Denver, CO. In a blockbuster deal which will be official today, the Denver Nuggets have acquired a 2012 NBA All-Star and current member of the Olympic Men’s Basketball Team. Andre Iguodala, who has been in the NBA for 8 seasons, is heading west and is the newest member of the Nuggets. In addition to Denver, this four team trade includes the Philadelphia 76ers, the Orlando Magic, and the Los Angeles Lakers. The most attention in this deal will be the fact that the Lakers added Dwight Howard, which immediately makes them a massive force in the Western Conference. But quietly, the Nuggets sending Arron Afflalo and Al Harrington in the deal to land Andre Iguodala improves a team who has continued to make wise decisions all summer long.
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The job that GM Masai Ujiri is doing is truly outstanding stuff. The man pulling the strings for the Denver Nuggets continues to make moves that make sense for this team now, and in the future. In the past few months, Denver has re-signed JaVale McGee and Andre Miller, released Chris “Birdman” Andersen, and now acquired a very talented player in Andre Iguodala. In this most recent move, Denver had to give up versatile guard Arron Afflalo and small forward Al Harrington. These two players were very key components of the team last year, so how does this trade make Denver better? Arron Afflalo can do a lot on the court, but is not overly explosive. He is a gritty guy, who doesn’t mind playing some defense as well. But he is somewhat limited and has probably already reached his full potential in the NBA. Harrington has a lot of wear on his tires, and showed last year he is starting to break down, little by little. This was a perfect time to deal these two guys, and the fact that they got an All-Star caliber player in return is a brilliant move. Iguodala is still just 28 years old, and has a career average of 15.3 points/game. In 2011, he was also named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Andre, a 6’6″ shooting guard, will undoubtedly start alongside Ty Lawson in the Nuggets backcourt. This 2 for 1 trade essentially frees up roster space and minutes for some other players as well, like Wilson Chandler and Jordan Hamilton. The Lakers, 76ers, and Magic may get more of the headlines in this deal, but the Denver Nuggets did very well for themselves.
Will this deal do much for the Denver Nuggets’ chances in the Western Conference? Hard to say really, because the Lakers appear to be a huge roadblock now along with Oklahoma City of course. But Denver’s overall talent level did improve with the addition of all-star guard Andre Iguodala. This roster is still remarkably deep, and if anything, will give some other teams in the west some serious fits.
Denver Sports by J Simp
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