The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!!
Things are going to start happening to us now…
Rumors abound as the Denver Nuggets enter into the trade deadline today not having made any moves since the trade of Timofey Mozgov on January 7th. For a team that’s been trying to be active in the trade market as a seller, things have been very quiet on this Western front. But is all hope lost? Not in the slightest. Let’s look at a few of the Nuggets’ recent deadline days in the last two decades…
1997 – After a short and fruitful stay, Denver trades super point guard Mark Jackson back to the Pacers, getting Vincent Askew, Eddie Johnson and two second-round picks for Jackson and LaSalle Thompson. How did that work out for the Nuggets? Jackson was a key part of the Pacers teams that would make three consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals with one Finals shot amongst them, which they lost in six to the Lakers. Askew and Johnson were gone from Denver in fairly short order. Those second round picks became Jason Lawson and Tremaine Fowlkes. Who? Exactly.
2011 – This deadline day is burned into the memory of Nuggets fans everywhere as the denouement of the Melo-drama. The New York Knicks gave the house, the kitchen sink, and threw in the three-car garage in a trade with the Nuggets for Carmelo Anthony who, hilariously and by all appearances, would have signed with the Knicks the following summer as a free agent anyway. In a three-team deal, the Nuggets received Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Mozgov, a 2014 first-round pick, and 2012 and 2013 second-rounders. Kosta Koufos came from Minnesota as a part of that three-team deal as well.
As for the Knicks, they got Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Renaldo Balkman, Anthony Carter, and Shelden Williams. The loss of Billups was deep and painful, but it was a sizable haul for Denver when Melo could have been gone for nothing in a few months. The Nuggets learned that lesson in the loss of Dikembe Mutombo, in that a player of Deke’s stature brought back nothing in his departure. Thank god for James Dolan. New York made the playoffs those first three years that Melo was in town, but have struggled mightily since. Denver came out of the trade hot as well, but missed the playoffs last season, and are pretty statistically sure of the same this year. OK, damned sure. Damnit.
2012 – (deadline was in March due to the lockout) Denver turned to the Washington Wizards in 2012, after the play of Kenneth Faried made Nene a luxury. Denver looked to improve with Javale McGee and Ronny Turiaf in return for Nene, Brian Cook and a second-round pick. Denver saw sparks of good return from McGee early on, but he’s had injury troubles since. For Washington, Nene has helped the Wizards frontcourt to a few years of playoff experiences since his arrival.
What will the trade deadline bring for Denver today, Nuggets Nation? Can we take a step or two in the right direction? Or is this really the day of the dead?
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