The Denver Broncos climbed the NFL mountaintop and put a blue and orange flag at the summit, but now that the season is over, it’s time to focus on the other Denver teams. With that said, I will be doing, or at least hoping to do, a monthly Denver Nuggets mailbag.
If you have a Nuggets or NBA question please tweet me here, and I will make sure to answer it via twitter or when I get to another mailbag.
So lets get started! The first question comes from one of my favorite Nuggets fans on Twitter.
@JoshuaDover
Does Tim Connelly plan to sell those 1st rd picks like a hooker on Colfax & Quebec??— Brooke (@Brooke_Cale) February 25, 2016
Language, Brooke, language! How can we not be impressed with what Tim Connelly has done up to this point? He found Nikola Jokic in the second round and was gifted Emmanuel Mudiay with the seventh overall pick.
To answer the question, Brooke, he will have a lot of leverage when we get to the NBA draft, and I’m very confident that whatever he does with them, it will be the right thing for the Denver Nuggets.
Next???
@JoshuaDover what European country should the Nuggets target next in the draft?
— Dan Fellman (@dfellman) February 25, 2016
My old friend, Dan Fellman. Well, Dan, I cannot tell you where the scouting team is currently located, but I can tell you there is some real talent in some local rec leagues! Right, Doug Ottewill?
Lets get a couple more tweets in here.
@JoshuaDover Another one. How is Mudiay going to learn how to play in the fourth quarter when he never plays in the fourth quarter?
— Carlos Illescas (@CillescasDP) February 25, 2016
Carlos is a great Nuggets fan and a cool person to have a hoops conversation with at any time. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone told me months ago that he knew he would be faced with this challenge: “How can I develop my young guys but still give my team the best chance to win.”
It’s a tough question to answer.
I think you are referring to the game against the Kings on Tuesday night. In that instance, it was personal, and we know why: Malone wants nothing more than to give Mudiay an opportunity to improve, but that night he wanted the win, and D.J. Augustin’s defense gave them a better chance to do just that.
One more from Carlos, why not?
@JoshuaDover Yes. Why is Darrell Arthur still playing when there are young guys to develop?
— Carlos Illescas (@CillescasDP) February 25, 2016
Darrell Arthur is one of the better shooters on this team but I do understand the frustration in seeing him in the game rather than youngsters like Nikola Jokic, Jusuf Nurkic or Joffrey Lauvergne. Much like I said above, sometimes Malone throws development out the window and tries to win the game.
Last but least I did receive a question via FaceBook from one of my former interns, Drew.
His question was: “What are the Nuggets going to do this offseason to make the team better? Who would be the best trade option?”
Hate to say it Drew but there will not be much movement this offseason. They may lose a role player or two and add one as well, but the core is here, and now we just have to sit back and wait for them to develop.
Thanks for all the questions, I look forward to doing a mailbag once a month and hearing from Nuggets Nation!