Down to the final four, Nuggets fans may recognize some familiar faces. There are seven former Nuggets that now play for the Thunder, Warriors, Cavaliers and Raptors. While some are benchwarmers, others are making significant impacts on their team’s postseason run.
Let’s look at a few of these players and see what their Denver years were like and if the Nuggets could (or should) have kept them.
Timofey Mozgov
The 7-foot-1 Russian originally came to Denver in the trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks. In his four seasons with the Nuggets, Mozzy saw great improvement in his play. In the 2013-14 season, Mozgov played in all 82 games and saw his points per game jump almost seven whole points from the previous year to 9.4.
The next season Mozgov became the full-time starter, averaging 8.5 points and a career-high 7.8 rebounds. He also had his career game against the Warriors scoring 23 and grabbing 29 boards in a one-point road win.
However, 35 games into the season, Mozgov was traded to the Cavaliers for two first round picks. He remained the starter for the rest of the season and continued to play the best ball of his career.
Mozgov became the first Russian to play in the finals, putting up three double-doubles against the Warriors and was a big factor in the Cavs game two win, with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
This season, however, nagging knee injuries have caused Mozgov to see his minutes drop in favor of Tristian Thompson and smaller lineups. In this postseason, Mozgov has been forgotten, only logging a total of 38 minutes.
Verdict: The Nuggets got a great deal for Mozgov in last year’s trade during the peak of his career. Now all that matters is making sure the Nuggets get value from those picks.
