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Former Nuggets staffer acknowledges trade rumors hurt play [article]
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martin
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3/24/2011  2:18 PM
Former Nuggets staffer acknowledges trade rumors hurt play

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/03/24/former-nuggets-staffer-acknowledges-trade-rumors-hurt-play/

Kurt Helin

Mar 24, 2011, 1:35 PM EDT

It was pretty clear by the end that impacts of the Carmelo Anthony trade rumors had bled onto the court for the Denver Nuggets. They were not the same team that started the season, the one that seemed to have potential.

Dean Oliver was a former front office guy and staticiscian for Denver who last month swtiched jobs to write and work for ESPN. Writing for TrueHoop, he provided some interesting insight into how the trade rumors really hit the Nuggets. He said early on it was not bad — and the Nuggets were winning. That changed.

But on January 9, in the early minutes of a home game against New Orleans, news leaked out that hometown hero Chauncey Billups was to be included in a potential trade package to go to the Nets, along with Anthony. As a member of the Denver front office at the time, I was in the arena that night. (I left the Nuggets to join ESPN a few weeks before the Anthony trade.) If there was a time when it looked like the public trade talk started hurting the Nuggets, it was then.

Almost half the team’s players saw their names out there as potential ex-Nuggets. It’s hard to work when your future is that tenuous. It’s hard for coaches to push players who may not have a long-term future with the team.

That Sunday night, with a very negative buzz in the arena, the team crawled to a 96-87 loss. Before a similar trade with New York finally got done, the Nuggets went just 12-10.

Oliver, a stats guy — THE stats guy — knows that a teams emotional state plays a big role, and it has with the Nuggets post trade.

Denver coach George Karl got his “play hard” team, and that’s what the Nuggets did right away: play hard. Since the deal, Denver’s defense has been just a hair behind the Bulls for best in the entire NBA, allowing more than 10 points per 100 possessions fewer than before the deal…

On the offensive side of the ball, the emotional impact is also clear, as the team is sharing the ball very well. Most of the players are using between 17 percent and 22 percent of the team’s possessions, a far cry from when Melo was using 31 percent. Assisted baskets are up to 63 percent, from only 54 percent prior to the deal.

Oliver goes on to talk about things such as how Ty Lawson has always played better as a starter (which is one reason Raymond Felton comes off the bench) and how this trade has been a boon for him.

Come the playoffs, it’s still hard to see Denver knocking off one of the big four teams in the West. But whoever gets them in the first round is going to have to work hard to knock them off. And if the other team isn’t willing to work hard…. somebody is going to get upset in the West. Denver could be that team moving on.

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OasisBU
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3/24/2011  2:31 PM
I caught some of the game last night - the Nuggets will be scary in the playoffs. They have 2 squads that can really hurt a team - basically their second squad can come in and give you almost starter quality minutes - that insane.

They are deep, they are talented, an they are playing well. I could see them going to the WCF but the Spurs an Lakers will be tough.

"If at first you don't succeed, then maybe you just SUCK." Kenny Powers
crzymdups
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3/24/2011  2:38 PM
I thought it was funny that the Nuggets were led by Al Harrington last night. Don't see too many threads pining for that guy's return.
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Juice
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3/24/2011  2:38 PM    LAST EDITED: 3/24/2011  2:41 PM
It was a great trade for them short term and long-term.

Fans keep talking about Denver retaining their roster next year but like with all 30 teams it will come down to the new CBA. If the Lux Tax goes away and a hard cap comes into play Denver will be alright, but if things remain somewhat the same, they'll have some choices but not beyond hindrance. Their Free Agents all have cap holds putting them over the cap. They have the MLE/LLE/VME to use at their disposal, plus all the many great gifts we left them to improve. It's a matter of what they want their budget to look like as they can go over the cap to keep everything as is and add on top of it. If nothing were to change they have approximately $40mil to play with before hitting the Tax thresh hold(current deal) to retain(Nene/Chandler/Smith/Martin Afflalo). They can move Harrington/Andersen heck even Felton plus pick(s) and create more space if they want.

The trade talk most certainly hurt our team and IMO it hurt us all season not just in January. Maybe partly why I'm a little bitter at Melo/Lala for letting some of this get out during the summer. Who's to say what our package would have been like and season record... if things were kept kind of on the low like Deron Williams situation? Melo was ultra selfish here

TMS
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3/24/2011  8:46 PM
crzymdups wrote:I thought it was funny that the Nuggets were led by Al Harrington last night. Don't see too many threads pining for that guy's return.

lol... i was thinking the exact same thing.

After 7 years & 40K+ posts, banned by martin for calling Nalod a 'moron'. Awesome.
orangeblobman
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Nauru
3/24/2011  9:31 PM    LAST EDITED: 3/24/2011  9:31 PM
TMS wrote:
crzymdups wrote:I thought it was funny that the Nuggets were led by Al Harrington last night. Don't see too many threads pining for that guy's return.

lol... i was thinking the exact same thing.

Al will have one very good game every 10 or 15. It's nothing to pine about. That's why you don't see threads pining for his return.
Guy is a knucklehead 85.6% of the time.

WE AIN'T NOWHERE WITH THIS BUM CHOKER IN CARMELO. GIVE ME STARKS'S 2-21 ANY DAY OVER THIS LACKLUSTER CLUSTEREFF.
orangeblobman
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Nauru
3/24/2011  9:49 PM
As far as trade rumors hurting, well, you don't have to be Freud to discern that.

Man has job, wants to do his best. Man's future at his job is in question, man is distracted from doing best.

Trade rumors contribute to psychic entropy. A terrible distraction, the worst you can have as a professional. "What's the point if I'm going to be packing my bags, my life, in a few weeks?".

Don't give me should, should not. Yea, a robot should and would not be affected. But they bleed when sliced, in this case gashed.

WE AIN'T NOWHERE WITH THIS BUM CHOKER IN CARMELO. GIVE ME STARKS'S 2-21 ANY DAY OVER THIS LACKLUSTER CLUSTEREFF.
Former Nuggets staffer acknowledges trade rumors hurt play [article]

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