Prior to coming to Denver, Ujiri worked under Colangelo from 2008-10 as director of international scouting and later as assistant GM. According to SportsNet.ca’s Michael Grange, the Raptors have not fully eradicated Colangelo from the team, and should Ujiri be hired both the executives’ roles will have switched with Ujiri taking the responsibilities of head GM and Colangelo playing the part of the assistant.

For Nuggets fans this dilemma has a plain-as-day resolution: sign Ujiri to the contract he deserves and do not hesitate in the process. Make him the top paid GM in basketball and get on with life. There should be no delay; there should be no thought put into even considering letting him go. Good NBA GMs don’t make a lot of money when contrasted with players and in actuality are fairly underpaid considering how responsible they are for the direction of the team. Paying a couple million bucks more to retain the reining Executive of the Year is THE no-brainer of all no-brainers this off-season for the Nuggets. This is not a matter of frugality; it’s a matter of common sense. Let’s just hope the Kroenke’s feel the same way.

Stay tuned as more information comes to light. And as always…

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In Sheridan’s article on his website SheridanHoops.com, he refers to Adetokunbo as a former “best-kept secret in NBA scouting circles” who put on “quite a show in the Greek national junior tournament attended by Bryan Colangelo of the Toronto Raptors and Masai Ujiri of the Denver Nuggets.”

According to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com, Adetokunbo’s parents fled from their native country of Nigeria to Greece in 1992 and gave birth to Adetokunbo shortly thereafter. He’s then stared playing basketball around age 10 and was spotted by a famous Greek basketball coach while playing pickup around town. These days he stands roughly 6-9. He has gigantic hands which punctuate a 7-3 wingspan and has grown three inches in the last 10 months.

More from DraftExpress on his game:

It’s popular to say that a prospect–particularly an obscure one– “plays every position on the floor,” but in the game we watched in Greece, that was indeed the case. The competition level, as you can see in the video scouting report above, is indeed nothing to write home about, but it’s difficult not to be taken aback by the incredibly versatile skill-set Adetokunbo brings to the table at 6-9.

The tallest player on his team, Adetokunbo started the game off at the power forward position, but played on the perimeter almost exclusively. Similar to the way Kyle Anderson is used at UCLA, he initiates a lot of his team’s offense in the half-court and regularly rebounds the ball and takes it coast to coast, showing fantastic body control. He’s an extremely smooth ball-handler and a surprisingly adept passer, looking extremely unselfish and very focused on getting his teammates involved. He’s capable of driving left or right and reads defenses far better than you’d expect considering his age and size, as he shows great sparks of creativity and smarts that make it easy to envision him developing into a point forward type as his career progresses.

Defensively is where Adetokunbo might have the best potential considering the superior size and length he brings to the table at his position—likely small forward. He’s not very consistent in this area yet, as he lacks significant experience, is not physical enough keeping a body on opponents and fighting through screens, and plays too upright on the perimeter. The instincts he displays here are very intriguing though, as he shows good anticipation on the defensive glass and is capable of making his presence felt in the passing lanes and as a shot-blocker.

Several aspects of this story should warrant significant interest from Nuggets fans…

First and foremost, Adetokunbo is an incredibly tantalizing prospect. Although he lacks seasoning and high-level experience, his tools are undeniable. If drafted by the Nuggets he could continue to stay overseas to polish his game or come straight to the U.S. in order to truly experience what it takes to succeed in the NBA. Either way the Nuggets would have the luxury of taking their time with him due to the immense amount of talent already accumulated on the current roster.

The second interesting storyline here involves African pedigree. Both Ujiri and Adetokunbo’s parents have roots in Nigeria. Ujiri is also the director of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders African program and first cut his teeth in the NBA as an international scout. There’s a good chance he knows the up-and-coming talent from his native continent of Africa better than any scout in the league today.

In the 2012 Draft, Ujiri took two international prospects and seemingly stole at least one. There are a few more international prospects slated to drop in the first round this year, but if Adetokunbo’s one of them and Ujiri is the man who drafts him, we’ll just have to forgo any unnecessary speculation and immediately mark it down as another steal.

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Apparently Benjamin Hochman, Masai Ujiri and the rest of Nuggets Nation took my recent 5-on-5 trade advise to heart (note: this would never happen) because apparently some Gasol for Iguodala rumors have caused quite a commotion. In a tweet on Wednesday, Hochman stated “The Nuggets are NOT trading Iguodala for Gasol, I’ve been told. Put the rumors to rest.”

Speaking of Woj, on Wednesday he also mentioned that the Nuggets had engaged in trade talks with the Bobcats and Blazers in a deal centered around Gerald Henderson, stating: “Charlotte discussed Gerald Henderson for Timofey Mozgov (Denver) and J.J. Hickson (Portland) but talks gained no traction, sources tell Y!”

The New York Post is reporting the Knicks would like to re-acquire Timofey Mozgov, but “the Nuggets asking price was said to be high.” The Knicks are pretty dry on draft picks over the next handful of years; however, I wouldn’t mind seeing Iman Shumpert in a Nuggets uni anytime soon, even if it means Denver has to give up a bit more in the deal. Shumpert is a tenacious defender and was a favorite of Masai Ujiri leading up to the 2011 NBA Draft.

According to Chris Tomasson, earlier this year the Nuggets passed up on a deal that would have sent Danilo Gallinari to the Grizzlies for Rudy Gay. In hindsight this was a good decision for two reasons: first, it saved the Nuggets on average about $8 million per season over the next three years; and second, it gave Gallo time to mature. At the beginning of the year this would have been a tough deal to turn down. In fact, it was probably the wrong choice back then. But after only several months it’s clear Ujiri made the right call. We all know Masai Ujiri is a great GM, but his greatest asset might very well be his patience.

Another deal Ujiri reportedly passed on would have seen Brandon Roy and a first-round draft picks come to Denver from Minnesota in exchange for Timofey Mozgov. The fact the Nuggets declined not only says a lot about how much they value Mozgov, but how much faith they have that the rest of the league values him equally as high. Roy is useless at this point but a first-round pick for Mozgov alone is great value, especially considering the Wolves have all sorts of first-round picks sprawled over the next three years and are almost guaranteed to suck — because, you know, they’re the Wolves, and Kahn is still running the show up there.

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Specifically the notion that there is no situation and never has been. If you were to peruse the major Denver Nuggets media outlets for a picture of Andre Miller’s last two seasons, it looks like nothing but smooth sailing and mountains of praise from his Denver coaches.

The 37-year old point guard deserves praise for his longevity and uniquely crafted skill set, just as Benjamin Hochman pointed out in his latest weekend piece for the Denver Post. But that picturesque portrayal of Miller’s time in Denver was enough to make anyone who’s more than a casual Nuggets fan do a serious double take — mainly because it just doesn’t match up with what they’ve seen and experienced these past two years.

Miller’s career in Denver has been a lot more than crafty veteran footwork and acute lob passing. He visibly sulked on the court last season while struggling to adjust to his new bench role. He has not been one of the Nuggets most consistent players since arriving in Denver, yet his minutes aren’t monitored and adjusted the way they are with the younger guys. No matter how things are going in the game, Miller often sees the same amount of minutes, leading some to suspect his overt special relationship with George Karl has resulted in favoritism.

What’s worse is the fact Miller has publicly complained about his role on a team that continues to profess their love for him. Last season, Andre told Chris Tomasson he doesn’t see himself as a backup but noted “this is a short season and I’ll deal with it.” Last month, Andre more or less repeated his sentiments to Paul Klee of the Colorado Springs Gazette, reaffirming his stance and quelling any notion that Miller has adjusted his attitude over the past year.

Those are two concrete interviews coming from trusted journalists in the Denver community (Tomasson is a grizzled veteran of the Nuggets beat). Remind me again why the Nuggets and all media they associate with refuse to acknowledge either of these incidents happened?

Instead, the Denver Nuggets media has kept on selling their pristine image of Andre Miller in Denver — the wily veteran who is a positive force in the locker room and on the floor despite being 37-years old and physically outclassed by everyone in the NBA.

Not only is that a fairy tale, it’s a woefully incomplete picture of the relationship. Miller’s latest comments followed a run of recent Nuggets wins in which Andre’s fourth quarter minutes saw a serious dip. With the return of Wilson Chandler and emergence of Corey Brewer, Andre Miller’s customary fourth quarter time was no longer handed to him no-questions-asked, and Miller wasn’t happy.

Since then, Miller has seen more fourth quarter action due to injuries. He’s made statements in every game, looking to show he can still get it done when the chips are down and the Nuggets need a fourth quarter bucket. Miller took those big shots for himself (including several threes) and the Nuggets came up short in three straight losses before finally winning again at home, where Miller returned to a sub-25 minute role off the bench.

Nuggets fans genuinely want to like Miller, but they are smart enough to understand his role on this team. They realize the Nuggets’ future is in the hands of young players who need guidance and leadership in the locker room. They realize Andre shooting a three at the end of a game with two better players on the court is unacceptable. They realize a defiant Andre Miller isn’t doing the Nuggets any favors unless he starts accepting reality and his rightful backup role.

In my opinion, Nuggets fans are right. They wouldn’t have to be constantly reminded to like Andre Miller if he wasn’t stirring up locker room drama and putting himself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

We all hope this is the year Andre’s veteran savvy will pay dividends during the playoffs. But barring some miracle run deep into the playoffs, we also know Miller’s role is diminishing and he’s a short-term fix on a very young team.

The only way to describe Miller’s relationship with the Denver Nuggets and their fans is awkward. He doesn’t like his role on the budding young team and fans don’t like him back.

I’ve been in a problem relationship before. It wasn’t a bad one, but we probably spent months exchanging pleasantries and denying the fact neither one of us had any substantial feelings left for the other. That’s where both the Nuggets and Andre Miller are currently.

It’s time to stop buying the company line that there’s no problem, never has been a problem and Andre Miller is happily headed for great things with the Denver Nuggets. It’s a strained relationship that’s only getting weirder as both sides hope for a miracle playoff run to magically fix everything.

Miller should be gone by next season’s trade deadline, when the nonguaranteed portion of his third year becomes enticing for a team looking to add veteran help. Until then, this awkward dance goes on and Miller will continue to be one of the least-liked Nuggets unless he changes his attitude.

That’s all up to him.

Many trying to lure Denver into talks with all the talented, versatile assets Masai Ujiri has gathered, but Nuggets unlikely to make deal.

It may be worth asking what exactly the value of all those “talented, versatile assets” might be if Ujiri doesn’t utilize them to improve the roster of a team which most would agree is not yet legitimate contender material. But for now, all we can do is sit back and wait to see if, as Woj suggests, Denver sits this one out, or if they end up making some deadline noise after all.

Stay tuned to Roundball Mining Company for all the latest news and rumor updates…

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Is the following mere posturing or the real-deal stance in Denver? Only time will tell, but one source plugged into the Nuggets’ plans insisted this week that Russian center Timofey Mozgov — widely presumed to be a lock to be dealt before the deadline — will not be moved unless the return is “crazy good.” Don’t know that such an offer is going to materialize for a player behind Kosta Koufos and JaVale McGee in George Karl’s frontcourt rotation.

Of course, “crazy good” relative to Timo is pretty vague, especially considering that much of his market value might come more from his size and expiring contract than his talent. But the bottom line appears to be that, for those hoping for the Nuggets to make some noise before the Feb. 21 trade deadline, it may be best not to hold your breath.

Stay tuned to Roundball Mining Company for updates as the deadline approaches.

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In other news, on Tuesday, ESPN’s Chad Ford held a live chat in which a man from Colorado Springs asked “Any big trade plans for Denver?” Ford responded with the following:

Keep hearing their name in a lot of scenarios, but it’s never clear who they are going to give up. Gallanari and Wilson Chandler are the two names that come up the most, but there’s not a big market for either player.

I’ve said a few times that with Denver’s bounty of wings nobody is safe –  even Gallinari. At the moment he’s playing extremely well, which means his trade value is high as it’s ever been. If the right deal presents itself Nuggets fans know Masai Ujiri would not hesitate to pull the trigger. But at this point, with Gallo playing as good as he is and the Nuggets firing on all cylinders it’s hard to imagine that deal coming to fruition.

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In other news, the Denver Post’s Chris Dempsey is reporting Timofey Mozgov is “unlikely to be with the Nuggets” in less than a month. We’ve heard trade rumors surrounding Mozgov for quite some time now, but this type of definitive language suggests his departure from the Nuggets is more imminent than we may have suspected.

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