![]() ![]() Gallinari shot 5.1 3-pointers for the second straight season, but on three fewer shot attempts per game. 401 as he relied increasingly on his 3-pointer. Naturally, Gallinari saw a reduction in his shot attempts and points per game but, more troublingly, his field goal percentage fell to. Last year Gallinari was worked back into the rotation, predominately coming off the bench until Arron Afflalo was traded. QUESTION MARKĬan Danilo Gallinari return to his preinjury form? The 6 foot 10 sweet shooting small forward has been in recovery mode since tearing his ACL on April 5, 2013, missing the entire 2013-14 season. Nurkic, just 20 years old, has shown flashes of the ability to be a plus-level paint defender, but is still likely two or three years away from doing it with consistency. Faried, in particular, has been called out for his porous defense over the years. Unless he's a miracle worker, I don't see Malone able to teach Gallinari, Faried, and Chandler to be good defenders. With new personnel filling the head coach and point guard roles, it is difficult to predict how changes to the team's style will affect performance, or even what those changes will be. Only combo guard Nick Johnson stuck with the team (Papanikolaou is technically still on Denver's roster, but is going through the waiver process at the time of this writing). One week later, Lawson was traded to the Rockets for Nick Johnson, Joey Dorsey, Pablo Prigioni, and Kostas Papanikolaou. Traditionally, these are elements that would keep a rookie point guard from seeing heavy minutes, but after Ty Lawson was arrested on suspicion of DUI for the second time in six months (and fourth time overall) on July 14, it was clear that the Nuggets would be looking to make a change. Mudiay's biggest opportunities lie in improving his outside shot and limiting his turnovers. Because of his long arms and willingness to put in the effort, Mudiay is projected to eventually be a plus defender, though he can be inconsistent. Additionally, Mudiay excelled in transition, and showed promise running the pick and roll. Mudiay has an explosive first step, and is able to finish above the rim. Mudiay's season was cut short by an ankle injury after only 10 games, but he was able to further demonstrate that he is physically ready for the NBA. Originally from the Congo, Mudiay attended several prep schools in Texas before deciding to forgo college altogether and play overseas, joining the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association. 7 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, and used it to select Emmanuel Mudiay, widely considered the best point guard in the draft. His teams tend to play a middling pace, so it will be interesting to see if he is willing to push the tempo and try to wear out the opposition in the mile-high city. ![]() After years around the league as an assistant, and a head coaching gig with the Sacramento Kings, Malone is highly regarded as a defensive-minded coach. On June 15, Mike Malone was announced as the Nuggets' new head coach. While there wasn't a lot of roster shakeup in the offseason, the changes that took place were major ones. Assistant coach Melvin Hunt took over head coaching duties on an interim basis for the rest of the season as the team played out the string. Two weeks later, Shaw was mercifully fired. The same day, enigmatic center JaVale McGee was sent off to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Nuggets also received a protected first round pick. 19, starting shooting guard Arron Afflalo and small forward Alonzo Gee were traded to the Portland Trailblazers for Thomas Robinson, Victor Claver, and Will Barton. First, Timofey Mozgov was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for two protected first round picks on January 7. ![]() Unfortunately, the players seemed to tune Shaw out early in the season, and they never managed to be competitive, suffering through four separate losing streaks of at least six games.Īs the losses mounted up, Denver GM Tim Connelly decided he had seen enough. The Nuggets were the fourth fastest team in the league, in terms of pace. The Nuggets started the season off as a transition team, with Lawson doing serious damage pushing the pace. Hickson and returning small forward Danilo Gallinari. Denver had some nice pieces in Kenneth Faried, Ty Lawson, and the newly (re)acquired Arron Afflalo, to go with supporting cast players such as J.J. Roster Subtractions: Ian Clark, Ty LawsonĪfter a 2013-14 season filled with injury and frustration, Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw was ready to compete with a full roster of talent. Roster Additions: Nick Johnson, Nikola Jokic, Emmanuel Mudiay (rookie, no. ![]()
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