Building a Champion: Denver Nuggets Association

[clonetrooper264]

Figured I'd make a new thread for it.

29 game season, 12 minute quarters, Pro difficulty (honestly, I don't see a difference in difficulty as you go up/down, just an increase in the how much the CPU cheats), Best of 7 playoffs, preseason games on (I'll probably sim them though), imported 2012 draft class.

That silly player roles and morale stuff is on, so we'll see how that goes. I've never had a problem with it, but I guess it could play a factor.

Gonna try to make the same moves eventually as I did with the online one, but we'll see how it goes. There is no trade override so all trades will be legit.

Current roster:
PG-Ty Lawson
SG-Arron Afflalo
SF-Wilson Chandler
PF-Kenneth Faried
C-Marcin Gortat

Bench
Ben Gordon
Danilo Gallinari
Louis Williams
Andray Blatche
Josh Childress
Lamar Odom
Mehmet Okur

[clonetrooper264]

Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri steps down

The Denver Nuggets announced today that GM Masai Ujiri would be resigning. The move comes as a surprise to many since Ujiri has only served for a year as GM.

"It was a tough decision to make," said Ujiri in the press conference. "I thought I had done a pretty decent job putting together a winning product and was looking forward to seeing it grow. Unfortunately, some personal issues arose and my family and I decided it was best if I step down as general manager."

The Nuggets' search for a GM will begin immediately. With the season opener nearing, they might have to settle for an interim GM.

[clonetrooper264]

Nuggets name Clone new GM

Not long after former GM Masai Ujiri resigned as GM of the Nuggets, Denver announced today that they have hired Clonetrooper264 as their new GM.

"It's an honor to have been selected for this position," said Clone. "I hope I can turn this team into a championship contender for years to come."

The new GM is said to have big plans for improving the roster.

"The way I see it right now, we have an immediate need for some inside scoring," said Clone. "I'm going to try to address that as quickly as possible. I have a few guys in mind that I'm going to go for. We'll see if we can make it happen. We're going to try to build around Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari. I think those two guys will be the cornerstones of the franchise for years to come."

[clonetrooper264]

Nuggets eyeing Scola?

Rumors around the league seem to indicate Denver is interested in Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola. No deal has been discussed however.

"I'm just looking at our options right now," said new GM Clonetrooper264. "Scola is a great player in the post, he has a good midrange jumper, good charge taker, obviously any GM would be interested. No deals have been discussed, we're just seeing what is out there."

The Nuggets have also been reported to be interested in Houston's Courtney Lee as well as Washington's Andray Blatche.

[clonetrooper264]

Nuggets win big in season opener

The Nuggets took their home opener in dramatic fashion on Friday with a 25 point victory over the Timberwolves. Arron Afflalo came out guns blazing in the Pepsi center en route to 22 points on a perfect 9-9 from the field. His 15 point first quarter spurred the Nuggets to an early lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.

"It was awesome, I literally did not miss a shot," said Afflalo after the game. "It's one thing to say it feels like everything you put up goes in, but to see it actually happen for real...man it's an amazing feeling."

Wilson Chandler added 14 points off the bench for the Nuggets, also doing most of his damage in the first half. Ty Lawson added 13 points and 8 assists. Al Harrington and Corey Brewer also added 13 points each.

"Wilson and Arron were big for us in the first half," said Nuggets coach George Karl. "If it wasn't for their hot shooting early on, it might've been a whole different ballgame. I really gotta hand it to Arron, he was on fire from the field and was huge on defense as well, coming up with multiple defensive plays. He was our MVP tonight."

Afflalo and Chandler's hot shooting combined with several easy transition baskets were what propelled Denver to its early first half lead. Rising star Danilo Gallinari, however, struggled from the field, shooting only 3-12 on the night. It was also rumored that he had suffered a thigh injury in practice just days before.

"Yeah my leg's a little sore at the moment," said Gallinari. "But that's not an excuse for shooting poorly. I just need to get in some more practice and hopefully next game they'll fall."

The Nuggets play again on Tuesday.

[clonetrooper264]

Trades are really freaking hard to make...stop making counter offers stupid CPU.

[nwfisch]

Trades are really freaking hard to make...stop making counter offers stupid CPU.

Maybe the nuggets got a stupid GM

[clonetrooper264]

Maybe the nuggets got a stupid GM

At least this GM doesn't leave their chise halfway though.

[Capt. Serious]

following

[clonetrooper264]

Rumor: Nuggets engaged in trade talks with Wizards

The Nuggets have supposedly entered talks with the Washington Wizards regarding forward Andray Blatche. The sides are still far apart on a deal though. Blatche, entering his 3rd season with the Wizards has been reportedly unhappy with the amount of playing he's been getting in Washington. The Nuggets offer of the oft disgruntled, but talented Rudy Fernandez is not generating much interest according to Nuggets insiders.

Nuggets GM Clonetrooper264 responded to questions about the trade talks by only saying, "It's early in the season, there's still plenty of time to make moves if we choose that direction. That said, Andray could provide a bit of interior scoring for us, which is definitely something we're interested in. No need to rush things though, we got lots of time."

The Nuggets also reportedly turned down a trade offer from New Orleans for swapping Eric Gordon and Ty Lawson. The Nuggets turned it down on the basis of New Orleans' reluctance to swap draft picks.

[clonetrooper264]

Report: Gallo has mild thigh sprain

Nuggets medical staff confirmed today that forward Danilo Gallinari indeed suffered a thigh sprain prior to Friday's game against the Timberwolves. Rumors spread that he had been injured after the game due to his lack of playing time and poor performance. The injury is noted as being not serious and that Gallinari should be back to full health within 2 weeks time. Gallinari will not miss any playing time with the injury.

[clonetrooper264]

Nuggets perform whirlwind of moves

It would appear as though rumors about the Nuggets wanting to make moves were correct, however, the moves were all completely unexpected. It will be interesting to see how George Karl handles all these new faces on the team.

Dener receive: Andray Blatche
Washington receives: Jordan Hamilton

Denver receives: Ben Gordon
Detroit receives: Corey Brewer, Al Harrington, Rudy Fernandez

The Nuggets also signed free agent Lamar Odom to a 2 year deal.

It is rumored that the Nuggets are still looking to make additional moves.

[clonetrooper264]

Nuggets grind out win against Jazz

The new look Nuggets took on the Jazz Sunday night amid much speculation from the public on how they new additions would fare. It was a rough game from the start as the Nuggets struggled shooting the ball early on, which allowed Utah to jump out to an early lead. However, strong runs in the 2nd and 3rd quarters pushed the Nuggets on top and then Ty Lawson took over as the Nuggets held on for the win.

Ty Lawson led the Nuggets with 24 points, 13 assists and 3 steals. Arron Afflalo added 22 points and Wilson Chandler added 14 timely points of his own.

"I'm not sure if we win this game without Wilson," said Nuggets coach George Karl. "He made some key shots to stop runs, key shots to get us going again, played fantastic defense, rebounded very well...I'm proud of how he played tonight. Ty was great as usual. He's really stepped up his game since the end of last year. He's going to be a star point guard soon."

New additions Andray Blatche and Ben Gordon made their debuts in Nuggets uniforms against the Jazz. Blatche scored 14 points in 27 minutes off the bench. Gordon, however, received a stroke of terrible luck, scoring only 10 points on 3-9 shooting. He was also injured after his legs were taken out from under him after making a 3 point shot in the 3rd quarter.

"It's just bad timing," said Gordon. "I'm excited to play for Denver and help them succeed, but I can't do that while I'm injured."

Gordon is expected to be out for the next 2 weeks with a back strain. He joins forward Danilo Gallinari as early casualties of the injury bug.

[clonetrooper264]

Nuggets' whirlwind of moves continue

Following Sunday's win against the Jazz, Nuggets GM clonetrooper264 announced that another round of trades had been made.

Nuggets receive: Louis Williams
76ers receive: Andre Miller, '13 1st round pick

Nuggets receive: Jamario Moon, Derrick Brown, Reggie Williams, '12 2nd round pick
Bobcats receive: Timofey Mozgov, Chris Anderson, Kosta Koufos, '12 1st round pick

Nuggets receive: Josh Childress, '13 2nd round pick
Suns receive: Derrick Brown, Jamario Moon

Nuggets also signed free agent Mehmet Okur to a two year deal.

"Overall, I'm pretty happy with the moves we made," said Nuggets GM clonetrooper264. "We have some very good bench scoring now, as well as some inside scoring. It's really unfortunate that Ben got injured in our last game, but I feel by adding Lou, Reggie, and Josh, that we're going to have a really great backcourt coming off the bench between them, Ben, and Wilson. The only thing I'm not as happy about is our lack of a 1st round pick this year. I'm going to explore some options to see if we can't trade up into the first round."

"I'm still not sure how this is all going to fit together," said Nuggets coach George Karl. "We went from having a pretty crowded frontcourt to now a really crowded backcourt. Since Ben and Gallo are injured right now, it's gonna work out for the next few weeks, but once everyone's back and healthy, I'm not sure if we can get everyone enough minutes to keep them happy."

[clonetrooper264]

Nuggets not done dealing; acquire Gortat

Denver announced a trade with the Phoenix Suns a day before their game against the Sacramento Kings. The Nuggets acquired center Marcin Gortat in exchange for Javale McGee and Reggie Williams.

"I actually did not intend on trading for Gortat," said Nuggets GM Clonetrooper264. "But they called me on Saturday with an offer and after a couple hours of negotiation, we acquired Marcin. I think he's going to be a fantastic addition to our team. He'll give our starting lineup a great inside scorer and go to guy. It was sad to see Javale go and to have sent Reggie away just days after we got him, but I think this trade will help out our team immensely."

Gortat will be in uniform against the Kings and will be wearing jersey #4.

[clonetrooper264]

Gordon's injury improving; is available for game against Kings

Nuggets medical staff announced Saturday that Ben Gordon's injury had improved significantly over the course of the past week and that he was cleared to play. This is good news for the Nuggets who thought that they would be without their main bench scorer for the next two weeks. Gordon is not fully healthy, but is still expected to play normal minutes against the Kings.

[clonetrooper264]

New Nuggets debut against Kings; Gortat shines

The newest member of the Nuggets was the best player on the court Sunday as the Nuggets faced off against the Sacramento Kings at the Power Balance Pavilion. Marcin Gortat dominated from the first basket until he left the game for good with 8 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. Gortat scored 26 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots in his Nuggets debut.

"I was really impressed with Marcin tonight," said Nuggets coach George Karl. "We haven't even had a full practice together, but he was able to show us how good of a player he is. I've got to hand it to the front office for acquiring such a heady player."

"I just came in and did the only thing I knew how to do," said Gortat. "I didn't really know any of their sets, but coach [Karl] just told me to post up and do my thing, so that's what I did. Fortunately, Cousins fell for almost all my fakes and most of my shots went down."

Another player making his Nuggets debut was G/F Josh Childress. Childress scored 13 points and 3 steals off the bench, doing much of his damage in the 2nd quarter.

"I just came in and tried to play hard on both ends of the floor," said Childress. "In the 2nd quarter we were able to get out in transition and I got to my spots and Ty or Lou found me. Luckily, I made those shots. I just wanted to show coach what I could do."

Other Nuggets making their debut were Louis Williams and Mehmet Okur. Williams scored 16 points and added 6 assists in 23 minutes off the bench. Okur played only 7 minutes, making only 1 of 5 shots, finishing with 3 points.

Ben Gordon played as expected, logging 19 minutes and scoring 13 points, improving his overall play in spite of his injury.

"The back's still a little stiff," said Gordon. "However, I'm feeling much better. I'm just needing to pick my spots a little better so I don't strain myself. I'm just glad I can come out and help my team win."

Overall, it was a nearly flawless night from the Nuggets after the first quarter. 7 players ended up with double figures (Gortat 26, Williams 16, Afflalo 14, Childress 13, Gordon, 13, Lawson 10, Chandler 10). They also dominated the glass grabbing over 50 rebounds over the course of the game, led by Kenneth Faried's 16 rebounds.

"A lot of the reason we were able to get out in transition was our rebounding," said Karl. "When we rebound the ball and get a quick outlet, we're going to score 9 out of 10 times. The guys did a fantastic job of rebounding tonight."

Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler replaced forward Danilo Gallinari in the starting lineup. Coach Karl cited the move as giving Gallinari some rest.

"Gallo's been struggling a bit," said Karl. "I didn't even intend on playing him tonight, but due to the nature of the game at the end of the 4th, he asked to come in for a few minutes, so I let him. He looked pretty mobile, but still not 100%."

Gallinari finished with 3 points in 4 minutes. He remains day to day with the injury. Gallinari and the Nuggets will have a chance to rest and heal up over the rest of the week.

[clonetrooper264]

Blatche feeling unsettled in Denver

Nuggets forward Andray Blatche told the media after Sunday's game against the Kings that he felt he wasn't getting enough minutes. Blatche is averaging 25 minutes per game through 3 games this season. Although there is plenty of time left in the season and the fact that Nuggets coach George Karl is still tinkering with rotations due to the flurry of trades over the past week, Blatche doesn't appear confident that his role will increase.

"Now that Marcin is on the team, I'm not sure anymore." said Blatche. "It felt like coach was choosing to go with him a lot, even in his first game. He also gave a bunch of random minutes to Memo [Okur] which could've gone to me. I had a bit of an off night, I guess, but if this trend continues, we will have a problem."

Nuggets GM Clonetrooper264 has told the team to "have patience" as coach Karl figures out his rotation.

"I understand his concern," said Clone. "But guys have to be willing to sacrifice for the good of the team. We have a great frontcourt between Marcin, Kenneth, Andray, and everyone else. Unfortunately, we're not able to play them all 30 minutes a game. If it was possible, we'd let them play that much, but it's not. I have total confidence that George will figure it all out in a few weeks' time. It's tough with all the new guys that we've added to figure out a good set rotation, but he'll figure it out."

Only two players played over 30 minutes in the last game against the Kings, Gortat and Arron Afflalo.

"Yeah you know, it's tough," said Karl. "When you have so many quality players that are all deserving of minutes...players that could probably be starting on most other teams coming off the bench, it's hard to get everyone the minutes they deserve. I'll definitely try to get Andray a little more run as he is key to our bench's frontcourt. I'll probably have him play more backup center minutes so I can still let Ken and Lamar get some minutes at the 4 spot."

Odom played only 7 minutes against the Kings, but did not seem bothered by it.

"It's not a big deal to me," said Odom. "I know my role, I'm not going to try to outstep it. If I play 7 minutes, that's fine with me as long as that's what's best for the team. If coach wants me to play 30 minutes, I'm cool with that too. It's just about being ready when your number is called."

[clonetrooper264]

On a side note, my team chemistry dropped from like 85% to 57% because of all these trades...pretty hilarious (though not unexpected).

[CODE_BLUE56]

your team=the knicks



also,following

[nwfisch]

I turned off team chemistry.

Always sits at 85%

[clonetrooper264]

I turned off team chemistry.

Always sits at 85%

And yet you still lose...

[clonetrooper264]

your team=the knicks



also,following

...I see, but I don't follow.

[clonetrooper264]

Nuggets can't stop Spurs backcourt; get first loss of the season

It was a tough night for the Denver Nuggets Saturday as they faced off against the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs were red hot from the opening tip, making shot after shot. They also dominated the glass, finishing with a 51-41 advantage on the boards. The Spurs backcourt of Parker, Ginobili, and Jackson combined for 72 points.

"I was greatly disappointed in our effort tonight," said Nuggets coach George Karl. "We weren't aggressive enough offensively, didn't hit the glass, fouled too much defensively...there's a lot of stuff that we need to work on."

The Nuggets indeed found themselves at a huge discrepancy in terms of free throws, only shooting 4 the entire game to the Spurs' 29. The Spurs team only committed 5 turnovers and 5 team fouls. Nuggets guard Ben Gordon found himself struggling again, shooting only 4-12 and finishing with 10 points.

"It's all on me," said Gordon. "I had a lot of wide open looks from 3 which even though it felt good leaving my hand, didn't go in. I have to step my game up if I want to help us get some W's"

Danilo Gallinari returned to the starting lineup, supposedly healed from his leg injury, but continued to struggle from the field, shooting only 4-11.

"I have to take better shots," said Gallinari. "I know if I can get myself an open look it's gonna fall, just need to pick my spots better."

Center Marcin Gortat continued his offensive output from the previous game, finishing with 27 points, including a surprising 3-3 from the 3 point line.

"It's been something I've been working on a little bit," said Gortat. "Of course, it doesn't matter if I score 27 points or 40 points or 3 points so long as we get the win. It didn't happen tonight. We all have to come out tomorrow and give a better effort. No excuses."

Forward Andray Blatche, who came out after the last game against the Kings saying he wanted more playing time, played only 19 minutes against the Spurs. Blatche finished with 6 points on 3-6 shooting and 7 rebounds.

"I could've helped the team a lot more if I was out there," said Blatche. "I think we might've even won the game if I had gotten maybe 6 or 7 minutes more."

The Nuggets play the Rockets tomorrow in the second part of a back to back.

[clonetrooper264]

Marcin Gortat has a 97 3pt rating...wtf?