This is completely tongue-in-cheek based on my observations on MHR for the past year. It's not meant to offend anyone, hopefully everyone can just enjoy it and have a laugh, no matter your perspective.

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1.2.2011

Dear Diary,

Happiest. Day. Ever. Master P (Pat Bowlen, duh) hired me! I am now THE VP of Football Operations for my favorite team ever, the Denver Broncos. I can't wait to get started. Yes, my team has alot of weaknesses and but you know what they say, better to replace an idiot than a rockstar! Can't wait.

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Training camp 2011

Dear Diary,

Lockout = over. 2011 draft = done. I'm 2 for 2. Just wait till people see Von Miller. Dude reminds me of Derrick Thomas. Remember all those sad diary entries I used to write back in those days? Yeah, well, now all those other scrub QB's can feel the same.

On another note, I keep hearing about this "QB controversy" here. I don't understand why. Orton looks sharp, confident and completely in control out there. This Tim Teabow guy almost hit me in the face on a screen pass. Note to self: Trade with Josh McDaniels as much as humanly possible.

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10.9.2011

Dear Diary,

That's it. I'm done. Kyle Orton, you suck. I've never seen someone a grown adult so scared in my life. And trust me, I know fear. You ever try and sell steaks when you've never cooked a day in your life? And charge $70 for it? Yeah, that's real fear. And don't even mention trying to sell cars.

So I'm gonna start Tim Teblow (haha, I just made that up). This should be a riot. We've won one game so we're right in the middle of the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. Now there's a real QB... smart, accurate, mobile... and he's a Stanford Grad!!!! !!!!!! !!!!!!! <3 <3 <3 Quiet my beating heart.

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12.11.2011

Dear Diary,

Sorry it's been so long but honestly, I don't know what's going on. Up is down. Down is up. My team has just won six games in a row. SIX GAMES IN A ROW!!!!! I didn't think we'd win six all year! Hell, I didn't think we'd win six in 2011 and 2012 combined! And the weirdest part? It's Tim Tebow! I thought all this religious mumbo jumbo was crazy but seriously, I'm starting to believe. He still can't throw a football (whatever) but for some reason, weird things are happening. Tell me what to feel diary! I'm happy my team is winning my but Andrew Luck is gooooooooone. Crap.

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1.8.2012

Dear Diary,

SUCK IT STEELERS.

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1.15.2012

Dear Diary,

So the season ended yesterday. We went 8-8 (six more than I thought we'd win), won a playoff game (wasn't expecting that until 2014) and then got demolished by the Patriots (again). I hate Tom Brady. Dude is gonna break all my records, just because his coach is awesome. WHY DIDN'T I HAVE BILL BELICHICK!? I had Dan-freaking-Reeves for more years than I can count. Me taking Dan Reeves to Super Bowls >>> Tom Brady winning Super Bowls with Belichick. Fact.

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2.29.2012

Dear Diary,

What do you think about Tim Tebow? What do you think about Tim Tebow? What do you think about Tim Tebow? What do you think about Tim Tebow? What do you think about Tim Tebow? What do you think about Tim Tebow? What do you think about Tim Tebow? What do you think about Tim Tebow? What do you think about Tim Tebow? What do you think about Tim Tebow? What do you think about Tim Tebow? What do you think about Tim Tebow? What do you think about Tim Tebow?

Seriously, that's what my last month and a half has been. What do I really think about Tim Tebow? I think he sucks. Problem is, he DID just win a bunch of games last year that the human scarecrow couldn't win and we even won a playoff game. What the hell can I say? He sucks? I don't believe in him? I would trade him for Peyton Manning's used jockstrap. No, seriously, I would. In the meantime, I have to keep kissing his ass otherwise I'm gonna get sniped by some Florida fanboi (I just made that up). This sucks. I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE REASON WE WIN!!!

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3.20.2012

Dear Diary,

It's confirmed. I. AM. A. GOD!!!! You know what I did in the last couple of weeks? Oh you know, not much. Other than signing PEYTON-FREAKING-MANNING!!!!!!!!!!! This day is almost as awesome as when I sold all those car dealership to Wayne Huizenga (suuuuucker). I'll start fielding calls for Teblow tomorrow (Peyton told me to), but seriously, first GM to call and say Tim Tebow gets him. He doesn't even have to say Tim Tebow. Just Tim. Or, "hey John, how are you?" Really, first person to call gets Tebow. Seriously, it could be Comcast asking about the cable bill and I'd give him to them. 2012! Chaaaampionship.

xoxoxo,

John

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Go Broncos.

This isn't just a Nuggets post, but a Denver sports post.  The reason I chose to place it here instead of the other Denver SB sites is the Nuggets are currently the only good show playing at the moment and I love the community here.

But does anybody else really feel like this past week has alleviated a lot of current concerns?

Continue reading this post »

Before I start, I'd just like to preface this review by saying I was at Rock Bottom for most of the afternoon watching the CU - Nebraska game and I had several drinks stronger than Pepsi.  I'd also like to state I was watching the game with my friend Cameron who is one of the most cynical fans of all-time.  While I'm at it, we decided this game reminded us of Antoine Dodson, the funniest video of the year (I recommend you look it him up if you haven't seen the clip), so I'd like to dedicate my first, and I'm sure after reading this probably my only recap, to him.

With that out of the way, lets get to the review...

Continue reading this post »

The more we keep playing .500 ball the more likely a rebuild is coming. No owner enjoys paying $98M for a team that is a 6-8 seed or a lottery team. It's just bad business and as much as people might hate on Stan Kroenke, I think there's little doubt he has a pretty sharp business acumen.  So this is my Armageddon, blow it up, let's move on with our lives, rebuild plan.  I have them listed in order of priority.

1) Move Melo to the Nets. Assuming he's willing which I believe he would be with an ultimatum, we move Melo for whatever offer is "on the table" from the Nets. Assuming it's a similar incarnation of the previous trade offer we heard about before the season, I'll take anything that's built around Derrick Favors, GS's 2012 1st, and a Nets 1st (or T-Will, or Damion James as a substitute for the last part). Whatever rest goes in there to make salaries match, I don't care so long as Travis Outlaw doesn't come back in the deal.  Preferably it's Troy Murphy as he's expiring but I'm not adamant on this part (except no Outlaw).

2) Move Chauncey for anything expiring and a 1st. I don't even care if it's a lottery-protected first for a year or two. I'm also willing to accept a solid youngster in his rookie year or 2nd year in lieu of the draft pick.  I'd also be willing to accept a solid big man with a longer contract who's still in his mid-late 20's like Biedrins or Varejao.

3) Move JR Smith for any sort of "high potential" youngster, preferably a big man but I'm not adamant on that. I'm not picky here. Jason Thompson would be my first choice.  I'd be fine with Aminu if LAC is willing to part with him.  Carl Landry, Glen Davis, Brandan Wright, etc. are all perfectly acceptable.

4) Give Birdman and Balkman to anybody for anything expiring. If we can get a second round pick along with it, great. If not, fine.

5) Trade Al Harrington for some combination of an expiring and a young player or two/or a decent 1st rounder.  His contract is pretty team friendly as the last couple of years aren't fully guaranteed and he's likely to keep putting up the same numbers he has been.  He is who he is.  Fringe playoff contenders or better looking for a boost off their bench could do far worse.  New Orleans looks like a decent landing spot with some combination of: Bayless, Thornton, Smith, and Pondexter coming back would be fine.  Illysova and Larry Sanders from Milwaukee would also work.  Udoh or Wright with Amundson works. 

Yea, I imagine 2011 will likely be pretty painful but we can use the rest of 2010 and 2011 to see which players to keep out of the haul we'll get in addition to our likely top 5-6 pick in the 2012 draft (and maybe 2013 draft, hello Austin Rivers).  Not to mention whatever draft picks we acquire through these deals. We'll have at least one player to really pin our hopes on with Favors.

The harder NBA owners play hardball with the players association, the better off the Nuggets might be.

Continue reading this post »

Unfortunately, I believe Carmelo is going to join LeBron and Bosh as a case study for the current and future generation of GM's on how to not build a team surrounding a young superstar.  I'd like to outline this case study in hopes that Ujiri and Kroenke learn from past mistakes in hopes of never repeating them again when we get another young superstar.  Please note, the following guidelines are for surrounding a franchise level player in their 20's.  The younger the superstar, the more these maxims should apply.  Older superstars have a different (but still fairly close) set of rules.

1)  "Win-Now" is a fallacy.  You cannot build a team that's designed to win now, at least not with superstars in their prime.  Every time a young or future asset is traded away for a veteran, short of a true, legitimate #2 option or better, it's a mistake.  The reason the Nuggets and Cavaliers have failed is because of their inability to look at the long-term and instead, focused completely on the now. If a young or future asset is traded for a different young or future asset, this is acceptable.

2)  Contracts, contracts, contracts.  Financial flexibility is everything.  That's not to say you always need to hoard cap space, but instead, do not lock yourself into numerous players on contracts for anything over 2 years.  Front offices need to correctly identify their 2-3 building blocks and lock them in.  Everything, and I mean everything, else is expendable.  Also in this section is the critical need to have several players on rookie scale contracts.  Rookie scale contracts are one of the few true sources of value in the league as you not only own the rights to the player, but you also have them locked in for low salaries and team options, giving you the ability to spend elsewhere and the flexibility to move or drop the young players at your discretion.  3-4 players on the 12 man roster should always be on rookie scale contracts.  Also, anybody on your bench past your 8th man should be on a rookie scale contract or earning the veteran's minimum.  Your top 3 players should be taking 60% of your payroll, players 4-7 should be taking 30% of your payroll, the last 5 players should be taking 10% of your payroll.  At any given time, only 3-4 players should have guaranteed contracts past 2 years (team options or non-guaranteed years are acceptable as well and not counted towards the 3-4 players).

3)  Asset management.  In addition to cap management and contracts, general asset management must be a critical priority at all times.  This is obvious on the surface, but harder to perform in real life.  The collection of young assets and draft picks not only allows for the ability to replenish the roster with cheap players, it also also for trade assets.  The more assets a team acquires, the more flexibility they create with future potential trades.  The front office must always be able to balance future assets vs. current, leaning toward future if there is ever a question.

4)  Above else, do not pander towards your superstar.  Build your team.  Follow your blueprint.  Players are just that, players.  Their desire to win on a night-in and night-out basis is the reason they're your superstar, but that's also the reason they're not your GM.  Players simply lack the patience and foresight to build a team.  Make a 3 year plan with another 2 year's worth of contingency.  Forecast, don't react. 

Hopefully the Nuggets will have another young superstar in the very near future and I pray they follow these guidelines in rebuilding the Nuggets.  Otherwise, we might just be walking down this same road in the not to distant future.

Preface: This is a long post but I think it's useful to get to the core of what we're looking for.

It's really an underlying argument to this entire trade process, but what type of rebuilding/assets would people prefer if Melo ends up demanding a trade and we do move him?  There's a lot of definitions of rebuilding but I'll break them down into the following:

1)  High Potential/High Risk Youngsters - Basically this means the Nuggets are looking for lottery ticket type players on rookie scale contracts.  Names I've seen in trade talks that I include in this section would be Favors, Aminu, Griffin, T-Will, Hill, Gallinari, and Randolph.  These guys all have enormously high ceilings but due to numerous factors, they have all have a pretty high degree of risk associated.  Also, these players are all pretty highly valued by their own teams meaning the rest of the trade package would probably be pretty light.  The idea behind this methodology is we get a potential franchise player to replace a franchise player or we stink so bad we'll have a high lottery pick in which case we'll have another opportunity at a franchise player.  Super high risk involved regardless.

2) Medium Potential/Medium to Low Risk Youngsters - Players who are considered solid, contributing rotation players with little star potential on rookie scale contracts.  Guys like Damion James, Patrick Patterson, Omri Casspi fill in this area.  These types are already or probably will be solid rotation players as decent starters or good bench players.  The Nuggets will likely be in the lottery with these players but not so horrendously bad we'll have a ton of ping pong balls.  It's probable the Nuggets could get two players, potentially even three, of this type of caliber in any deal.  The great hope is we can add another top-flight starter through another trade down the road.

3) Picks, picks, and more picks... and cap space - We eschew current young players on NBA rosters for those to be determined.  Most "superstar" trades of the past fallen under this category.  These trades will likely involve a lot of expiring contracts to accompany the draft picks.  The Clippers, Houston, and New Jersey all have the ability to offer three 1st rounders in the next three years (assuming lottery protections don't kick in) plus 2nd rounders.  The owed picks to these teams are all pretty intriguing (Clippers own Minnesota's unprotected 2012 1st, Houston owns NY's top 5 protected 2012 and swap rights in 2011, and New Jersey owns GS's 2012 top 7 protected) so there's at least the chance we may get very lucky with the lottery in addition to likely mid-late natural 1st round picks from those teams in 2011 and 2013.  This option gives us a ton of cap flexibility and the ability to fashion a roster of our choosing through the draft picks.  Still, there's a lot of risk assumed in this type of deal simply because draft picks are by nature unpredictable, both in what spot the pick will be and which players will be available, not to mention the actual development of the player.  This option does also clear for a lot of cap space which grants us the ability to play as the third team in other teams deals picking up assets in that way (see. Houston deal with NY, Eric Maynor to OKC, Michael Beasley to Minnesota, etc) or by signing FA's.

4) Retooling, not rebuilding - In this case we're looking for packages around good starters who have already shown NBA ability.  Kevin Martin, Aaron Brooks, Vince Carter, and Chris Kaman come to mind.  It's likely the Nuggets will remain playoff contenders but extremely unlikely we're Championship contenders.  This route has very little risk in the fact we'll never have to see the likes of Junior Harrington/Vincent Yarbrough/Ryan Bowen on the team wallowing in the cellar.  Low risk, pretty low ceiling.

Those are the four main options I can see.  While I realize most deals out there incorporate several facets of these deals, they generally all lean toward one category or another.  We're not gonna see any "Favors, T-Will, James, Murphy, and 3 first-rounders" or "Griffin, Gordon, Kaman, 3 firsts type of offers" on the table which fulfill numerous options to the fullest.  I'm curious what people's preference is.

I'm in the option 1 category.  Just get me one potential franchise level player, risk and surrounding package be damned.  I'm a believer that you have to have a franchise level player (not necessarily super-elite like Kobe, Durant, James, Wade, etc) or there's no real point in playing the game.  Even if the player we trade for doesn't pan out, it's likely we're gonna have a very high lottery pick so we have a chance to get another franchise player that way.  In an absolutely glorious and fortuitous world, the player we receive in the deal shows promise in the first year, we suck, get another high lottery pick, and then they both blossom together in year two or three.  Basically what the Nets have now with Lopez, Favors and arguably T-Will or the Clippers with Gordon, Griffin and Aminu.  The risk associated with this course is off the charts but I'm not content with just competing, I want championships.  However, I completely understand when people run for the hills thinking we might end up like the 2002 Nuggets again and want a lower risk associated with any trade we make.