know about. Karl has some power in all this. They just dumped his "guy" Boykins. I'm wondering if they are going to throw Karl a bone and do something he wants (bring in a backup shooter and or move Nene). If they offered Blake for the exception, it sure does make me wonder, just who else are they talking to.

As for changing the rotation. The way Reggie Evans is playing. He should be starting and getting more minutes. I saw this guy play plenty at the U of Iowa. He didnt play like this, literally didnt play worthy of being in the D League. Now I think he is closer to Rodman that I can believe. If he got Rodman minutes he could actually come close to keeping pace with Rodman. In Rodmans prime he was pulling down 15 to 18 rebounds in 40 minutes a night. Reggie Evans is pulling in 8 or 9 a night in 20 minutes.

I think if he got at least 35 minutes a night he could average 11 or 12 points and 14 or maybe even more rebounds a night. 

Based on all the other 4s on this roster... and their play, Id give the time to Evans


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## 77AJ (Feb 16, 2005)

Blake may already be out the door. If so it's a terrible move by the Nuggets IMO. As Blake showcased how well he can fit into a system with stars who dominate the ball, and play quite well himself.


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## 77AJ (Feb 16, 2005)

nbanoitall said:


> The bench and the rotation seems to actually be in the process of an overhaul. So certainly I cant say its moronic.
> 
> Rumor has it the Nuggets just offered Blake for the cavs couple of million dollar exception.
> 
> ...


Good point's regarding Evans. However he's quite the offensive liability IMO. I Do like what he gives the team though. If K-Mart can't comeback at some point. I would be in favor of keeping Evans.


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## RoddneyThaRippa (Jun 28, 2003)

cpawfan said:


> Teams aren't always what they appear to be on paper. The Nuggets have two of the most dynamic scorers in the NBA and they are going to put tremendous pressure on the opponents.
> 
> The Nuggets can finally play as fast as Karl wants all 48 minutes


Shooting is fundamental to basketball. If you can't grasp that, I'm not going to continue to argue with you. 

My concerns have to do with the playoffs, when teams have time to prepare for a seven game series - that's why Phoenix will never win a championship as currently constructed. When you have a paucity of shooters on the floor, you are somewhat nullifying other important things such as spacing and passing. 

Face it: we aren't going to run up and down the court for 48 minutes and get easy layups and dunks in a seven game series. It is critical that we improve our half court set. Thus, it is critical that we add more shooters to this team. We don't need to be like Phoenix, but we need more than we have.


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## RoddneyThaRippa (Jun 28, 2003)

cpawfan said:


> Nene needs to come off the bench. The days of him being a PF are basically over. When Camby is traded in two seasons, Nene will be the starting center.


I don't know about that. The organization never should've had him put on that weight. If they figure it out and have him take it off, he can still be a power forward.


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## RoddneyThaRippa (Jun 28, 2003)

MillerTime said:


> I don't really think they need major changes to their top players, the core is there, and even i'd go to say your starters are very good, but your weakness in my opinion is your depth. Steve Blake was a good addition but theres little else to the bench. Miami improved their bench last year and won the title... before then they had outstanding starting 5 and weak bench.


Yep. This was my main point.


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## RoddneyThaRippa (Jun 28, 2003)

23AJ said:


> It's true the Nuggets bench needs a lot of work. I say get rid of Evans keep Najera. Move DerMarr, Kleiza but keep Diawara. He's solid on defense against other teams big gurds ala Tracy McGrady. Bring in some shooters for our second unit. That's the one area Boykins helped the Nuggets, is he was a spark plug for scoring off the bench. However the core of this team is great. I just hope K-Mart can come back, and contribue.


Kenyon would work wonders for this team, as he would benefit from Iverson's penetration and put backs created by drawing the defense. He definitely can finish the ball, which is something we're sorely missing.


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## nbanoitall (May 21, 2004)

23AJ said:


> Good point's regarding Evans. However he's quite the offensive liability IMO. I Do like what he gives the team though. If K-Mart can't comeback at some point. I would be in favor of keeping Evans.


every great team needs a garbage disposal


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## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

RoddneyThaRippa said:


> I don't know about that. The organization never should've had him put on that weight. If they figure it out and have him take it off, he can still be a power forward.


He is around 275 now and the team wants him at 260 which will allow him to play some minutes at PF, but he'll still be mostly a center.


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## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

23AJ said:


> Blake may already be out the door. If so it's a terrible move by the Nuggets IMO. As Blake showcased how well he can fit into a system with stars who dominate the ball, and play quite well himself.


That rumor was laughed at from the Nuggets side. Apparently they plan to resign him this summer


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## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

RoddneyThaRippa said:


> Shooting is fundamental to basketball. If you can't grasp that, I'm not going to continue to argue with you.
> 
> My concerns have to do with the playoffs, when teams have time to prepare for a seven game series - that's why Phoenix will never win a championship as currently constructed. When you have a paucity of shooters on the floor, you are somewhat nullifying other important things such as spacing and passing.
> 
> Face it: we aren't going to run up and down the court for 48 minutes and get easy layups and dunks in a seven game series. It is critical that we improve our half court set. Thus, it is critical that we add more shooters to this team. We don't need to be like Phoenix, but we need more than we have.


All nice in theory, but you still haven't seen what the current team can actually do on the floor. The addition of AI to Melo is a huge impact on the half court set and automatically creates floor spacing. The half court sets failed last year because there was no one to take pressure off of Melo. AI has willed his team further in the playoffs with lesser teammates when teams have made him the focus of their defense.

The 9 man rotation for the playoffs looks like 
Bigs: Camby / Nene / Eddie / Reggie
Wings: Melo / JR / Yak / AI / Blake

Eddie can make open shots (although he is in his annual slump right now), so the only guy that teams will collapse off of is Yak, but his 10 minutes a game would be with 2 of the 3 scorers (AI, Melo, JR) on the floor with him.

Of course every team would like to have a snipper that parks at the 3 point line or in the corner and waits for the kick out. However, there aren't that many of them that are able to contribute on defense and are available for what the Nuggets have to trade. 

This team has improved a ton just by getting rid of Dre and the smurf


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## melo4life (Jun 5, 2006)

Steve Blake was a good pickup IMO, he has played 2 games and scored around 35 points, 10 assists, about 8 rebounds, thats pretty good in 2 games for a new team,, in a few weeks time with Carmelo back i think that he is going to fit in really well,,, yeah i say get rid of Diawara for a while, put him in the D-League, Kleiza can be a good player like he showed yesterday, did fairly well, DeMarr just doesnt really get enough playing time for him to show how good he really is,, but other then that i think we have nearly the beat lineup in the league, with Carmelo back its going to be awesome to watch the nuggets


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## RoddneyThaRippa (Jun 28, 2003)

cpawfan said:


> All nice in theory, but you still haven't seen what the current team can actually do on the floor. The addition of AI to Melo is a huge impact on the half court set and automatically creates floor spacing. The half court sets failed last year because there was no one to take pressure off of Melo. AI has willed his team further in the playoffs with lesser teammates when teams have made him the focus of their defense.
> 
> The 9 man rotation for the playoffs looks like
> Bigs: Camby / Nene / Eddie / Reggie
> ...



I agree. The mere addition of Blake seemed to immediately open up space. When Carmelo comes back that will only increase. 

I still want to see us add one or two more shooters but after watching these past few games, we might be able to make due with what we got. My best guess is that opposing teams dare Iverson to make outside shots. Unfortunately, that means giving him space, which means giving him the opportunity to get into the lane. 

This is going to be so crazy tomorrow. I wish I could go to sleep right now and wake up just before game time. Carmelo and Iverson? Crazy.


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## RoddneyThaRippa (Jun 28, 2003)

melo4life said:


> Steve Blake was a good pickup IMO, he has played 2 games and scored around 35 points, 10 assists, about 8 rebounds, thats pretty good in 2 games for a new team,, in a few weeks time with Carmelo back i think that he is going to fit in really well,,, yeah i say get rid of Diawara for a while, put him in the D-League, Kleiza can be a good player like he showed yesterday, did fairly well, DeMarr just doesnt really get enough playing time for him to show how good he really is,, but other then that i think we have nearly the beat lineup in the league, with Carmelo back its going to be awesome to watch the nuggets


Meh. Diawara can stick around because his defense is exceptional. I just don't want to see him play over 25 minutes a game.


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## melo4life (Jun 5, 2006)

it depends on his game, some games he can be shooting really well, and some games he is really off, so its hard to say but yeah his defense is really good he just has to practice shooting jumpers more then 3 pointers at the moment


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