Denver Nuggets Blog – Roundball Mining Company » 2009

More Media Reports of Weems and Sharpe Heading to Milwaukee

July 31, 2009
by Jeremy

Gery Woelfel from The Journal Times of Racine, WI is reporting what we thought we already knew up until yesterday. Sonny Weems and Walter Sharpe will be sent to the Milwaukee Bucks for Malik Allen. Apparently Denver was unable to acquire Bruce Bowen’s non guaranteed contract as part of the deal.

Update: The Nuggets have officially confirmed the trade. Until Bowen is waived by the Bucks I guess anything can happen, but the fact the trade has been officially announced leads me to believe Denver will not be able to work anything out that would allow them to acquire Bowen and his non guaranteed deal (although again their interest in doing so was only speculation on my part).

When is a Buck a Nugget?

July 30, 2009
by Jeremy

Last night I decided to get more involved in Twitter (click on the blue ‘t’ under subscribe on the right sidebar to follow me, or I guess just click here). For the most part I purposely lag behind the latest trends and that has generally served me well. For example, I have never worn my jeans rolled up and folded tight to my leg for even a single second of my life.

However, my avoidance of what is hip can be detrimental, especially when it comes to new technology. My college friends still mock me for purchasing tapes long after compact discs were all the rage. (In my defense I did not have my own CD player so why buy something I could only enjoy when I was at college? As a result I still have well over 100 tapes jammed into the corner of my closet. Anyone looking for a copy of Belinda Carlisle’s greatest hits? OK, this parenthetical section has gone on long enough.)

Little did I know my new found enthusiasm for Twitter would drop a potential story in my lap in less than a day. When asked in a tweet by reader barchy why a week after being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks he still has not changed his background photo depicting him in a Nuggets uniform Weems tweeted back that he is “Not traded.” Needless to say, that came as a surprise to me. The trade had been widely reported as a done deal. After all, I have already put together a film room segment on Malik Allen for heaven’s sake.

Looking for answers I emailed Chris Tomasson, former Rocky Mountain News Nuggets beat writer, to see if he was aware of any snag in the trade. He checked a source and apparently the trade is still a go, just not official. It is possible that the transaction has been delayed until the Milwaukee Bucks decide what to do with Bruce Bowen. His $4 million salary is not fully guaranteed until August 1, which is over 23 hours away.

If that is the case, (caution: pure speculation ahead) perhaps it is possible the two teams are working on an expanded trade that would include Bowen. If Denver could get Milwaukee to take Steven Hunter for Bowen they could waive Bowen and save nearly $8 million in salary and tax payments. Of course, with the trade exceptions Denver has, they can work out more complicated deals that would save less money too. Regardless of what might be in the works, a deal for Bowen that saves money would be a major coup although Denver would certainly have to sacrifice a future first rounder to close the deal.

One way or another we should know in the next couple of days if Sonny Weems can keep his Twitter background photo.

Anthony Carter Contract Update

July 30, 2009
by Jeremy

Chris Tomasson, writing for Pro Basketball news, is reporting that the Denver Nuggets have an offer on the table for Anthony Carter to return to Denver in 2009-10.

The deal is reportedly a one year contract for the ten plus year veteran minimum of $1,306,455. At this point Carter is hoping to find a team willing to offer him a multi year contract and has yet to agree to return to Denver. From a cap standpoint, because it is a minimum contract his salary will not count against the $2.1 million remaining from the Nuggets’ mid level exception.

When the Nuggets acquired Ty Lawson on draft night many fans thought that was the end of Carter’s time in Denver. As good as Lawson is, and he is very good, you never know how a rookie point guard is going to handle the step up from college to the NBA.

One of the primary concerns about Lawson is his ability to defend. I thought he played very solid man to man defense in Las Vegas during the NBA summer league, but he struggled fighting over screens and I doubt he is ready to chase someone like Jason Terry all over the floor and around screen after screen.

Anthony Carter has proven he can do that and Denver may need him to do it again next season.

I think we all know that the chances of Carter getting a multi year contract offer are only slightly greater than my seven year-old daughter realizing that Hannah Montana is not actually funny. If he was going to get a two or three year contract, it would have happened last summer.

As much as I would honestly like to see Carter get a nice fat contract from somewhere, it just is not going to happen. There were rumors that Memphis was interested, but as Tomasson reported in the article linked above, they have decided on Marcus Williams. I am not sure what other teams have made overtures to Carter, if any, and I honestly do not think it matters. Carter is a good fit in Denver. He has a strong advocate on the bench in George Karl and depending on how Lawson adjusts, Carter’s skills may be dearly needed by the Nuggets for at least one more season.

There are few things we can count on in this world, but if you want to bet on something, bet that Carter will return to Denver. He will have basically the same contract as last season, but heading into camp his role is nowhere near as defined. The really good news for Nuggets fans is if Lawson plays as well as I expect him to, Carter will be by far the best third string point guard in the NBA.

George Karl Uncensored

July 29, 2009
by Jeremy

Editor’s note: Summer league may be over, but that does not mean we have to let it go. Bret Bearup, Mark Warkentien and George Karl were all interviewed during Denver Nuggets games. I was able to get very low quality recordings of the interviews so crank the volume on your computer and enjoy.

George Karl runs the anchor leg in the third and final segment in our series of summer league interviews. He discusses whether or not he thinks Ty Lawson is a good fit for the Nuggets (I think you can guess where he comes down on that), if he thinks Stan Kroenke is willing to spend extra cash and what he thinks of J.R. Smith all while watching his son dominate the San Antonio Spurs.

Click here to listen.

I thought it was telling that Karl reported that he told Sonny Weems that he “does not need another scorer” yet Weems clearly focused almost entirely on his offense in Vegas and is now a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. Coincidence? I found it intriguing to hear Bret Bearup talk about Weems progress from the point of view of a talent evaluator while Karl held a different view of Sonny’s development because he has to evaluate him as a coach. We all know that what a coach wants and what front office personnel think is best for the team can frequently be mutually exclusive, and with Weems in Las Vegas we have a perfect example of that dichotomy.

Looking back at the three interviews we have posted I thought it was enjoyable to listen to how they all talked about how great Dahntay Jones was for them last season, but if you listen between the lines I think each and every one of them were astonished at the money the Indiana Pacers threw at him. They all basically said they never would have given Jones $11 million without actually saying they never would have given him $11 million.

Carmelo Anthony Launches “This is Melo”

July 29, 2009
by Jeremy

Carmelo Anthony has launched a new website called This is Melo that is intended to create a “community of fans and followers” to network together and find out all they could ever want to know about Carmelo.

The press release announcing the launch says that the site will “continue building Carmelo Anthony into a global brand whose passions extend beyond sports and into areas of entertainment, fashion, travel, philanthropy and fatherhood.”

The launch coincides with a marketing campaign that Melo is a part of for the Tag Body Spray Signature Series that Melo is a part of along with rapper Ludacris and pro skater Rob Drydek.

The site has several sections including a members’ only area called “Club Melo” where members can “access exclusive news” that pertains to Anthony. In a slap to Kobe Bryant’s pay per access subscription site Club Melo appears to be free. There is also second phase planned that will add merchandising to the endeavor.

I am not sure how becoming a global icon meshes with winning championships all I know is I hope Melo is working on his left hand and getting in the best shape of his career while he globalises himself.

The website looks great so check it out and let me know what you think.

Mark Warkentien – In His Own Words

July 29, 2009
by Jeremy

Editor’s note: Summer league may be over, but that does not mean we have to let it go. Bret Bearup, Mark Warkentien and George Karl were all interviewed during Denver Nuggets games. I was able to get very low quality recordings of the interviews so crank the volume on your computer and enjoy.

After listening to Bret Bearup we are moving on to Mark Warkentien, the front man for the Denver Nuggets management team. I listened to a great many interviews that were part of the summer league game broadcasts and I think Warkentien was the only guest who actually stayed after the end of the quarter and kept talking. He is definitely a gregarious guy and the announcers were clearly impressed with him.

Click here to listen.

I thought Warkentien’s comment that Coby Karl is better on a good team than a bad team was interesting. The Nuggets are clearly a good team. It was also good to hear him say that they have demonstrated that the organization is not afraid to make a big move and they will pull the trigger when the right deal comes along. I also got a kick out of how he insisted that Linas Kleiza when it seems pretty clear that they could have signed him to a modest long term contract by now. He also really talks up Afflalo, and I believe with good reason.

Another very interesting comment Warkentien made was how the Camby trade was an investment in Nene, which we all realized at the time, but also how when Denver passed on Ron Artest two seasons ago, he mentions that it was an investment in J.R.

Of course, the highlight was the dissertation on the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and Huntsville Flight.

The third and final interview featuring George Karl will post this afternoon.

Bret Bearup Exposed!

July 28, 2009
by Jeremy

We start our troika of interviews with Bret Bearup, the most mysterious of the Nuggets front office muckety mucks. No one really knows exactly what Bearup’s role is with Denver, but he clearly speaks with authority and claims that he recommended both Mark Warkentien and Rex Chapman to Denver. I would think that gives him some serious pull.

During the interview Bearup talks about how he is pleased with the progress that Sonny Weems has made, the chances of Coby Karl making the roster and his opinion of George Karl.

Click here to listen.

Listening to what he says about Coby I would not be surprised to find out that the Weems trade was intended to clear up a spot for Karl the Younger. Regarding Ty Lawson, the way he describes the role they see Lawson playing it sounds a lot like what Anthony Carter has done for Denver in the past. I think the Nuggets brass is expecting Lawson to be the backup point guard for most if not all the season.

I also thought it was interesting to hear that he verifies that the room they budgeted for the Camby trade exception was eaten up by acquiring Chauncey Billups. Bearup verifies that the plan was to acquire a point guard with the exception, but once the Billups trade presented itself it plugged that hole in the budget and on the court. Even if they let the exception expire in November, I think everything has worked out pretty well.

Next up is an interview with Warkentien. Look for that tomorrow morning.

Video Scouting Report Malik Allen

July 28, 2009
by Jeremy

In the aftermath of the Denver Nuggets acquisition of Malik Allen there was widespread disinterest. I decided to take advantage of that disinterest and throw together some actual footage of Allen playing NBA basketball. We are fortunate that Allen played the eighteenth most minutes of the season (for him at least) when Milwaukee came to the Pepsi Center so we have plenty of material to choose from. I have pieced together some of the most relevant clips I could find. If you find them boring, do not blame me, blame Allen.

It is pretty clear that Allen is not exceptionally fleet of foot. Sadly it is a matter of the spirit being willing and the flesh being weak. He certainly knows how to play and you can tell that he cares and tries to do his job. His physical limitations prevent him from getting to spots or rebounding out of his area. He is a sound player and certainly belongs on an NBA roster. However, at this stage of his career I would much rather see the Nuggets bring back Johan Petro over Allen for a cheap emergency big. At worst he is an expiring contract that could be paired with Steven Hunter and perhaps Renaldo Balkman whose rights could be renounced following the season making his contract a de facto expiring deal.

Looking at Allen’s advanced stats, he is an inefficient scorer due to his perimeter based game and his rebound rate is not what you would expect from a power forward/center. After his rookie season when he only played 161 minutes and he posted a somewhat respectable rebound rate of 13.8, he has never produced a rebound rate over 11.5 and he has not cracked 10.7 over the previous three seasons. As a point of reference Carmelo Anthony had rebound rates of 11.0 in 2007-08 and 11.5 in 2008-09.

To wrap things up according to John Hollinger’s player comparison model Allen is most like Peja Drobnjak (no longer appearing in this league).

Denver Nuggets Adding Beijing to Preseason Destinations

July 22, 2009
by Jeremy

You may recall that the Denver Nuggets will be playing the Indiana Pacers in Taipei on October 8. That will not be their only stop in the Orient.

The NBA has announced that the same two teams will play in Beijing on October 11. I think everyone expected to have at least one other date added as it would make little sense to fly 35 hours or however long it takes to get over there for only one contest.

The game will be played in Wukesong Arena, formerly the Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena, which has been refurbished and holds a capacity of 17,022 spectators. According to Sun Kanglin, President of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sport, it will be the third time NBA teams play each other in Beijing. It will also be one of five NBA games played outside the United States this preseason. In addition to the Nuggets and Pacers playing in Taipei and China the Chicago Bulls will face the Utah Jazz in London, the Jazz will play Real Madrid in Spain and the Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers will face off in Monterrey, Mexico.

Hopefully, the Nuggets and Pacers games will be televised on NBATV, but there has been no word yet on any broadcast plans.

Sonny Weems Traded to the Milwaukee Bucks

July 21, 2009
by Jeremy

The Denver Post has confirmed the Denver Nuggets have agreed to send Sonny Weems and the recently acquired Walter Sharpe to the Milwaukee Bucks for Malik Allen. My initial reaction is…why? Allen clearly does not have the upside of Weems, or even Sharpe for that matter. The only real skill Allen has is his ability to hit the open jumper.

Financially this deal will save the Nuggets $172,840 in salary and an equal amount in luxury tax. $345,680 is nothing to sneeze at, trust me I wish I had that much in my bank account right now, but it also is not an amount of money that you would give up a talented player like Sonny Weems for.

Weems has shown that he still has a long ways to go before he fulfills his potential. During the Nuggets fifth summer league game George Karl listed off a bevy of concerns about Weems’ game, plays out of control, does not know a good shot from a bad one, does not commit to defense, but then he also said that Weems and Arron Afflalo would be fighting for the minutes that Dahntay Jones played last season in camp. As a side note, Afflalo is clearly the backup to J.R. Smith now although he always had a big advantage over Weems thanks to his ability to play defense.

Weems did not shoot the ball well in Las Vegas, but he rebounded like a big man and showed some growth on defense even from just a couple of months ago when he played in the D-League finals with the team formerly known as the Colorado 14ers.

Many of us have watched Weems and seen a comparison between him and J.R. Smith. Weems does not have Smith’s range, but he is an explosive athlete, capable of playing good defense and contributing to a good team. So I keep asking myself why.

As I said in my post discussing the original rumor, I do not see Allen getting very many minutes with Denver. Even if Weems and Sharpe did not appear to be contributors for next season, neither does Allen.

One thing we know is that the Nuggets front office has been highly competent over the previous couple of seasons. I think we can conclude that this trade is not as much about the personnel as it is building towards something else. What that is I have no idea.

The Nuggets now have 11 players under contract with Linas Kleiza and Anthony Carter still floating around out there. Assuming they resigned Carter and still have their eye on one more player that would put them at the league minimum of 13 players on the roster. Perhaps the Nuggets wanted to be at 13 players instead of 14. However, that makes little sense because as noted above if players 13 and 14 are Weems and Sharpe, they only cost $345,680 more in salary and tax payments than having Allen as your thirteenth man on the roster.

The only rational explanation I can come up with is the Nuggets are working on something that will bring in more than one player. What that is I have no idea, but this trade is certainly a move with the intention of setting up something else. It has to be, because if it isn’t it makes no sense to me at all.

From the Bucks point of view, I think they did this deal to acquire Weems, not to dump salary as the original rumor postulated. The inclusion of Sharpe in the transaction prevents the Bucks from saving much money by waiving Weems.

In conclusion, for those of you who love reading the Collective Bargaining Agreement you will wonder how Sharpe can be traded with Weems so soon after the Nuggets acquired him. The rule is a player cannot be traded with another player for two months after he is initially acquired via trade or signed off of waivers. The Nuggets and Bucks can get around this by using trade exceptions. Milwaukee apparently has a trade exception of $1.853 million and we all know about the Nuggets trade exceptions. Denver c an easily fit Allen in what remains of the Atkins exception and in return will receive two trade exceptions back from Milwaukee for $736,420, which will both be practically useless.

Record	52 - 24
Pythagorean Record	50.4- 25.6
Projected Pyth Rec (82 Gms)	54.3 - 27.7
Defensive Efficiency	102.1
Offensive Efficiency	107.5
Pace Factor	97.2
Field Goal %	48.1%
Opp Field Goal %	44.6%
3P Field Goal %	34.0%
Opp 3P Field Goal %	36.47%
Free Throw %	69.9%
Opp Free Throw %	73.5%
Effective FG%	51.8%
Opp Effective FG%	49.4%
True Shooting %	54.7%
Opp True Shooting %	53.0%
Def Rebound Rate	72.1%
Off Rebound Rate	31.4%
Total Rebound Rate	52.0%

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More Media Reports of Weems and Sharpe Heading to Milwaukee

When is a Buck a Nugget?

Anthony Carter Contract Update

George Karl Uncensored

Carmelo Anthony Launches “This is Melo”

Mark Warkentien – In His Own Words

Bret Bearup Exposed!

Video Scouting Report Malik Allen

Denver Nuggets Adding Beijing to Preseason Destinations

Sonny Weems Traded to the Milwaukee Bucks

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Nuggets Advanced Stats(Through 76 Games)

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Nuggets Advanced Stats
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