By Jordan Long
The NBA moratorium period starts July 1st. This is when teams can contact free agents and reach oral agreements. Deals are not official until after the signing period which starts July 6th. The Denver Nuggets are looking to upgrade the roster. There are two players they are targeting, Paul Millsap and Blake Griffin. Both play the same position, power forward.
Paul Millsap could help the Nuggets become an improved team defensively. Millsap averaged 18.1 points, 7.7 rebounds per game last season. He is one of the better defenders in the league. Millsap plays defense and can block shots. His size at 6 foot 8 inches makes it difficult for opponents to have easy looks at the bucket when they pass the ball into the key. Millsap can also box out leading to fast break point opportunities.
Blake Griffin is the same type of player as Millsap on the defensive end. He is 6 foot 10 inches and grabs rebounds. Offensively Griffin can dunk which makes scoring an easy task.
The downside with Blake Griffin is his injury history. In the 2015-2016 season he was limited to 35 games. His injuries included a partially torn left quadriceps and a broken hand. The hand was hurt when he hit a member of the team’s equipment staff during an argument. Much of his future in basketball depends on his character off the court. The Nuggets can’t afford to sign him just to see him have an injury. That will not help the team.
Both of these athletes would increase the Nuggets wins total from a year ago. They won 40 games and missed the playoffs by 1 game. The win total may jump to 42 or 43, which is an improvement.
The Nuggets are going to have plenty of time to decide what they want to do at the power forward position. They should make the phone call to see if either player has interest in playing in Denver.
If they don’t upgrade, the Nuggets are still decent at the position. Kenneth Faried has proven he can play the position down low. He is not the scorer Millsap and Griffin are but he can still block shots and rebound. The Nuggets also have Darrell Arthur who plays behind Faried who can also play defense and box out. Denver will need to decide what is best for the team to make the postseason next year.
Who should the Nuggets sign between Paul Millsap and Blake Griffin?
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