Many times in the series against Golden State, Ty Lawson would drive into the lane and look for the kick out to a 3 point shooter, but here is the punch line, there were none. Nobody on the Nuggets could consistently hit their 3 pointers when the Nuggets needed it the most. Yes, they were missing Gallo, but he only shot 37% on the year. Wilson Chandler could not buy a three to save his life after hitting on 41% of his attempts in the regular season. What can the Nuggets do to remedy this problem?
They could work on threes as a team, but that will only get them so far. There are a couple of free agents that they can look at. The number one option should be going after sharpshooter Kyle Korver. For the Hawks last season he shot 45.7% from range and shoots 41% for his career. He comes with downsides however, he cant do much else on the offensive end and he is a liability on defense, as are most other pure shooters. They could also go for Mike Dunleavy. He shot 42% from range last season, but 37% for his career. He is longer than Korver, standing at 6 feet 9 inches.
If Iguodala leaves in free agency I could see the Nuggets pursuing J.J. Reddick. He would come at a higher price than either Korver or Dunleavy, but he can do so much more than them. He averaged 15 points per game with Orlando last season until he was traded to the Bucks where he did not fit at all. He is not strictly a three point shooter which makes him much more valuable. This signing would be a long shot, but it is a possibility if the Nuggets front office deems Igoudala too pricy.
There are also options in the draft, but the past 2 years the Nuggets have drafted two guards/forwards in Fournier and Hamilton. Hamilton is the better shooter, but Fournier will continue to play in front of him because he is a better player and is a decent shooter himself. The Nuggets are also drafting way down at 27. It will be hard for them to find a quality player way down there, who will be able to start right away. They will likely draft a big man anyways.
If the Nuggets can find someone who can shoot the ball they could make some noise, but if they dont they will be in for another disappointing season.
The Nuggets need a shooter more than anything else. I dont see why they would draft a center. Koufos is solid and Mcgee as potential
ReplyDeleteA shooter is the Nuggets biggest need. However, they also need a center. Koufos played abysmal at the end of they year and I doubt McGee will ever be more than a bench player. I will discuss this further in a later post
DeleteKoufos played well for most of the year. That should count for something. Cant have a double standard. You say Ty is great, but he had a terrible 2012.
DeleteYes, but Lawson actually played great when he started to play. Koufos on the other hand only upped his level to decent/serviceable. Plus Lawson kept it up for 4 months while Koufos only played well for a 2 week stretch.
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