[Izulde]

We've got a few players we really like and hope will drop some, one in particular. But we'll have to wait and see what shakes out.

2021 NBA Draft 1st Round
1. SG Rudolf Zyndram - Phoenix Suns

The Polish shooting guard being taken 1st stunned -everyone-, including me. Just what the hell were they thinking?

2. PG Jack McKnight - Miami Heat
3. C Mark Wilson - New Orleans Hornets
4. SG Greg Slaughter - Boston Celtics
5. PF James Bellairs - Indiana Pacers

The Pacers just got a huge, huge gift from those four other teams. They fill the gaping void at PF and take a major step back towards respectability. Unbelievable!

6. SG Bernard Legans - Washington Wizards

Any time you can get a guy who scored 30 points a game with the #6 pick, you've landed yourself a steal. Washington gets one here and says thanks to everybody.

7. PF Ronnie Fry - Memphis Grizzlies

Argh! I wanted him to drop to around 10 or so, so we could make a play to get him and take this extremely promising 19 year old. Though to be honest, our coaching staff wasn't too hot on him, so maybe it's not such a bad thing.

8. PG Ameirin Qipian - San Antonio Spurs

Rasheed Wheeler is still on the board, but there's another Duke guard, Aaron Brennan, who I like even more. He's listed as PG, but is probably better suited to the two. We can't make something work with the Knicks, but I think I've got a deal in principle if he sneaks by New York.

9. PG Aaron Brennan - New York Knicks

...Fuck!!!!! After that, I'm just not interested in Wheeler anymore.

10. SG Rasheed Wheeler - Los Angeles Clippers

The talent level hits rock bottom after this, so we're just going to sit and wait.

11. C Jarrod Hill - Seattle Supersonics
12. SF Wayne Scott - Atlanta Hawks

There goes the guy I thought would drop to around our range. Now I may as well just trade our picks off in a player acquistion deal. We try to work something out to acquire the rights to Ronnie Fry, but the Grizzlies aren't listening.

So we sit and wait some more.

13. PG David Cormier - New Orleans Hornets
14. PF Jamarcus Wilson - Philadelphia 76ers
15. SF B.J. Jackson - Los Angeles Lakers
16. PG Jason Griffin - Houston Rockets

Nice steal by the Rockets here. I almost moved up to get him, but he didn't give me that wow feeling that Brennan did.

17. SF Rick Smith - Sacramento Kings
18. PF Darrin McCarter - Portland Trailblazers
19. SG Marcus Harrell - Charlotte Bobcats

Harrell's being applauded as a great steal. I know we invited him, but don't really remember much about him. At this point, there's really only one player left worth even half a glance that we've invited, but he's not worth trading up for.

20. SF James Evans - New Jersey Nets

And of course, he's taken with the very next pick.

I do some calling around to try and negotiate some trades, but it's no doing. On the other hand, I think we've got the inside track on trying to land Freddie Tackett after all, but it'll have to wait until free agency.

21. PG Dion Sheals - Minnesota Timberwolves

For some bizzare reason, the staff swore up and down that Sheals is a franchise player in the making. I don't see it, so I passed on it.

22. PF Brandon Gladieux - Cleveland Cavaliers
23. SG Johnnie McIntyre - Milwaukee Bucks
24. PF Nashon Wallace - New York Knicks

Snort. They're still thinking we'll take Tim Felix. Fat chance. Instead, I take a flier on a player that I wanted to bring in for a workout, but forgot to.

25. SG Darren Davis - Denver Nuggets

He's 19 and the scouting report on him says he has potential to be a lockdown defender. In my opinion, he'd have been better off staying at Kentucky, but because he didn't, he'll get his chances here in Denver. Scored 20.3 points a game as a freshman with the Wildcats to boot.

The analysts all applaud the pick, Chris mentioning that Davis had a lot of great workouts with teams and that he looks like a hidden gem. Man, I hope that's right. At least I'd have gotten something out of this draft.

26. PG Mitch Patrick - Detroit Pistons

They're saying either Felix or Saul Jenkins for our second pick. I consider Jenkins along with some big men, but there's not much to choose from at this point in the draft. This time I go with a player I scouted who doesn't particularly excite, but I think he can be a decent bench player.

27. PF Booker Werner - Denver Nuggets

Not thrilling by any means, but the Notre Dame senior has an average all-around skill-set that we can see how it goes. Plus, I love the name Booker.

The talking heads approve this pick as well, which is always nice to see. If nothing else, I appear to have bolstered our bench pretty well.

28. SG William Aylsworth - Orlando Magic
29. C David McCasland - Utah Jazz
30. PF Mike Gardner - Toronto Raptors

First post-draft look says Werner's trade bait. Davis is the single hardest-working player I've -ever- seen and while he's also the worst defensive playmaker and rebounder I've ever seen, there's enough other skills that I'm mildly excited about landing him.

Everyone's contract is renounced that's up for it.

Summer League
PG Carlton Goree
SG Darren Davis
PF Tzvetan Kishishev
PF Booker Werner
C Victor Gipson

Lot of Nuggets assigned this year, the most we've ever had, I think.

No Marcelino Augusto for the Mavericks means a 100-75 buttwhipping, Victor Gipson the man of the night with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Awvee Byams and Garrett Brwon get 10 bench points a piece.

It's 2-0 as we squeak by the extremely talented Warriors summer league team 91-90. Tzvetan Kishisev and Hong-bo Qian lead the way with 14 and 10 bench points respectively. I should note that Darren Davis has scored 12 and 14 points his first two games and is shooting over 50%.

Chris Overton goes a perfect 9/9 from the bench for 19 points, Victor Gipson posts 19 points and 13 rebounds and Tzvetan Kishishev adds 12 points off the bench in our 106-88 thrashing of the Hawks.. Darren Davis hits 7 of 9 for another 14 points and Booker Werner's going to be traded, I've decided.

We outrun the Bulls 120-102, Vinston Henry, a third year SF from the Hornets who's had an excellent summer league, first in points with 28. A closer look at Henry reveals that he's raw, but he's got arguable franchise potential and he's the perfect fit for a SF to boot. I'll make it my mission to try and land him, though I'm sure the Hornets will do their damnedest to get him back. Booker Werner finally breaks out for 24 points, Victor Gipson continues his solid summer play with 13 points and 15 rebounds and Carlton Goree busts out for 15 points and 18 assists. Darren Davis had his first awful summer league game and Tzvetan Kishishev scored 16 to lead the second team. By the way, it's worth noting that Werner absolutely raped Terry Vinson for those 24 points.

We get our first ever perfect 5-0 Summer League record, cruising past the Celtics 111-98. It was a balanced offense led by Tzvetan Kishishev with 16 points and Hong-bo Qian with 10 points off the bench that did it.

A couple other observations from the summer league:

Carlton Goree didn't produce like I thought he would, which is giving me pause to the whole trading Nolan Hill idea. Victor Gipson also played well enough that it's going to be hard for me to trade him. Darren Davis is going to be better than most people think.

Free Agency
Let's see... there's Justin Richler and a bunch of old guys like Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony. You know it's a dead class when a guy like Ron McPherson is one of the marquee free agents.

No surprise when Justin Richler takes a max contract deal from the Raptors. Nor is it a complete shock when Lebron James goes back to the Central, though it stuns when he dons a Bucks uniform for $14.4 million for a year.

The Jazz get a new center when Scott Palmer changes Northwest teams, going from Seattle to Utah for 5 years and $60 million. Great, they just got a heck of a lot stronger and I'm going to be scared to see their frontline. We get our man when Vinston Henry inks a max mid-level exemption deal. He was hesitant about coming to Denver because we've so many frontcourt players, but in the end, the money we offered was simply too much for the 22 year old to resist.

To give us the 12 man minimum, we ink Chezley McCleary back on the one year minimum deal. He was a great help with his rebounding down the stretch and in the playoffs, so it'll be nice to see him again.

Terrence Howard, who played better than I thought he would with the Jazz, departs Utah after the Palmer signing and goes to Portland for 5 years, $33.2 mill. It's crazy how many Northwest teams are shuffling their centers this offseason.

In old people signings, Dwayne Wade goes to the Celtics on a 1 year, $6.8 million contract, Carmelo Anthony accepts a 1 year, $5.2 million deal from the Lakers and Andrew Bynum flies cross-country to the Knicks for a fat 5 year, $32.2 million signing. New York just filled its biggest hole and suddenly they're looking like major challengers to the Raptors this season.

Boston continues to load up on old players, picking up Tyrus Thomas on a one and done, $8.1 million deal. Somehow the Celtics don't seem to understand how to actually build a team.

We start shopping around during free agency for a trade, but there's nothing that jumps out at us, so we elect to wait and see what training camp brings.

Training Camp

Excellent training camp out of Vinston Henry, but for some reason, the coaching staff is blocking him, putting even Booker Werner ahead of him. That simply isn't going to cut it.

Mateen Yeaton started to show a very small sign of decline. Considering he's 33, it's to be expected, but it's still worrying. We're $13.8 million over the cap and we have two players who should be sent down to the D-leagues. We can't really pay for free agents to come in and replace them without going over the $15 million, so it's back to trade hunting again.

Happily, finding a deal proves quite easy.

Denver Nuggets receive
PF Jeremy Bellairs
PG Louis Mertens
Golden State Warriors 2024 2nd round pick

Golden State Warriors receive
PG Nolan Hill
PF Booker Werner
Denver Nuggets 2023 1st round pick

What this means for the Nuggets
With Carlton Goree on the team, Hill became expendable, especially with GM Jestor favorite Mertens, a delicious passer and ballhandler, returning to Denver. 24 year old Bellairs, recent draftee James Bellairs's older brother, is undersized for a PF and a potential lockerroom issue, but he has absolutely sick potential as a rebounder, good potential in most other areas and has shot just shy of 50% as a starter his first two seasons in the league. More importantly, along with 22 year old project Vinston Henry, the Nuggets now have some youngsters with tantalizing promise at the forward spots. Whichever one doesn't pan out could then possibly be moved, knowing Jestor's MO.

What this means for the Warriors
Hill gives the Warriors their first true PG since Brandon Brooks and now with a lineup of Hill/Walter Coleman/Michael Johnson/Roger Bohn/Valery Frahm, Golden State has a nucleus of youngsters that can hopefully get them back to the playoffs for the first time in 2008. If not this year, then in a couple seasons. The Nuggets held 3 first round picks in 2023, so giving up one was no problem at all. Werner is a scrub.

Winner: Denver
Don't be surprised to see Bellairs emerge as the starting SF at some point this season. If that happens, Victor Gipson could be on his way out, as could David "50 Ninja" Jackson, if he complains about loss of playing time enough to create problems. Regardless, the Nuggets have now solved their worries about youth at the forward spots and need only to find young blood at SG and C. Given their multiple first round picks over the next two seasons, that shouldn't be difficult.

We've extra money after the deal too, so I grab Javaris Crittenton and Jameel Williams from free agency to fill up our team and bring us -just- under $15 million with 14 players signed.

The Clippers are pegged for first in the West in the season preview and admittedly there's a lot to like. C Dontay Williamson is on the verge of a breakout franchise season, PF Bill Towns is still an All-Star caliber player and Rasheed Wheeler fell to them in the draft. But I still don't see them as a top team.

We're tabbed for second and first in our division because of how ridiculously deep and balanced our team is. Our frontcourt is pretty much murder's row when you stack our bench against any other set of reserves in the league and we should see some huge production. Utah's third and I think they'd be higher if their bench wasn't so underwhelming. Dallas is picked 6th and 2nd in their division behind Houston, but the Mavericks will still be on top at the end of the year.

In the East, Chicago, whose 1st round pick we have, are the preseason favorites. Yeah, that'll happen. Not. Deep and talented team, but they've never been able to put it all together and Oswaldo Apolonario, while a likely franchise player someday, is still too raw to be a starting center. The Knicks are slated for second, which I can definitely see, especially after their Andrew Bynum FA coup. Nets are third, which is a laugh and the Raptors are fourth, though they should be first or second with the Knicks the other spot.

2021 Denver Nuggets Opening Night Lineup
PG Carlton Goree
SG Mateen Yeaton
SF Victor Gipson
PF Mike Vines
C Jonte Jones
6th David Jackson (SF/PF/C)
7th Jeremy Bellairs (SF/PF)
8th Javaris Crittenton (PG/SG)
9th Vinston Hentry (SF/PF)
10th Louis Mertens (PG/SG)
11th Tzvetan Kishishev (SF/PF/C)
12th Jameel Williams (PG/SG)

Inactive
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Chezley McCleary (SF/PF/C)
Darren Davis (Starting SF - Colorado Timberjacks)

I'm intrigued to see how this season plays out. I really like the groundwork we've laid and if we can keep from tempers flaring about PT, we should be poised to make a run at our fourth straight title.