2014-15 Finish: 39-43

Season Lowlight

Let's be honest, the Denver Nuggets regressed this past season. A team full of young, improving players is not supposed to regress the way the Nuggets did this past year. Many may point to the Dwight Howard trade as a reason behind this decline. But in a weaker Wesetern Conference these results are still surprising. The team that won forty-five games in 2013-14 could only manage to win thirty-nine in 2014-15. Not a huge decline, but this six game difference was the difference between a six seed and an eight seed. It was almost the difference between making the payoffs and not. When viewed in this manner, the decline was significant. The Nuggets eventually needed a three-game losing streak from the Memphis Grizzlies to close the season in order to clinch that playoff birth. Once there, they did not do much and won only one game against the eventual champion L.A. Lakers.

Season Highlight

But all of that is okay! The Denver Nuggets made the playoffs despite having a down year! They drew a tough first round match-up and had some bad luck with an injury to Wall at a key postseason moment. And after trading away Dwight Howard last season to reshape their roster, a slight regression was to be expected. While the trade that sent away Dwight was highlighted as the team's worst move in last year's team-by-team analysis, I am not entirely sure that this is true. A core focused around Dwight would most certainly have seen this team trending downward heading into 2015-16. Instead, I see this team trending upward. We are in an era in which the scoring point guard is a huge asset, and John Wall happens to be one of the best in that regard. Derrick Favors is the team's other star, and he continues to improve! Favors improved in both points and rebounds per game this past year, and I predict another uptick next season. Keep in mind that the Nuggets got BOTH of these guys in their "Worst Trade" last season. They also have Otto Porter, who is ready to step up if Paul Pierce is to leave. Danilo Gallinari finally looks healthy. Alex Len is ready to step into a starting role. Mitch McGary has been a nice surprise for this team as well! And a recent trade may have made them even better, now. The team has several loose ends to deal with this upcoming offseason (to be highlighted later in this article), but I do not see another down year ahead for the Nuggets.

Best Trade

The Nuggets best trade is their most recent one in my eyes. This trade nets the Nuggets another starter, and adds one more piece to the puzzle. Redick is a sharpshooter, and a legitimate scoring threat next to John Wall in the backcourt. The Nuggets lacked a true second scorer last season. Favors did well, but he still needs more help. Shooting was a problem that Denver needed to address as well at the wing position as Pierce, Gallinari, and Carroll all had issues and shot relatively poorly from the field. Did I say that Redick was a sharpshooter? And although he will not solve all their problems he was well worth the cost here. In order to get their new starter the team gave up three role players (Anthony Morrow, Trevor Booker, and Patrick Mills). Those three players combined will not have had nearly the same affect for the Nuggets that Redick will next season. And what is even better about this move is that it was great for the Hawks, too! The Hawks consolidated one good player at a position of surplus in order to gain depth (which they lacked).

Worst Trade

Midway through the season it was becoming apparent that the Nuggets were lacking at the wing position. Otto Porter simply was not ready to start, neither was James Young, and Gary Neal was never meant to be brought in as the starter. Behind Gallinari the team had little depth. So the team leveraged two young assets in order to get DeMarre Carroll. Carroll, though, did not light it up as a Nugget. His stock was rising though as his NBA play was getting better and better by the day. Zeller and Nogueira are solid prospects, but neither are "can't miss" either. So it's not as if the trade were unfair, but just that Carroll did not seem to fit with the Nuggets. Two months after this trade the team made another trade to bring in Paul Pierce, eating up precious playing time they needed for DeMarre. Now Carroll may not even return although I'm sure the Nuggets will do everything they can to retain him. If he does leave then this one will most definitely be the worst move made by the Nuggets this past year. If he does stay and Rootsey can find a way to include him smoothly or if they can include him in a beneficial sign-and-trade then the team can turn this one around, still! This could easily become a situation much like the Dwight Howard trade last season. Once labeled the team's worst trade, it look like its best in a year's time.

Other Notable Trades

As a side note, the trade above also featured a pick swap, in which the Denver Nuggets exchanged their 2015 first rounder for the LA Lakers 2015 first round pick. Looking toward the future this trade is not that significant and it largely only impacted last season, but it should be mentioned nonetheless. Williams was just a nominal piece in this puzzle, as the Nuggets were willing to move down in the draft to get a player they felt would help elevate them into the playoffs. The team made the playoffs and so I suppose it can be looked at as a success even if Pierce does walk away. But Pierce's poor play with the Nuggets, and the fact that they held a losing record in the time after Pierce's arrival begs the question, was he really worth such a big move down in the draft? It is worth noting that the Nuggets pick would have been in the lower teens, and that they missed out on the chance to draft guys like Sam Dekker, Bobby Portis, or Justin Anderson (to name just a few).

The Star

John Wall John Wall is undoubtedly one of the best point guards in the league. Last season he shot 50% from the field enroute to 26 PPG. But Wall is not content to just score. He insists on contributing to almost every offensive possesion, doling out 6.3 assists per game as well. Wall's one weakness is his high turnover rate, ranking first in the league at 4.1 per game. While he is still able to tout an impressive 1.54 Assist to Turnover ratio, that number can be improved upon. Wall is an aggressive player, and that is exactly what Denver needs. He plays his heart out on defense as well as on offense. This is easiy reflected in both good and bad ways. While Wall ranked fifth in the league in fouls per game (2.7), he also ranked fifth in steals per game (2.2). Wall's importance to this team was demonstarted in their first round playoff series with the Lakers. After splitting the first two games in that series, Wall was ruled out for the remainder with a wrist injury. The Nuggets were not able to win another game in the series without him.

Surprise

Mitch McGary Projected as a project player with a lower ceiling, and an energy guy, McGary exceeded expectations last season as a rookie. He has already become a solid role player for the Denver Nuggets. McGary started in 30 games and played in 49, averaging 5.7 PPG on 59% from the floor and added 7.4 rebounds per game. McGary was so good that he was one reason GM Rootsey could safely trade away prospect Cody Zeller and take a chance on acquiring talent like DeMarre Carroll. McGary will excel next season as one of the team's primary back-up big men. While he may never be a top starter in the league, Mitch was selected just 26th in the 2014 NLL Draft and is outperforming guys selected above him like Adreian Payne, Doug McDermott, Noah Vonleh, and even Joel Embiid!

Surprise, Surprise!

Danilo Gallinari If you get anything from Danilo, it's a surprise. This year, Gallinari played in a whopping 58 games, starting 17 of those, and averaging a respectable 9.5 PPG. Although his shooting percentages could use some work, it was not too bad a year for Danilo after missing all of last season. The Nuggets may even rely upon him to play a more expanded role next year. With Paul Pierce looking like he could walk away in free agency, Danilo will need to step up and provide another year of healthy service in order for this team to take another step forward.

The Goat

DeMarre Carroll This may be less of a surprise after taking into account this writer's opinion of the Nuggets' worst trade this year, but Carroll simply did not fit with the Nuggets in 2014-15. While he saw a sharp increase in value with incredible NBA play throughout this season, that great NBA play has not translated to the NLL. While this may change next season, it does not change who was "The Goat" for this team last year. The Nuggets traded for Carroll in the move highlighted above, and made no significant strides with him in the lineup. Carroll shot just 39% from the field, and while he shot 34% from three, he did little else of significance for the team. After just three weeks of play the team brought in Paul Pierce and eventually Carroll was taken out of the starting lineup. Carroll was meant to be the third fiddle to John Wall and Derrick Favors, but clearly was not able to fill that position.

Draft Report Card

The Denver Nuggets will have four rookies coming into camp this year and all four players have a decent shot at carving out a niche for themslves in the league. The team nabbed Montrezl Harrell, Larry Nance Jr., Norman Powell and Branden Dawson after the dust had settled on the 2015 Draft. All four were veterans when it came to college basketball, but it seems those players typically make the best long-shot choices when it comes to the late second round. Powell and Dawson were both late second round selections, and both have impressed so far in summer league play. Both will have a shot at outplaying the expectations of a later second round selection and to earn some playing time...eventually.

Harrell and Nance are a bit different as they were selected higher and will have higher expectations placed upon them. The Nuggets need one of these two guys to develop into a viable role player, at the very least, in the near future. Both are tremendous athletes who will not have issues in that regard when facing NBA talent. Both are also high energy players who will bring it every play. Harrell is a tough, gritty player who can rebound well and plays great defense. His small stature when compared with other bigs may be an issue in the league, though. Unlike Harrell, Nance's size may help him. While he may be skinny and need to fill out some, Nance is long, lanky and athletic. At this level, length and ahtleticism are coveted. Nance is more of a project than Harrell is, but could turn out to be a gem if he improves his game.

Upcoming Free Agents

Paul Pierce is the most likely of the team's free agents to leave the Nuggets this offseason. The Nuggets have a few options to replace him already sitting on their roster, and I doubt they would feel his loss too much. Note, that is not to say that Pierce doesn't have anything left in the tank, but more an indication of the poisiton in which the Nuggets are in currently. Pierce joined this squad midway through last season in order to give them that edge they needed to get into the playoffs. And while the team did make the playoffs, it likely wasn't much of what Pierce did that got them there. Pierce started in 25 games during his stint in Denver, and shot lower percentages from the field (FG% & 3P%) than in either of his two other stops this past year. The most telling stat, though, is the Nuggets record with Pierce on the squad: 12-13 (48%). It is not as if Pierce made the team worse, but he was simply not much better than previous options the team had at the position, and did not help them make any strides forward.

DeMarre Carroll is the next most likely to leave, but many of the rumors out of Denver have the team making a move or two in order to clear the amount of space needed to retain him for next season and still be under the cap. They could also elect to sign-and-trade him. Exploring the trade value of both James Young and Otto Porter recently is an indication of their desire to bring back Carroll, though. Unloading either would free up just enough space to bring back Carroll and maintain cap flexibility, but it would also free up even more playing time for Carroll. If Carroll is brought back and the team keeps Gallinari as well it would most certainly stunt the growth of Otto Porter, hence their sudden willingness to deal. My prediction would be that the Nugggets will keep just one of the two. Look for a deal involving either Carroll or Porter to start the season.

Gary Neal is a great role player, but if he decides to walk I cannot imagine the Nuggets would put up much of a fight. That being said, they would welcome back a three point shooter of his caliber if Neal would like to re-up for another year in Denver. Neal did not have his best shooting year last season, but he has the ability to turn it on at any moment. That type of player is definitely an asset. Neal also is valuable in his ability to play both SG and PG, and could spell both Redick and Wall for short stretches if need be.

Looking to the Future

The Nuggets hold the tough task of being a middling rebuilding squad. There is pressure to both make the playoffs, but also to build through youth at the same time. And youth does not typically make for a championship. Given a few of the recent moves made by the Nuggets, though, I would say that they are in to win it. Trading for Carroll and Pierce last season, and giving up young assets to do so, indicated a must-win mentality. Trading for Redick this offseason indicates much of the same intention heading into this year. John Wall is not getting any younger, so I understand the attitude. The Nuggets need their young guns to step up this season. Alex Len must improve, and hopefully we will see his name amongst the candidates as the Nuggets' surprise player next year. Mitch McGary should continue to improve as well. The team needs continued health from Danilo Gallinari, too.

GM Rootsey also must figure out what to do with DeMarre Carroll. This will be the team's main focus and a big driving factor going into the future for the Nuggets. If the team is able to convince him to stay, they must have a plan of action. Will they sign-and-trade him? Or can they include him more succesfully next year? If the team can execute a fair sign-and-trade to fill immediate needs or can include Carroll more effectively then this team will have no issues getting back to the playoffs next year and exceeding their win total from last season.