Post by 2 years left on Aug 30, 2020 16:48:17 GMT -8
Four seasons into the league, the Denver Nuggets were one of the better teams every season. GM royal was even ranked as the sixth best in the league. "Although I fucking overestimated the Cavs and Kings and pulled plug too soon, I feel I've made it clear that my questionable moves usually work out." Famous last words?
In 2003 when that article was posted, Royal had recently traded it all for Carmelo Anthony and reset his CY by making the playoffs with a 40-42 record. He did not own his first that season, but he did own all of his futures and the team had hope. How did the Nuggets end up where they are today with a full CY reset and a top rookie as well as a young Baron Davis? Let us start by looking at how he saved his team at the time.
As some may have forgotten, Royal and JR were involved in a deep troll battle over the Nuggets 2004 first. Eventually they swapped the Nuggets 2004 first back to Denver for the Bucks 2004 and 2005 firsts. Many pages of trolling continued on with JR eventually saying he did not even accept the trade yet it was put in. Of course at this point royal saw an opening for a CY reset so said fine, and reversed the trade a few days later. Even after all that, JR was nice enough to deal back the Nuggets 2006 first for a Spurs future first. The Bucks 2004 first was traded for the Nuggets 2005 first while a protected version of the Bucks 2005 first was traded for Baron Davis to help with CY reset push. The Nuggets were set up for a few seasons of tanking with a young Melo.
Fresh off the CY reset, royal decided to trade Melo to Chicago in a controversial move for the pick that became Al Jefferson. This actually was not that bad of a trade! Of course he immediately tried to trade Al Jeff for Allen Iverson in what became the league's first royal (veto). Little did he know that Spencer was actually saving him from himself. He followed up the veto with trading Baron Davis back to Dallas (loan?) for the full rights to the Bucks 2005 first back. All was well in Denver. That Iverson royal still ate away at him though!
The Beginning of the End
He just could not help himself. Was it boredom or pride? We will never know for sure but he did eventually trade Al Jeff as well as the Nuggets and Bucks 2005 firsts for Allen Iverson. Of course he followed this up by dealing scraps and his 2006 first for Brian Grant and Jalen Rose. There was a clause where the 2006 first became the Nuggets 2008 first if the 2006 was not top 10. Remember this. "Accept. Adding buckets around AI." These moves paid off immediately as the Nuggets finished the season with 30 wins and no picks or youth besides young Beno Udrih. The 2005 firsts became David Lee and Marvin Williams.
After the disappointing end to the season with Iverson, royal did not sit on his hands. He traded Iverson to New York with albatross Mike Miller for Steve Nash and Stephen Jackson. A few days later he started to see the writing on the wall and traded Steve Nash to the Warriors for Danny Granger and filler. Granger did not last long in Denver and was traded in a huge deal that brought the Nuggets 2006 and 2007 firsts back to Denver while also just letting the Bucks keep the 2008 first with no stipulations. He was now back where he started but with Jalen Rose and Stephon Marbury instead of Carmelo Anthony and Baron Davis. Their 2006 first became Paul Millsap.
The tank life was boring once again, so he did what he does best and tried to trade Millsap in a deal to the Clippers for Shaquille O'Neal and young guard Dimitris Diamantidis. I just want to say that I have seen the receipts and this was a clear scram by outlawz. In a way royal was once again saved from himself so of course he just removed Dimitris from the deal and traded Millsap for Shaq. Oh yeah, before this he traded three firsts including his 2009 first to Miami for Allan Houston. We also have to mention trading for 41 year old Scottie Pippen just to +15 him into a meh backup guard. Somehow this was actually one of his better moves of the past few seasons.
Various other deals where he swapped bad contracts were made until eventually he traded Big Z and Grant Hill to Toronto for Ray Allen. "Accept. Ray and H20 should be fun." He had finally accomplished his goal of building a contender. The Nuggets won 44 games and lost in the first round in six games to the Kings.
Reset into Hell
Fresh off the CY reset, royal was feeling good about himself. He was hosting the most popular FBB podcast on the internet and had proven that he could build a playoff team out of not much. Was he too confident? Probably. With HC an issue he traded Ray Allen to Houston for worse, smaller contracts. As Blazers GM don put it best, "oh boy". After making this move to open up some flexibility under the HC, he traded expiring Allan Houston and a protected future 2010 first to Indiana for three years and $82 million of 37 year old Alonzo Mourning. "Accept. Prob over HC now but my buddies under. Shaq and Zo is fun though." In a league and game where outside offenses run everything, he decided to build around 35 year old and 37 year old centers that make almost $50 million combined per season. "Why are the Nuggets sending a first to get someone under the HC while going over?" Good question.
It was a slow start to this season for the Nuggets but they were 9-9. Then disaster struck. Somehow 37 year old Zo broke his leg and will miss around half of the season. Who knew an aging center coming off a major injury the previous season would possibly get hurt again. Royal had one last trick up his sleeve and tried to use friend trades to his advantage and trade Jalen Rose for Kobe Bryant. It was sad to see him fall this far and basically beg for a bailout. Nobody laughed out of respect for the once sixth best GM in the league.
What now?
Well, the Nuggets have lost 10 straight games and look like they will finish with one of the worst records in the league. They do not own their first this season or next but luckily they do have a fresh CY clock. They are currently over the HC for next season but they can try to break down expiring Al Harrington or Jalen Rose in to smaller deals. I'm sure he will find a way to do this while also dealing his 2011 first somehow. Even if Zo or Shaq retire it is very unlikely they will have cap the next two seasons. They would need both to leave a lot of money on the table and then he can just throw out maxes in FA and pray. Royal has tried to shop Shaq and Zo but it seems clear that both are seen as negative assets at this point thanks to their contracts. One could argue nobody on the Nuggets has positive value outside of Beno who they will lose for nothing in the off-season because of their contract situation.
Is there a way out? He plans to just tank the next two seasons (without his picks) while waiting to tank with his protected pick in 2010 for Paul George. Would Paul George, some cap space and a few futures be enough to throw together a playoff team? Probably. Will he likely start this cycle all over again after making CY? Probably. Either way I know he will find a way to survive this. Salute.
