“Meanwhile, as head coach Brian Shaw scrambles for a game plan, Andre Miller is at home watching The Walking Dead and ordering takeout Chinese for the past month.”
DENVER- The Nuggets need to trade Andre Miller, and they need to trade him right now.
The team is staring down the tunnel leading towards a dismantled and withering franchise with subpar moral.
Don’t get me wrong, the Nuggets’ roster is peppered with incredible talent and potential. However, the injury-prone roster is starting to take a toll on the team’s play.
With starting center JaVale McGee out with an injured tibia, starting forward Danilo Gallanari out with an ACL, Nate Robinson out with an ACL, and starting guard Ty Lawson out with bruised ribs, the team is slowly running out of options on the court.
The Nuggets’ found out firsthand what a slim roster can do on Monday, after the Indiana Pacers smothered Denver in a 119-80 blowout in Indiana.
Meanwhile, as head coach Brian Shaw scrambles for a game plan, Andre Miller is at home watching The Walking Dead and ordering takeout Chinese for the past month.
After getting in an altercation with Shaw, Miller was dismissed from team practices and games, and is yet to travel with his teammates to any game this year. His exact whereabouts, and the progress of trade talks, have not been made available to the media.
The Nuggets are shooting themselves in the foot by not pulling the trigger on a Miller trade. Although he is worth more than most teams are willing to offer, franchises around the league realize that they hold the upper hand in this instance, as they know Denver ultimately just wants to dump Miller. And while the Nuggets hold out for the trade to lean in their favor, the team is going to continue to spiral downward as the injuries prolong.
But, the likelihood of the team making any ‘straight-up’ moves for Miller is highly unlikely. In fact, it has been rumored around the league that Kenneth Faried is just as high on the chopping block as Miller.
Faried’s subpar effort on defense, and inability to effectively maintain a midrange jumper, has seemingly itched the front office in the wrong way.
If the Nuggets are looking to acquire help right-now, they need to be willing to move a package of players. From my understanding, the only players who aren’t available for trade would be that of Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallanari. I would also be surprised if Wilson Chandler is high on the list to be shipped, but by no means is he off the board.
Right now the Nuggets need assistance. Significant losses to the Pistons and Pacers were the highlight to the fact that this roster isn’t going to do.
Andre Miller is the key dagger at this moment. His inability to contribute to the team is proving costly to the team. However, don’t be surprised if he is shipped, alongside one or two others from the roster, before the trade deadline February 20. Only 9 short days away.
Dillon Thomas is your inside source to the Denver Nuggets. Follow him on Twitter: @DillonMThomas, for lockerroom updates.
