The Nuggets were in discussions with the Suns about an Eric Bledsoe trade, but it appears their decision not to offer too much for a new starting point guard is paying dividends. Jamal Murray, who has been Denver’s starting point guard since the beginning of the season, is playing well and the team is encouraged by his development.
“I love the pace he’s playing with,” said coach Michael Malone after a recent game (via Christopher Dempsey of NBA.com). “He’s got to set the pace that we want to play at, he’s got to be aggressive and he’s got to play with confidence. And you’re seeing that a lot more consistently right now. He’s starting to become a consistent starting point guard in the NBA.”
The 2016 No. 7 overall pick spent much of his playing time at shooting guard during his rookie season, but this year, he’s seeing all of his minutes at the one.
Here’s more on the Nuggets:
- Denver had a deal in place to trade Jameer Nelson to a lottery team for a protected second-rounder prior to the season, though the team could “not stomach” sending the 35-year-old to a bad team, sources tell Zach Lowe of ESPN. The Nuggets ended up waiving Nelson, a move that allowed the vet to pick his own suitor.
- Malone would have liked to keep Nelson on the team, though he is supportive of the organization’s decision to let the veteran go, Lowe relays in the same piece. “It was tough to see Jameer go,” Malone says. “The players trusted him. I find value in veteran mentors. In our meetings, of course I brought up all the reasons it made sense to keep him. But you have to think big picture. It wasn’t like I was kicking and screaming. By the end, we were all on board.”
- The Nuggets had exploratory discussions with the Cavs about Kyrie Irving prior to them dealing away the point guard, though talks never got that far, per Lowe (same piece). The scribe notes that Murray, Wilson Chandler, and a lightly-protected first-rounder would have intrigued Cleveland, but Murray was never on the table.
So the management of the Nuggets is more concerned about the feelings of a player that is no longer on their roster than the future of their franchise? Being nice to players is one thing, but you don’t do it at the expense of your team. If I was the owner, I would fire the whole lot of them immediately.
But if you treat your players nicely, you build up a good image of your organization and will become more attractive to free agents. You can’t just focus on the tangibles.
This right here is why your not an owner.
Whats worth more to the org, a protected 2nd rounder (essentially worthless) or the positive image this story projects to other veterans considering playing for Denver in the future?
A protected second would have yielded the next Jordan then?
Nuggets should have offered Murray for Irving, who is tearing it up. Maybe some around Denver have been pointing up the performance differences.