That New GM Smell

How do you welcome a new general manager? How do you mark the arrival of a reigning Executive of the Year, who is expected to unplug the dirty toilet of stink built by his predecessor (and mentor) who’s been moved to the office down the hall?


By taking a deep dive into the transactions that got him there, of course! Welcome, Masai Ujiri, to the basketball hospital that is FireBC (which is now, I guess, a “cute” label like “20th Century Fox”). But instead of the basement’s coroner’s office, we’re up in the nursery telling your origin story.


August 27 2010

Named executive vice president of basketball operations.


The summer of 2010’s other Decision.


October 21 2010

Exercised the contract option on guard Ty Lawson through 2011-12.


I mean, I guess he could have declined?


February 22 2011Signed forward Carmelo Anthony to a contract extension and traded him along with guards Chauncey Billups and Anthony Carter, forward Renaldo Balkman and center Shelden Williams to the New York Knicks for guard Raymond Felton, forwards Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, center Timofey Mozgov, a future first-round pick, two future second-round picks, the right to exchange 2016 first-round picks and cash and center Kosta Koufos and a second-round pick from the Minnesota Timberwolves, who traded forward Corey Brewer to the New York Knicks for forward Anthony Randolph, center Eddy Curry and cash.


Only a few notes on his call sheet and then the big one. Many ‘a pundit looked at Carmelo Anthony’s prolonged and forced exodus from Denver as a no-win for Ujiri and the Nuggets. After all, Anthony was the clear superstar and conventional punditry dictates that the team intaking the superstar always wins.


Slightly more astute observers compared the haul exchanged for Melo as a victory for Ujiri, especially when compared to how LeBron James and Chris Bosh took their talents to some beach in the south. If you remember, James and Bosh were officially signed-and-traded by the Cavs and Raptors, respectively, netting two of the three super bros extra cash by utilizing their Bird rights with Miami sending back trivial draft picks (yes, one of the picks was used to draft Jonas Valanciunas, and yes that pick was actually Toronto’s original pick returned from a disastrous trade.)


I’ve covered here why Ujiri had more leverage and the return for Anthony was greater making this deal less ingenious and more opportunistic. That said, how about the haul? Ujiri shed Chauncey Billips’ contract (owed about $20 million in the next year-and-a-half) on the Knicks who used the amnesty provision to turn him into cap space. Let’s credit Uirij for reading the tea leaves correctly on a 34-year-old, prideful player who was no longer able to produce up to his pay grade. The Nuggets also picked up (with some help from Minnesota)


Kosta Koufos: a dude with a fun name who came into the league super raw and unable to secure consistent playing time in Utah and Minny. But Koufos hit his stride this season, starting every game he played, protecting the rim, finishing dunks and all for a bargain basement 3 year/$9 million deal. A K-Krazy deal! (Okay, he disappeared in the playoffs);


Raymond Felton: flipped him for THIS!;


Wilson Chandler: actually had plays called for him as the scorer of choice off the bench this past season


Timofey Mozgov: was a sticking point for the Knicks in this trade. I assure you Denver would happily send him back;

Danilo Gallinari: really, the crux of the deal. Gallinari has shone through as a stretch 4/3; a Wally Szczerbiak but three inches taller (this is actually a compliment--Wally made an all-star team). Sure, he got hurt before the playoffs and got off to an awful start, but in between, was the engine of the Nuggets offense, playing up-tempto small ball, shooting with range, displayin much improved playmaking and, most of all, showing the kind of promise you want to see in a 24-year-old on a 4 year/$42 million agreement


Yes, Ujiri had Carmelo and the Knicks by his Honeynut Cheerios but credit is surely due for his efforts to remake a competitive team on the fly and keep it competitive.


March 8 2011 Signed head coach George Karl to a contract extension.


Karl always struck me as all smoke and no mirrors, with an “aw shucks” over-simple offense and no defensive plan besides run around a lot. But I’ll admit I only watch him coach a few games a year, almost all in the playoffs. So, take it away, Zach Lowe.


June 20 2011 Exercised the contract option on guard Ty Lawson through 2012-13 and tendered qualifying offers to guard Arron Afflalo and forwards Gary Forbes and Wilson Chandler.


This is housekeeping, obviously, but three out of four of these guys became significant players.


Draft 2011 Selected forward Kenneth Faried (22nd overall pick). Traded guard Raymond Felton to the Portland Trail Blazers for guard Andre Miller and a future second-round pick and the draft rights to forward Jordan Hamilton from the Dallas Mavericks; traded a future second-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers for the draft rights to forward Chukwudiebere Maduabum.


The Faried pick, at 22, is one of the more savvy draft decisions in the modern NBA. Faried was a rebounding machine from whatever the opposite of a powerhouse college is, Morehead State. After breaking Tim Duncan’s college career rebounding record, scoutis were unsure how Fareid would fare in the NBA. He rebounds using athleticism over the spacing-and-position method and his offensive game was severely limited.


I remember watching him in the NCAA tournament and thinking “this dude is fun!” (can you tell I am not an amateur scout?) I’m not sure what Uriji saw that made him take a chance on a “project-y” guy like Faried but I am taking a wild guess it’s this... rebounding has shown to be the most predictable skill that translates from the college game. Great rebounders have a better opportunity to be good NBA rebounders than those with “scorer” in their scouting reports. So, maybe Ujiri, staring down at a draft board where 21 young men would be unavailable by the time he chose, decided not to reach with a high-risk/high-reward pick and instead recognized translate-able rebounding skills as an undervalued asset in the Moneyball parlance and pounced.


While Fareid was picked about where he placed in mock drafts, his stock rose significantly only a few weeks before the draft which may indicate Denver had expressed interest.


With the emergence of speedy little Ty Lawson, the Nuggets required a tall, versatile second guard who could easily play in a “twin guard” formation. Though he can’t shoot and his once lauded defence has become this thanks to father time, Andre Miller is a veteran player who just shuts up and plays basketball while Raymond Felton is a doughy whiner (who the Knicks suckered into a four year/$14 million contract).


December 10 2011

Signed forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to an offer sheet.


I love signing offer sheets to restricted free agents. It’s a fantastic way to just fuck with other teams in a tense, salary cap era for the small risk of tying up some cap space for three days. But holy hell, Ujiri is lucky the Bucks matched the four year/$18.7 million. Mbah a Moute has regressed in Milwaukee in the years since, cementing his complete lack of offensive game and had his minutes swallowed up by a still-relevant, Mike Dunleavy and still-in-the-league, Marquis Daniels. A near-miss for Masai.


December 13 2011 Re-signed center Nenê, signed forward DeMarre Carroll and traded a 2016 second-round pick to the Dallas Mavericks for guard Rudy Fernandez and forward Corey Brewer.


I was very critical of re-signing Nene at the time. At 29, he was an oft-injured centre with only “meh” defensive abilities and no back-to-the-basket game. He was/is a deft passer with unbelievable hands who can score, face-up in a number of deadly ways but with age and a loss of athleticism, I figured he would fossilize by age 31 or so, which would be hard to bear for the cost of five years/$65 million, paying him $13 million in the final year at age 34.


What I should have remembered, though, is that this is exactly the going rate for a tier-two big man at that age and if you think I’m wrong, let’s talk after someone signs Al Jefferson this summer. This contract was so in line, that, well... spoiler alert... we’ll soon see it packaged and sent off in a trade, not something you’d see with an albatross. Before those events, though, Nene was justly the central piece of the Nuggets’ offense. It had speedy guards, wiley stoppers and a stretch shooter, but it all depended on Nene’s ability to explode from the post and project guard-like passes to open teammates out of the double team.


Also, I love Rudy Fernandez and don’t understand why he’s not still in the NBA.


Also, also, I guess Corey Brewer is one of those wiley stoppers I praised the Nuggets for, though he’s always seemed more flail-y than wiley to my eyes.


December 20 2011 Re-signed guard Arron Afflalo.


Afflalo is an interesting case. A fantastic three ball shooter and defender, he fit perfectly into the Nuggets offence at the time, working in and around Nene. Bill Simmons went deep on what this guy was actually worth, in a column from a couple years ago. It’s hard to say whether Afflalo peaked or has left a good situation for a bad one in Orlando, but I have no doubt that market value was at least the $36 million over four years he signed to. I’d trade for Arron Afflalo right now for any wing on the Raptors.


January 25 2012 Signed forward Danilo Gallinari and center Kosta Koufos to contract extensions.


Four years/$42 million seemed high for Gallinari but I don’t think it’s unreasonable.


March 15 2012 Traded center Nenê to the Washington Wizards for forward Ronny Turiaf and center JaVale McGee.


And... there he goes. Maybe Ujiri got cold feet and the mid/late-career version of Nene that was approaching or maybe this was the plan all along. Either way, he jettisoned his cornerstone for the unpredictable McGee. JaVale’s shown flashes of brilliance during his short career but he often looks lost in the half court on both O and D. He was more or less removed from the rotation this year which is a troubling sign for a dude on a four year/$44 million contract but he’s still only 25 years old and seemed to offer the same combination of athletic rim protection and dunking that got him paid in the first place. Maybe George Karl just thought he was a douche? I would have taken my chances with Nene but I completely understand trying something here and I expect McGee to play more next season.


Draft 2012

Selected guard Evan Fournier (20th overalll pick), forward Quincy Miller (38th overall pick) and center Izzet Turkyilmaz (50th overall pick).


I won’t pretend to have any idea about these guys other than Fournier who played some garbage time in the playoffs. Also, I hope Izzet Turkyilmaz’s nickname is “Izza Turky.”


July 17 2012

Waived forward Chris Andersen.


Oh Birdman. I assume this was less about basketball and more about all the things that are up with Andersen. However, I’m sure Ujiri has looked at what got out of McGee for $11 million vs. what Miami is getting out of Andersen for petty cash and poured himself a stiff iced coffee.


August 10 2012

Traded guard Arron Afflalo, forward Al Harrington and the lower of its 2014 first-round picks to the Orlando Magic for Andre Iguodala from the Philadelphia 76ers.


This is how you know Afflalo was properly paid. He was the lynchpin in this trade (did you even remember Al Harrington is still in the NBA?) that landed the Nuggets Andre Iguodala. Probably the best example of Ujiri’s philosophy, over even the Nene trade, the GM deftly looked at an undervalued asset in Iguodala and acquired him without giving up many assets.


Iggy is an overpaid non-scorer, non-star, you counter? Wrong, you are! Since you won’t argue he’s a top-five perimeter defender (playing the part for the USA Olympic team) or his passing or rebounding, your qualms are, therefore, with his ability to put ball in basket. Well, I argue he’s a heady-enough player who has ramped down his shot attempts as he’s been paired with better teammates, beginning a couple of years ago with a surging Sixers team. He made $15 million last season on the second last year of a six year/$60 million contract and still in his prime years (29). I want this guy on my team just as Jerry Colangelo and Coach K wanted him. You should want him, too. Arron Afflalo may turn into something special. Or he may be Kerry Kittles. Iguodala is a top-tier talent now, perfectly paired to the athletic pace preferred by Lawson, Fared, Gallinari, et al. who may be re-signable at an affordable rate if he opts for long-term stability.


And that... is pretty much it. Ujiri’s only had a few major moves (Melo, Nene, Afflalo departing/Gallinari, McGee, Iguodala arriving) and one draft pick of note (Fareid) in his three years at the helm but it’s been enough to completely overhaul and re-invent the Nuggets. He’s leaving that team with reasonable salary commitments, long-term certainty on most of the core team (and a good chance to re-sign Iggy) and lots of tradable pieces should they sense an opportunity. Let’s hope Ujiri is given the time, opportunity and support to re-make the Raptors using those same principles.