More Buzz on Arron Afflalo

July 10, 2009
by Jeremy

The Denver Post is reporting that the Denver Nuggets are indeed discussing the possibility of acquiring Arron Afflalo from the Detroit Pistons.  Chris Dempsey writes that Afflalo is “limited a bit defensively,” but I disagree.  I do not watch a lot of Pistons games, but my eyes tell me Afflalo can D it up pretty well at shooting guard and I am not the only one who thinks so.  Here is the first line from his DraftExpress profile:

Arron Afflalo is first and foremost a tough competitor. He prides himself in many different areas of his game, most notably his defense, and always wills himself to improve.

The more I think about it the more I suspect the Nuggets can get him for a second round pick.  They will have a high to mid second round pick available next season thanks to the Los Angeles Clippers second rounder that Denver has the option on in 2010 from the Marcus Camby deal.  Afflalo was a (late) first round pick in 2008 and it might seem Detroit deserves a first rounder in return based on his play, but what Detroit wants is cap space and the benefit they receive by trading Afflalo is the extra cash the deal would open up for them.  Because the Nuggets are giving them salary relief there is no need to give up a first round pick as part of the deal.

One other thing to keep in mind is the Nuggets have two trade exceptions they can choose from to use to trade for Afflalo.  They own a  $9,790,625 trade exception that was originally created in the Camby trade, but was recharged in the Billups deal.  It expires on November 3, 2009.  They also have a smaller, but still sizable $3,240,000 from the Chucky Atkins trade that expires on January 7, 2010.

If Denver does complete this trade, I think it will be interesting to see which exception they use.  The $9.8 million exception will expire first and they can extract Afflalo’s nearly $1.1 million salary from it and still have a big chunk of it still available (David Lee sign and trade anyone?).  On the other hand if they want to preserve the $9.8 million in its entirety they can pull the money out of the smaller $3.24 million exception.

I suspect they will use a portion of the $9.8 million exception because it expires first and removing $1.1 million from the lesser exception would greatly reduce its value.  However, if we find out they pull the money for our as of yet fictional trade from the $3.24 million exception we will know they are still hoping to pull off something big before the season starts with the larger exception.

It was not necessarily what I had in mind two weeks ago, but I am starting to think an Afflalo, Matt Barnes Joe Smith/Drew Gooden/Shelden Williams offseason might not be all that bad for the Nuggets.  All three players would come cheap and allow Denver to take on a little more salary at the trade deadline.

Of course, I read today that the Orlando Magic are reportedly turning their gaze on Barnes now that they have landed Brandon Bass and Barnes is supposedly choosing between Orlando and Cleveland (Dallas is mentioned as well, but that was before the Shawn Marion trade.

Posted on July 10, 2009 at 3:33 pm | filed in Analysis, News | 27 Comments
  • runningdonut

    I assume Chauncey knows Afflalo from last year. If he likes him and signs off on this then I hope we would not waste any time getting him. A Chauncey/Afflalo backcourt I can get behind if it means we’ll see less Chauncey/AC backcourt this year.

    I don’t really want Barnes, I wouldn’t be mad if we got him but I think we should aim higher. Besides underperforming in PHX last year and being benched for G Hill, there’s something I find generally off-putting about him. No offense or anything

  • runningdonut

    Oh yeah way to keep up with the breaking news today Jeremy

  • TheseNuggs

    yes i very much like the updates cant wait for some more news asap. Things could be worst then getting Afflalo. Havnt seen much of him from what i heard i thought things were the other way around that hes underwehlming offensively but pretty good defensively so if he comes cheap at 1.1 million and giving up just a 2nd round pick then im all for it.

    btw still holding out for getting david lee! every day seems like hes running out of options of places to go. Hes deff worth the money thats been given to the likes of hedo, sideshow bob in cleveland, and others who i feel have been overpaid.

  • Josh Hopp

    Hey everyone, what an offseason this is shaping up to be. I’ve been neglecting my beloved Nuggets these last few weeks but I’m back into it all now. I love the idea of Aaron Afflalo. He burned the Nuggets at least once this past season in the one of the Piston’s several wins against us. When AI returned to the Pepsi center for the first time after the trade Afflalo came up big. He is a tenacious defender and would be a nice addition, possibly to replace Jones. I think the David Lee talk is preposterous though. There is no way there are anough minutes to go around for Nene, Birdman, K-Mart and David Lee, essentially semi-marquee 3 power forwards. We need a true backup center who will be cheap and won’t demand too much burn in the mould of a Gortat or Haywood. My 2 cents.

  • TheseNuggs

    How anyone could be against david lee is beyond me. Its clear to me that with kenyon martins lucrative contract that he will not be in the nuggets future plans by the time it runs out or gets traded if thats somehow even manageable. With David Lee you get a proven double double machine hence why he led the league in that department. Yes even more double doubles then dwight. Also a career 56 % shooter and 76% free throw shooter sounds pretty good to me for a low post player. His work ethic is great a true all out hustler and genuine team player i can see being with nuggets in the long term. To say theyre is simply no minutes to go around is laughable when all that is talked about is how denver needs another big and some length. Both nene and kmart are injury prone or did we all forget that nene broke a bone in the last game of the playoffs. Also for a sign and trade to get lee we need to get rid of klieza freeing minutes. However every one is entitled to their opinions and we all want the same thing being denver improving on last year.

  • Othe33

    I would even take the other Lopez from Phoenix. We need more girth in the middle, even if it is without offensive skill. Portland is only going to be a year older and stronger. We know the damage all the size in LA can do. The Spurs are getting better.

    I agree that Lee is not the right player to add. He’s got the potential to have a long and productive career in the NBA, but his skills just don’t mesh, and he lacks the size to make a difference against the towers in the aforementioned cities.

    Linas Kleiza can contribute to the Nuggets success this season only by attaching himself to one of our trade exceptions and transforming into a large and active defender who can compete with Andrew Bynum, Joel Pryzbilla, Antonio McDyess, et. al.

  • runningdonut

    Robin Lopez? Pretty sure we had that guy last year, only with a bigger head and his name started with a J and ended with a ohan Petro.

    This team needs frontcourt depth and a big who can competently score the ball to a point where the other team will guard him. David Lee is a young double double machine who is poised get better, offensively and defensively. He can run the floor, score in the post, and most importantly rebound the basketball. The Nugs need some kind of plan to replace K-Mart once his toxic contract expires. Not only does Lee provide that important piece for the future but he can plug any holes in the frontcourt should the Nugs encounter an injury. It’s pretty much a no-brainer if the Nugs can somehow acquire him, which is unlikely. If you think it would be a bad idea to acquire him, I really don’t know what to say to you.

  • sleepydog

    please sign and trade for david lee! *fingers crossed* it would give us some insurance so we can begin to look to get rid of k-marts contract. i like the player ok, but the contract has got to go.

    i think lee would be a great addition, we need someone in the frontcourt to score consistently. nene’s random nights of 20+ points were nice, but too inconsistent. all the scoring load fell on our smalls, and they ran out of gas last year.

  • Alan15

    Wow i thought we gave up the David Lee to Denver talks a while ago…. Is there actually a chance again that this could really happen?? I would love seeing Lee in a Nuggs uniform also, but how would the minutes be handled between Nene, Bird, Kenyon and Lee??

  • TheseNuggs

    Hmm with no new articles of what denvers been up to. I will go ahead and post that according to bleacher report there has been some “small whispers” going around about Denver recieving Amare Stoudemire in exchange for Kleiza Kmart future draft pick and some cash considerations. Now this reprt could be all bogus I have no idea i thought it would be worth mentioning.

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/216568-sources-amare-stoudemire-could-be-heading-to-the-denver-nuggets

    Now getting amare for kmarts lucrative contract future pick some cash and kleiza is all worth getting amare however I keep tossing it around wether or not this is the move to get them a ring. Will there be simply too much offense to go around with J.R most likely getting the start this year. How does every one feel about this move if it were to happen? Im interested in some feed back please.
    No doubt does it make them scarrier on paper and by far one of the most telented and yet still young team with amare.

  • Josh Hopp

    Amare?? Holy cow!

  • Josh Hopp

    I don’t know… sounds like unsubstantiated speculation to me. Not even sure it helps us a great deal as you said. Amare has major issues with defense, injuries and attitude. K-Mart has done nothing but bust his ass for us defensively this past season. If he would stop chucking up those flat jumpers of his we would be all set.

  • TheseNuggs

    yes true but at the same time i couldnt help but be excited with a move like this. Also recently theres been more the one source saying this now about denver and amare.

    http://twitter.com/NBA_Rumors_News

  • TheseNuggs

    Good news for denver fans.
    Afflalo and Sharpe with cash to nugets for 2nd round pick

    Essentially getting two solid young guys with potential for only 1mill against the pay roll and a 2nd round pick.

    this deal could also be signs of another bigger deal denver may have in mind?
    adding afflalo to replace Djones but sharpe to replace kleiza maybe?

  • runningdonut

    Done deal. I don;t know who Sharpe is or if he can play. Is it possible for him to be waived? Link

    http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=4561

  • Stumbleweed

    Don’t know much about Sharpe, but he’s 6’9″, so that’s a good thing ha. I’m so hyped about this deal… might end up being one of those underrated pickups that ends up changing the dynamic of the team. Having another ball-handler/defender as well as another guy who can shoot the 3 is huge for us, especially if Lawson isn’t ready for a prime time 20 MPG role.

  • eric.yates

    Lawson will be fine. What does this do to the starting lineup now though. Does Afflalo come right in and start at 2 and still bring JR off the bench?

    I’m down with whatever Chauncey thinks is best.

  • Josh Hopp

    Like it, like it. Now we have like 8 power forwards though. Hopefully Sharpe can be disposed of. I still see JR Smith coming off the bench, much to his chagrin.

  • Stumbleweed

    Are you people nuts? JR is starting… Afflalo and Weems will battle for backup SG minutes and Afflalo can steal some PG minutes as well depending on what Lawson does. No way does Afflalo start, even in Dahntay fashion… it’s JR’s time.

  • Josh Hopp

    meh… who cares who starts. if karl wants to stick with the defensive minded starting unit he used last year why change it?

  • runningdonut

    I wonder if Sharpe can high-tail it to Vegas and play with the summer league team. Seeing how he’s getting guaranteed money next year it would be nice to get a look at him.

  • Stumbleweed

    RE: why not stick with stupid “defensive” lineup from last year (which actually had worse defensive efficiency numbers as well as FAR worse offensive numbers, leaving a net production hole at the end of the year)?

    Well, because we were always digging our way out of holes to start the 1st and 3rd quarters. Also, it’ll build chemistry if we have an actual starting 5 as opposed to a starting 5 that plays ~15 MPG and JR, who comes in with 5 different lineups every game and has an ever-changing role depending on who’s on the court with him.

    Having a consistent starting 5 that plays the vast majority of minutes is a winning formula — look at the championship Celtics, Lakers, etc. and you’ll see that their starting lineup plays the VAST majority of minutes all together, even with a 6th man like Odom who plays a lot. The Spurs are the one exception, but they already have superb chemistry from all the years Manu started and because they’ve had essentially the same core for 5+ years, unlike Denver who has had near-constant lineup upheaval. How can we expect a player like JR (a young guy who clearly still has a lot to learn about the game and team dynamic, especially on defense) to continue to grow and develop his role on the team to its full potential when his playing time and surrounding players are in constant flux?

    Go to 82games.com and look at the lineups for the Nuggets… the stupid Dahntay lineup still had the most minutes played together of any single lineup and it basically SUCKED, while JR was smattered around with about 10 different lineups, all of which were still better than the starting 5. Want some more reasons not to use the false starting 5? I thought about this crap all last year and it’s eating a hole in my brain… For the future (and current) sake of the team, JR needs to start. Afflalo might turn out to be a really nice player, but he’s not half of what JR is right now and is a backup in the NBA as this stage. Starting a backup player and giving him guaranteed minutes is a stupid strategy that championship teams don’t use… you put your best 5 on the floor for the vast majority of minutes and even if you go with a Manu 6th man situation, that player get ALL of the key minutes at his position and plays with the other starters 90% of the time he’s on the floor.

    If Karl starts someone other than JR next year I’d be surprised… but mostly, I’d just want to kill something for the first 5 minutes of every game (and the 3rd), much like I did this season. Afflalo is an upgrade offensively from Dahntay, but he’s not a starter, even the 15 MPG variety. He’ll be much more valuable as a backup since he can play the 1 or 2 and be subbed in for defensive purposes (or foul trouble).

  • eric.yates

    Glad I got that thread started…
    Stumbleweed just made my point though. JR is NOT a good defender. He plays passing lanes OK, but doesn’t move his feet and reaches way to much to be able to guard the elite 2s in this league.

    He’ll ALWAYS be in foul trouble and he’ll be in his little pissy moods when he gets banged for 2 fouls in the first 5 minutes and has to sit the rest of the half.

    Just playing devil’s advocate, why not keep it the same, start Afflalo and continue to bring JR as that spark off the bench, playing against lesser talent.

    The Nuggets are best when they let their second unit turn a 7 point lead into a 17 point lead in like 3 minutes, and JR HAS to be a part of that team because of his explosiveness. Afflalo can’t play that role, especially if we lose Kleiza off the second team. Who’s gonna score?

    I see everyone’s point about his development, but it’s not whether you start games, it’s whether you finish them. and if JR is constantly in foul trouble, he won’t be finishing many games.

  • Stumbleweed

    He did great against Kobe in that game we won during the season. He mostly got lost when they played that frustrating “constant switching” defense that only works against certain teams. Whenever they put JR on someone and just said, “guard him”, he expends a lot of effort on the defensive end of the floor and generally did a good job making things tough for them. He is foul-prone, but that discipline and restraint will come with a more regular and longer-minute role, as he doesn’t feel like he’s gotta go out and get 2 steals and 3 threes in 5 minutes just to avoid Karl’s short leash. When you know that you’ll probably only play 25 minutes or so, why show restraint on defense?

    And now we have a capable guy who can actually put the ball in the basket (unlike Dahntay) coming off the bench, should JR get into foul trouble. And in case you aren’t aware Weems is a SCORER.. that’s basically his job description.. who knows how good he’ll be this year, but we have another pure scorer waiting in the wings. I agree that we’ll need someone else to replace Kleiza’s minutes/scoring off the bench at the 3 spot, but it’s not like at least one of JR/Melo/Billups aren’t out on the floor with the bench unit most of the time… we rarely had no starters and no JR on the floor.. George is good about keeping a scorer out with the bench players. Melo, Chauncey, and JR can all play 35+ MPG pretty easily (again, foul trouble permitting), so I don’t see much reason to have a lineup without at least one of them on the floor. People always talk about the lack of bench production, but most teams don’t actually play a “bench unit” without any starters on the floor since most teams only go 8-9 deep anyway.

    Don’t you guys think that JR’s “okay, get in there and score like crazy” role contributes to his often questionable shot selection, his need to constantly make the big play (go for steals, go behind his back, bomb threes), and therefore his inconsistency? If he had a starter’s role where his scoring is tempered because he is not the feature and he is asked to contribute in other ways (driving and dishing, playing defense), he would be a much more consistent player IMO. It seemed (especially earlier in the season) that if he didn’t come out hot shooting or failing that, doing every “little thing” right, he’d get the axe for Carter or someone within 5 minutes, which is ridiculous given that Carter was almost always a net loss for us production-wise no matter how bad JR was playing that day.

    And again, our defense was WORSE with Dahntay and the supposed “defensive starting 5″ one the floor. Look at the numbers… people see Dahntay being physical and pushing guys all over the place and think it’s good defense, when in actuality he was fouling at a ridiculous rate and putting us into a hole because of his complete lack of offensive skill and the fact that there’s no real need to guard him at all (lowering everyone else’s production). http://www.82games.com/0809/0809DEN1.HTM

    Unless we get a legit shutdown defender who improves our defensive efficiency, there is no brains in that strategy at all. Dahntay isn’t a shutdown defender, and Afflalo isn’t either… at least not at this point of his young career.

  • fatlever

    We definitely need to get bigger, tougher and deeper in the front court. Just watch the Lakers series again. How about Tim Thomas? Bulls just bought out his deal. He’s played mostly in the east, but he also knows how to guard Duncan from his years with Clips & Suns. i bet he’s cheap.

  • runningdonut

    Wow I hope none of you saw that summer league game tonight. FIRE SONNY WEEMS

  • Josh Hopp

    runningdonut, just read about it hoopsworld.com. Sounds like our summer leaguers put together a pretty god-awful effort. Lawson was 0-7 from the field and Weems was said to be careless and disinterested. Coby Karl is playing solid ball though. I wonder if we will actually end up signing the guy? Would be wierd.


Array