Free agency opened on July 1, and while 29 teams around the league have made an effort to improve, the Nuggets have stood still. They could use an upgrade at multiple positions, but we’re focused on possible big men.
No. 4 – Josh Smith
It’s time to have some fun! What better way for the Nuggets than to sign “J-Smoove.” Smith had a roller coaster season this past year. In 2013, Smith signed a four-year, $54 million contract with the Detroit Pistons. Less than two years later, Smith was waived by the Pistons, who ate most of his contract in order to remove his toxicity from the team. Smith was then signed by the Houston Rockets, where he teamed with Dwight Howard to form a fearsome frontcourt that helped the Rockets to the Western Conference Finals. The high-flying forward shot 38 percent from deep during the playoffs. Smith is a formidable scorer (career average of 15.1 points-per-game), blessed with crazy athleticism, who lives to reject basketballs twenty rows into the crowd. “J-Smoove” has a reputation of being difficult to coach, but newly hired head coach Michael Malone, who got along with DeMarcus Cousins in Sacramento, might be able to reach him. If that were the case, the Nuggets would gain one of the most physically talented players in the NBA, a 6-foot-9 freak-of-nature who can hit a jumper and jump out of the gym.
