Eleven years after he was first drafted by Denver, Jameer Nelson will finally wear a Nuggets uniform.
First reported by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports Tuesday afternoon, the Nuggets are sending veteran guard Nate Robinson to the Boston Celtics for point guard Jameer Nelson.
The Nuggets are close to trading guard Nate Robinson to Boston, a source told Yahoo Sports.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) January 13, 2015
Denver is not sending any picks to Boston in trade, a source said.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) January 13, 2015
Spears hinted that Boston is likely to buy Robinson out of his remaining contract. The 30-year-old is averaging just under six points per-game in his first season back from an ACL-injury.
The 32-year-old Nelson started the season with the Mavericks before being traded to the Celtics in the deal that brought Rajon Rondo to Dallas. He’s suffering through a down season, averaging just 6.8 points per-game and shooting just 34 percent from the field.
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It’s tempting to think that this move, along with the Timofey Mozgov deal, means the Nuggets have accepted their fate as a lottery team and are ready to rebuild. I’m not so sure. The Nuggets are adding a little bit of salary in swapping Robinson for Nelson, and there’s reason to think that, despite Nelson’s shooting woes this season, the deal makes Denver better.
Nelson is a much better two-way player than Robinson and the Nuggets obviously think he’s a prime rebound candidate. The deal also gives Denver a true backup point guard, something they haven’t enjoyed since Andre Miller left town.
The swap likely makes the Nuggets a better team right now, both on the court and in the locker room. Robinson is a proud guy, and he wasn’t going to happy averaging just 14 minutes a night like he was in Denver. There weren’t any public signs of discontent out of Robinson, but it’s clear he didn’t really fit in the rotation anymore. Now, if Boston does buy Robinson out, he can sign with a contender and help swing a playoff game or two.
The only curious thing, at least from the Nuggets perspective, is that Nelson will likely keep young guards Gary Harris and Erick Green off the court even more – though it could be just as beneficial to have a veteran guard like Nelson around as a mentor. Point guards who led teams to the NBA finals don’t become available every day.
Zach Marburger is a staff writer for Mile High Sports. He can be reached via email at zmarburger@milehighsports.com or on Twitter @BurchBurger.