Will Barton‘s per-minute production this season has dipped significantly when he hasn’t received regular and significant minutes, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post details. Barton has always said he’s the kind of player who gets better the more time he spends on the court, and his numbers have backed that up, so the Nuggets will have to find a way to take advantage of that while finding sufficient minutes for their other rotation players, writes Dempsey.
“It’s a balance of trying to find ways to get him more minutes,” head coach Mike Malone said of Barton. “And it’s not an easy one because Jameer [Nelson] has played well, Gary [Harris] has played well, [Danilo Gallinari] has played well, Jamal Murray – a guy that we believe is a big part of our future – I have to play him. I have to find ways so that when he comes back next year, his rookie season has not been a waste. So, therein lies the challenge of getting Will Barton more minutes when we are fully healthy. But that is something that we constantly talk about and are trying to figure out.”
Malone didn’t even mention Wilson Chandler, who would reportedly like to have a more defined role in the Nuggets’ rotation. The team’s problem of having too many solid players and not enough minutes to go around extends to the frontcourt, where the club has struggled to find consistent minutes for someone like Jusuf Nurkic.
A trade could help the Nuggets narrow down their rotation, and one of our additional items out of Denver relates to that subject. Let’s dive in…
- Rival executives believe the Nuggets’ front office wants to be active at the trade deadline, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. As Kennedy outlines, few NBA teams have the combination of veterans, young players, future draft picks, and cap room that Denver possesses, which makes the Nuggets an interesting team to keep an eye on as the deadline approaches.
- We have a full breakdown of the Nuggets’ cap situation for 2016/17 right here, including salary details on the team’s latest 10-day signings.
- In a fascinating piece for Sports Illustrated, Lee Jenkins takes a closer look at the unusual path Nikola Jokic has taken over the last several years, from a second-round pick to a core piece for Denver’s long-term future.
The Nugs will never be a legit contender while Josh Kroenke, Stan’s spoiled brat son, is running the team.
Denver needs to move some of their assets for a star while they still have value. They have almost too much depth, which would normally be a good thing, but no star player to be the go-to guy. Moving foward, the only guy who should be untouchable should be Jokic. Headline a deal with one of Harris/Murray and also throw in some combination of Faried/Nurkic/Mudiay/Nelson/Chandler/Gallinari/Barton.
I could see Denver having pieces for a potential Butler deal, if he does in fact get moved.
Butler and Gibson for Jamal Murray/Emanuel Mudiay, Will Barton, Nurkic, Faried Memphis 2017 1st rounder and Denver’s 2018 1st rounder?
That would force the bulls to release 3 of their own players. If the bulls happen to add a third team it could work, but I don’t see it happening. This would be the only type of deal that would make it work. Nuggets get Butler and Lou Williams. Bulls get: mudiay, nurkic, the picks you stated plus a future lakers 1st and Larry nance. Lakers get Murray and McDermott. Give me feedback on this one because I completely just threw it out there without looking at salaries or anything. And bulls would likely have to move Gibson somewhere to stay under 15 players I believe so probably to LA. Thoughts?
The bulls can figure out who to drop/trade in the scenario I threw out there. There are multiple options. Your deal is pretty close, although I’d think they could get more from Boston, Milwaukee or Minnesota. Also, I don’t see Denver being willing to move both Mudiay and Jamal Murray. The Lakers also wouldn’t get Murray and McDermott for Lou Williams, Larry Nance, and a future 1st, but I might be undervaluing both Lou and Nance. Regardless, I don’t think the Bulls give Butler and McDermott and not get more for Butler, as much as that is. I just think they’d get slightly more, especially b/c of his contract, and what I’m assuming will be an attempt to find better fit for their roster. Finally, I’m too lazy to look up the money on your deal, but I do know it lines up on mine.
…also that’s 2 players. To clarify, my deal was Mudiay or Murray
Agreed. No way Denver agrees to give all that up while Lakers are only giving up Lou Williams, Larry Nance, and a future first. I don’t think Milwaukee could offer more than that (outside of also getting into a three team deal) and while Minnesota might be able to, Rubio isn’t enough of a headliner, doubt they want to move Dunn, and LaVine’s injury temporarily takes him out of any trade talks leaving Minnesota with not many assets outside of Towns, Wiggins, and Dieng.
If the Bulls didn’t want Murray (for whatever reason) and were more interested in Mudiay, I don’t see Denver shipping Murray to LA for Williams when Murray and Barton can do exactly what Williams does. I also think that the Bulls would rather move Mirotic before McDermott.
We shouldn’t think addition by subtraction. We should key on an asset and determine what that asset can replace.