Denver Nuggets vice president Masai Ujiri say the franchise is primed for rebuilding: NBA News
The Denver Nuggets are a franchise in transition.
The organization is ready to move into a new era, with veteran coach George Karl at the helm, and is looking to youth in order to build an NBA World Championship worthy project.
"We have a lot of young guys. It's going to be a challenge but we think we have some really good veterans," Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri said recently.
The team does have a lot of young talented players, but they have come at a price. The Nuggets lost super star small forward Carmelo Anthony during the last season as he forced his way to the New York Knicks. The trade brought
Denver a number of quality young guys but also cost them veteran point guard Chauncey Billups.
Denver’s project for the last half decade or so had been built around Carmelo. Referred to as the “Golden Nugget”, Anthony was the face of the franchise and the focus point of their efforts to win an NBA World Championship.
With that dream collapsing last season, the organization has been forced to look up other options. The first step they have taken is re-sign two of their highest rated free agents. Centre Nene, who has only played for the Nuggets
during his NBA career, and promising guard Arron Afflalo, have both been secured on five year contracts.
The franchise views the duo as the corner stone for a new era where they will lead a roster of talented upstarts in a bid for NBA relevancy.
"Both of them were a huge priority for us," Masai Ujiri said. "It's not only two starters getting back, which is a huge part of your team, just being able to continue consistency. They're going to teach the young guys a lot about
our culture, the way we play and just growing as a team.”
There role is increasingly important because the Nuggets lost a number of other veterans due to the NBA lockout. Denver turned out to the team most affected by the work stoppage as Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith and Wilson Chandler
decided to go abroad rather than wait for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement to be signed.
Although that has left Denver a little short of numbers, it also means that they don’t have many trade assets, which is why they will be sticking with what they have, for now.
"Majorly, I think we're done," Masai said. "There might be minor tweaks here and there but I think after seven, eight, nine days of training camp we're looking forward to the season opener."
How quickly can the side grow up and become a genuine force in the NBA is yet to be seen, but the Nuggets have enough talent to make a mark sooner or later.
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