[Izulde]

We've got our very short list drawn up as the draft starts and it's just a matter of if the player we're hoping to get falls to us.

2023 NBA Draft 1st Round
1. SG Georgi Dimov - Miami Heat
2. PF Michael Woods - Phoenix Suns

I'm sorely tempted to move up to the #3 spot, because I'm afraid the guy I want will be taken here. Happily, the Pacers are willing to accomodate us, flip-flopping picks for the Suns' 2nd round pick a couple years from now.

3. SG Wendel King - Denver Nuggets

The pick receives a lukewarm reception, but I'm convinced this is the right move and Chris points out that despite my draft gaffes in the past, I seem to know what I'm doing when I aggressively trade up for players in weak draft classes like this one. I'll have to send him a thank you card for that.

4. SG Utkan Torumtay - Indiana Pacers
5. SF Eric Hooper - San Antonio Spurs
6. C Scott Costello - Seattle Supersonics

Costello is the guy I probably would've taken if I hadn't moved up to draft King. Nice value pick by Seattle here, in my opinion, as they continue their lovefest of centers named Scott.

7. PF Ryan Bush - Houston Rockets
8. PG Scott Miles - Los Angeles Lakers

Miles was the top-rated PG, but he screams 2 guard to me. Not the type of player I like in my system at all.

9. PF Jeff Emanuel - Golden State Warriors
10. PG Jerry Floyd - Detroit Pistons
11. PG Curtis King - Atlanta Hawks
12. C Phillip Smith - Boston Celtics
13. SF James White - Philadelphia 76ers
14. SF Jarod Jones - Milwaukee Bucks
15. PF Ian McClinton - Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies net a beautiful steal selection here. McClinton is definitely a Top 10 player in this class, so for him to fall to 15 is a real surprise.

16. SG Aubrey Prato - Chicago Bulls
17. PF Todd Humphries - Orlando Magic
18. SG Ryan Seals - Sacramento Kings
19. PG Chris Blackmon - Minnesota Timberwolves
20. PF Marcus Givens - Utah Jazz
21. SG Darryl Thompkins - New Jersey Nets
22. SG Justin Cherry - Cleveland Cavaliers

He had a horrible pre-draft workout, to be honest, which is why I didn't try and move up to get him. I try and work out a deal with the Cavs to try and get him anyway, but Cleveland's not interested.

23. C Shane Hampton - Charlotte Bobcats
24. PF Brian Madsen - Los Angeles Clippers
25. SF Chris Cunningham - New York Knicks
26. PF Chris Rein - Portland Trailblazers
27. C Marcus Amaya - Golden State Warriors
28. PG Jair Kittles - Chicago Bulls

There's not much to choose from at this point. And point is what the experts are saying we'll pick, namely Tarrell Block, a senior out of Duke who appears to have the best passing skills left. Not quite fellow Blue Devil alum Carlton Goree territory by any means. But after looking over the available players, it comes down to Block vs. a center, Terrance Frey out of Oklahoma. Frey has finesse C writ on him and you know how much I hate those guys, so it becomes an easy choice.

29. PG Tarrell Block - Denver Nuggets

J.P. falls all over himself congratulating himself on his fantastic prediction skills, whereas Chris is lukewarm on the selection. Block's got mad disruption skills on defense, though, which I love.

30. SG Eugene Kohler - Sacramento Kings

The post-draft first look says King wasn't worthy of a top 3 pick and Block isn't as sexy as we'd hoped for. We've also got some cap problems waiting for us, so I may have to make another move.

Summer League

Summer Nuggets
PG Aaron Brennan
PG Tarrell Block
SG Darren Davis
SG Joem Layne
SG Wendel King
PF Deon Sterley

A glut of young guards, some of whom may not be here by the start of the new season.

A defensive struggle results in an 88-83 win over the Mavericks. Joem Layne explodes off the bench for 17 points and Tarrell Block and Darren Davis each score 10 points as our reserves own everybody. This is an important summer for all these youthful guards, because they're auditioning for the right to stay on the team.

The offense opens up, but our defense falls in a 100-97 loss to Golden State. Joem Layne, who's actually my favorite of this young group, is our lone highlight with 16 bench points and he's fast earning himself a spot.

Aaron Brennan breaks loose for 23 points and we top the Hawks 100-91. Thus far, Aaron's looked decent in the three games, though not spectacular till now. On the whole, though, I'm inclined to say he'll make the team.

Our best game of the summer comes in a 92-69 stomping of the Bulls. Clifton Snyder, who've I always admired, scores 23 and Joem Layne scores 12 off the bench.

We close out with a 111-88 thrashing of the Celtics, keyed by Clifton Snyder's 26 points, Joem Layne's 18 bench points and 12 points from reserve Darren Davis.

After looking over the summer league results, I'm just not impressed with Wendel King at all. He's not worth the money he's going to be getting as a Top 3 pick and worse yet, Jim O'Brien is talking about making him the PG. So it's a quick deal to squash that.

Denver Nuggets receive
SG Justin Cherry
SG Robert Lawson

Cleveland Cavaliers receive
SG Wendel King

What this means for the Nuggets
This deal is a King for Cherry swap, as Lawson was cut immediately after. It's well-known that GM Jestor wanted the Hoosier late in the draft, but the Cavaliers snapped him up beforehand. Reports of Cherry's bad personality appear to have been unfounded and he has good scoring touch, passable handling, is a slightly better defender than King and a smarter player. This also sets up the possibility of Mateen Yeaton as the starting PG, Cherry as the starting SG.

What this means for the Cavaliers
King's a better scorer and ballhandler than Cherry, but by and large, the differences between the two appear to be neglible. The biggest difference that we see at this point is that King is almost three times the salary of Cherry.

Winner: Denver
Some say it's stupid to trade the rights of the 3rd overall pick for those of the 22nd overall pick, but this draft class was weak enough to where the talent difference isn't that great. The Nuggets needed to slash salary in a big way and this helps them do that. Maybe one of these days Jestor will draft a top pick he likes and keeps.

But by no means are we done here with our trading, as there's still lots of log jams to clear out and there's two players I'd really like to re-sign if at all possible.

Denver Nuggets receive
SF Jermaine Trask

Memphis Grizzlies receive
PF Deon Sterley

What this means for the Nuggets
Sterley played his way into the doghouse with an abysmal playoff performance and with Tim Butler Denver's PF until he retires, GM Jestor went hunting for another young SF. Thus, we have Trask, a hard-working, raw second year player taken 5th overall last season. He shot 50% in 3 starts for the Grizzlies in the playoffs, his first action at the NBA level after being an emergency injury callup. That toughness greatly impressed Jestor, as did his potential to be a scoring beast and a defensive demon. He's more polished on the defensive end than Sterley and has the potential to develop good enough hands to play every position but SG. That kind of versatility is extremely valuable, along with his comfort level at shooting literally anywhere from the floor.

What this means for the Grizzlies
Memphis is set at the forward spots with youngsters Shane Holliway and Ronnie Fry, but Sterley, at 6'9, 250 lbs, has the build and rebounding talent to be the heir apparent, if greatly undersized, to [b]Narcyz Malinomowski, who isn't getting any younger at 33 years old. Sterley also gives the Grizzlies a monster defensive presence off the bench, with the potential to only get better.

Winner: Draw
This is one of those deals that benefits both teams. The Nuggets get a true, versatile 3 in Trask who has just as much upside as Sterley, while the Grizzlies get a promising player to fill in at C when the Great Polish Sieve hangs it up. Both these guys bust their butts to improve themselves, so the intangibles should work out as well. Also, Jeremy Leach, whose short height renders him better suited to the 2, now gets to move to SG.

We're currently $19.5 million over the cap, but $8.5 million of that is money tied up in Tzvetan Kishishev and Carlton Goree, whose rights we've retained and who we're hoping to bring back at a reduced price. That still means we need to reduce salary, but we'll find a way to do it.

Denver Nuggets receive
SF Calvis Hayes
Los Angeles Lakers 2025 2nd round pick
Los Angeles Lakers 2026 2nd round pick

Los Angeles Lakers receive
PG Jeremy Steele
PG Jameel Williams
PG Tarrell Block

What this means for the Nuggets
This trade is all about the salary dump. $2.76 million comes off the books, $0.61 million comes back. Denver's hoping to return Carlton Goree and Tzvetan Kishishev while getting under a rumored $10 million over the cap. That said, Hayes has potential to be a good all-around bench player, if somewhat weak in terms of passing and ballhandling. He also shot just 25% last year in his rookie season, but that was in just 9 games of mopup duty.

What this means for the Lakers
Very strange trade for the Purple and Gold, who sacrifice $2.1 million in their freed up cap space for 3 PGs when they already have Calvis Graham and rookie Scott Miles on the roster. That said, with Williams and Steele, they'll have a ton of capable floor generals on the bench and Steele can help mentor Miles along with Graham.

Winner: Incomplete
If Denver does return Goree, they win this one hands down. If not, they've just traded away all their offense-running capable guards away for nothing. On the other hand, this deal doesn't make much sense for the Lakers, either.

$17.3 million over the cap now but I'm worried about our passing situation. I may have to flip one of our newer acquistions from the Buboltz trade to convince Jim O'Brien to start a true PG, rather than the unnerving scheme to put Mateen Yeaton at the point.

Free Agency
Absolutely star-studded free agent class this year. Look at these names and weep.

Big Board
Marcelino Augusto
Nigel Abel
Kueth Hill
Kevin Durant
Charles Seegars
Keith Attaway
John Aylsworth
Branko Starcevic
Lebron James (He's still got it, even at 39)
Pete Totten
Oliwjer Rosiak
Corey Westbrooks
Carmelo Anthony (Also 39, here only because of name recognition)
Greg Oden

That is one filthy free agent class and it's a shame we're hamstrung by our budget, because I'd love to get my hands on some of these guys.

Our cap number plummets to $13.7 million when Tzvetan Kishishev re-signs with for 6 years, $5.8 million to mark the first free agency signing for anyone. I couldn't be more thrilled to lock him up so cheap, but he's being pushed way down the depth chart, so I'm going to have to trade someone to free up more playing time for him. You don't cockblock a guy who's a career 57.1% shooter, 60.2% in the playoffs.

Marcelino Augusto re-signs with Dallas on a maxed out deal, to no one's surprise, but there's still a ton of dynamite free agents out there, including some point guards who are tempting me enough that I'm -this- close to throwing an exemption at somebody and sorting the cap mess out via trade.

Nolan Hill, one of the guys I thought about bringing back, got a 4 year, $27.8 million deal from Golden State and chose to stay with the Warriors. It just goes to show what happens when a PG gets elevated thanks to me. Other teams want him and he gets set for life.

Victor Gipson jumps to the Bobcats for 4 years, $18.8 million. Great deal for him as he goes back to a winning team where he can really make an impact and truth be told, I'm glad to see him switch conferences to the East.

Pride and stupidity kick in and when I see the Dallas Mavericks have made an offer to Zelipe Gama, whose greatly reduced his asking price, I pursue him with a mid-level exemption. Sadly, I can't match the the 3 years, $20 million Dallas tosses his way to maintain him.

Dismay reigns in Cleveland when John Aylsworth betrays the Cavaliers by signing with the rival Bulls on a mid-level exemption. Chicago's looking really good this year and appear to have sorted out the chaotic chemistry mess that plagued them for so many years despite their talent level. Of course, their payroll is ridiculous... to the tune of $64.1 million in excess after that little deal.

Then Carlton Goree turns around and does the same thing, rejecting us for a one year, $5.5 million deal from the Utah Jazz. Ugh. He followed the damn money. Not that I can blame him, I suppose, but it's still frustrating.

Our desparation for a legitimate backup PG leads us to sign Darrell James to a two year min-sal deal. He never has lived up to the heady play of his first two seasons, but he's still a reliable veteran to have around on the bench.

One more exchange to make to bring us under $10 million and the best deal involves those devils in Dallas.

Denver Nuggets receive
PG Zelipe Gama
PG Ron Morant
Dallas Mavericks 2026 1st round pick

Dallas Mavericks receive
SF Jeremy Leach
SF Calvis Hayes
Denver Nuggets 2026 2nd round pick
Los Angeles Lakers 2026 2nd round pick

What this means for the Nuggets
GM Jestor's favorite Spainard returns to the Nuggets and although he's 32 years old, Gama still has the same steady, confident game he developed in his first tour of duty in Denver. Not a flashy player, but a steady one and an excellent floor general. He'll slide back into his old starting PG spot, relieving the crisis that erupted in Denver. Mateen Yeaton returns to the 2 spot, with David Jackson or Jeramine Trask the three. Morant is one of those rare 2nd round picks (36th overall, Dallas, 2021 draft), that has made it in the league and he's got good defensive skills and the type of passing and ballhandling ability that make him the perfect reserve guard. If he can develop his scoring instincts more, he'll be a real gem for Denver. The 1st round pick is a probable #30.

What this means for the Mavericks
Leach is another deadly shooter on a team that already has Marcelino Augusto, Devone Allen and Charles Arnold. Dallas's solution? Start Leach at the point. It's completely unorthodox, but the Mavericks don't care. They're convinced they'll find a way to win their third straight title, matching the feat most recently achieved by the Toronto Raptors and the Denver Nuggets the last six seasons previous to Dallas's two straight titles. As head coach Avery Johnson says, "So what if we can't pass all that well? We'll just outshoot them."

Winner: Draw
The trade comes with potential drawbacks for each team. Denver just lost a surehanded sharpshooter, meaning they'll have to rely on a 35 year old Yeaton and Tim Butler for their offense and there's no guarantee the Gama/Yeaton backcourt will be able to replicate its old magic. Then again, the Nuggets are only rumored to only be shooting for the playoffs this season. On the flip side, the Mavericks might now have too many shooters to satisfy and the balance of their chemistry and offense may be ruined without a true PG.

Whatever. I'm happy with the move and so is Bob Neal, who happily notes we're just $9.6 million over the cap with 14 players signed.

Training Camp
Nice camp by Ron Morant, even better than that of Aaron Brennan, actually. Darren Davis has a decent camp, but Justin Cherry is a major disappointment. Jermaine Trask has an incredible training camp and he really forced David Jackson to earn his starting spot this year. I wouldn't be surprised to see Trask take over at some point during the season. Tzvetan Kishishev also looks really good and impresses. Mateen Yeaton really appeared a step slower in camp and I'm worried for how he'll do this season.

Overall though, I'm quite pleased with how things went.

The preseason magazines are very unflattering, ranking us 12th in the conference and only ahead of the Timberwolves in the division. The Clippers are the favorites, which I can definitely see, though the Rockets at #2 is an extremely iffy pick. Dallas is tabbed #3 because of concerns about their PG situation, while the Warriors are a fascinating #4 pick as they finally look poised to break their playoff drought. Then again, they've appeared that way for several years now and haven't. Carlton Goree is a big part of why Utah's the favorites in the Northwest, but I tend to think it's going to be the Trailblazers this year. I also don't get the preseason scribes picking the Hornets to finally reach the playoffs this season. Um, no. Not even close to the talent needed to make the postseason, especially not with that crappy a backcourt.

Chicago's the favorites in the East, but the magazines are deranged if they think the Pacers are a #2 seed. Ryan Sweetwyne as the starting C makes the Wizards as #3 a joke. In all truth, Toronto, who's going with an ageless Utah Sixer Brandon Brooks as the starting PG, should be the favorites, followed by either the Bulls or the fast-rising Nets, who are #5. The Knicks are rated #6 because of concerns about their bench, which is fair.

2023 Denver Nuggets Opening Night Lineup
PG Zelipe Gama
SG Mateen Yeaton
SF David Jackson
PF Tim Butler
C Andrew Bynum
6th Jermaine Trask (PG/SF/PF/C)
7th Aaron Brennan (PG)
8th Ron Morant (PG/SG)
9th Tzvetan Kishishev (SF/PF/C)
10th Darrell James (PG/SG)
11th Jason Tackett (PG/SG/SF)
12th Darren Davis (PG/SG/SF)

D-League
Joem Layne (Starting SF)
Justin Cherry (Starting SG)

...Yeah. Bynum should -not- be the starting C. He's 37 years old and his skills have quit on him. It should be Trask at the 3, Jackson at the 5, but what can you do? Jim O'Brien is convinced Bynum's still got it.