Denver Nuggets - The Next Level [Game 3 + 4]

[Kenny]

Thanks Phil89, before this one, Borislav Perko was the highest pick I ever had in the NBA draft (#14), so it is in fact the first top 10 pick I've ever gotten. It'll add another element to my story I hope

[Kenny]

Former Nuggets Duo Leave The Game



Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith both decided to retire at the end of the 2022-2023 season. Their partnership was the best the franchise has ever seen and arguably one of the greatest in NBA history. They were the heart of the Denver dynasty for many seasons and between them they have a total of 9 NBA Championship rings, 2 MVP and 5 Finals MVP trophies.

Carmelo Anthony spent his 20 seasons with Denver, Minnesota, Orlando and Los Angeles (Clippers), but he won all 4 NBA championships and Finals MVPs (2011, 2012, 2013, 2017) with the Denver Nuggets.

After 19 seasons, J.R. Smith finished his career where he started; in New Orleans. Before that, he had two stints with Denver, along with a stops at Memphis and Oklahoma City. He won 6 NBA championships, which included 5 with Denver and 1 in his last season with the New Orleans Hornets. He was also named the regular season MVP twice (2016-2017, 2019-2020) and the Finals MVP in 2019.

[Martti.]

#1 pick for you? Didn't think I'd see that, but I guess that simmed season was a blessing in disguise, if you can capitalize and get a future superstar. Plus, Lopez's 15M came off the books, so that's good.

Dwight also moving on? I guess you need a C, with the rest of your line-up set. Hunt had a great year.

[Phil89]

Thanks Phil89, before this one, Borislav Perko was the highest pick I ever had in the NBA draft (#14), so it is in fact the first top 10 pick I've ever gotten. It'll add another element to my story I hope

The highest pick I've had in both my dynasties is 30th, I think.

I usually trade away my first round pick in deals for established players too (Mayo, Lopez, Bargnani). It's probably why I've never really gone totally in-depth with my draft coverage like some other people in this section.

With Howard leaving and Lopez retiring, does that mean you don't have any 'real' players left?

[Houndy]

#1 Pick? Now you gotta actually scout instead picking from the coolest names. What I've learned is these guys can change franchises, so pick wisely

[kibaxx7]

Shame to see the team go down with that record. That #1 pick, manna from heaven. Call the scouts

[Lamrock]

Sucks to see such a fall from grace with what should have been a playoff team. Glad to see J.R. retire with a ring and Oden get one though. Here's hoping you can still find a real player or two to have on your squad next season.

As for playing the games, I'd recommend X's old method that only works for NBA Live: play one, sim intervene one, sim one, repeat. If only 2K had that feature...

[Axel The Great]

Sad to see two of your best players from the dynasty retire, but they had great careers. Good to see you lucked into the #1 pick, hopefully there's a quality center in this draft class.

[Andrew]

Smith's career certainly ended on a much higher note than Melo's. That's a tough season thanks to the sim engine but it has certainly added a new wrinkle to the story in the form of the number one pick. Hopefully with your intervention, this season will be a better one...perhaps another underdog championship year?

[The X]

You definitely tanked it. Sitting Perko for last 10 games ensured you a better pick.

As for playing the games, I'd recommend X's old method that only works for NBA Live: play one, sim intervene one, sim one, repeat. If only 2K had that feature...

Yep, I was going to mention that but wasn't sure if Live still has that. Definitely think you should do that Kenny, much quicker getting through seasons. Also in relation to the sim intervention, I would always sim the first three quarters and play the fourth quarter. I'm pretty sure I would also only intervene if game wasn't a blowout either way (like up or down 15-20 points).

I agree it would be great if 2K had that feature. I'd probably consider playing longer seasons.

[Mavs4Life]

Well, we've got a new chapter in this amazing story, so I'm excited.

[Warlock95]

Congrats on getting the top pick, man! Hope you get back to your winning ways in '24.

So, how many real players are left?

[Cruzerr]

Wow, have not been here for a while, good do see this one still going.

If people are leaving, you got to work with that #1 pick right.

[Kenny]

#1 pick for you? Didn't think I'd see that, but I guess that simmed season was a blessing in disguise, if you can capitalize and get a future superstar. Plus, Lopez's 15M came off the books, so that's good.

Dwight also moving on? I guess you need a C, with the rest of your line-up set. Hunt had a great year.

I didn't think I would either, but it's one thing I guess I can tick off the list in this dynasty. I thought the Bucks had it for sure... they were absolutely abysmal.

A good centre will definitely be a priority. I thought about keeping Dwight for one more season, but it felt a little too contrived. If he was looking for another ring, he wouldn't stick with a team that came last in it's conference.

Thanks Phil89, before this one, Borislav Perko was the highest pick I ever had in the NBA draft (#14), so it is in fact the first top 10 pick I've ever gotten. It'll add another element to my story I hope

The highest pick I've had in both my dynasties is 30th, I think.

I usually trade away my first round pick in deals for established players too (Mayo, Lopez, Bargnani). It's probably why I've never really gone totally in-depth with my draft coverage like some other people in this section.

With Howard leaving and Lopez retiring, does that mean you don't have any 'real' players left?

I should have done that more as well, but I have gotten some interesting picks so far. I got Beasley and Chalmers for one of my first rounders once... and Nene

Technically at this point, yes, but in the coming off-season, I will add one more. I have to say, it's looking awfully bare on the free agent market as far as real players are concerned.

#1 Pick? Now you gotta actually scout instead picking from the coolest names. What I've learned is these guys can change franchises, so pick wisely

Yeah I know... don't worry, I did a little work in this one... I haven't drafted anyone named Jesus or Bill Cosby

Shame to see the team go down with that record. That #1 pick, manna from heaven. Call the scouts

The season was awful, but I think the pick is enough to get me enthusiastic about the dynasty again. I have to admit, I wasn't really feeling it after I lost to Houston.

Sucks to see such a fall from grace with what should have been a playoff team. Glad to see J.R. retire with a ring and Oden get one though. Here's hoping you can still find a real player or two to have on your squad next season.

I'm hoping the number 1 pick can make it feel like the dynasty has started all over again. It's hard to get enthusiastic over late first rounders in this game, but I like the guy I picked this time around. As much as the Nuggets sucked, I was also happy to see J.R. and Oden win a championship... Westbrook actually got one too, but I kind of overlooked his name on the list.

There will be one real player in the squad at the start of next season

Sad to see two of your best players from the dynasty retire, but they had great careers. Good to see you lucked into the #1 pick, hopefully there's a quality center in this draft class.

As sad as it is, right now I'm seeing it as a new beginning. Melo was basically a corpse in his last two seasons, so now he's retired, I can reflect back on his contributions with Denver and same with J.R. There's probably going to be the odd nostalgia article about those two and at some point, I'll be looking into retiring their numbers.

All I'll say in this post is that the best player in the draft is a power forward

Smith's career certainly ended on a much higher note than Melo's. That's a tough season thanks to the sim engine but it has certainly added a new wrinkle to the story in the form of the number one pick. Hopefully with your intervention, this season will be a better one...perhaps another underdog championship year?

Melo's decline was really rapid in this game (much like D-Wade's), so even if he was on a contender, he wasn't really contributing much. J.R. Smith however was the starting point guard on the championship team, so it's quite amazing the logic behind that, considering he's only a year younger than Melo. I think it might be because he spent his "prime" years with Memphis and came back to the Nuggets with a high rating, while I sent Melo to the T-Wolves when he was in his 30s.

I'm hoping that the number one pick will at least get Denver back to the status of contenders... but I'd love an underdog win

You definitely tanked it. Sitting Perko for last 10 games ensured you a better pick.

As for playing the games, I'd recommend X's old method that only works for NBA Live: play one, sim intervene one, sim one, repeat. If only 2K had that feature...

Yep, I was going to mention that but wasn't sure if Live still has that. Definitely think you should do that Kenny, much quicker getting through seasons. Also in relation to the sim intervention, I would always sim the first three quarters and play the fourth quarter. I'm pretty sure I would also only intervene if game wasn't a blowout either way (like up or down 15-20 points).

I agree it would be great if 2K had that feature. I'd probably consider playing longer seasons.

I figured at that point of the season that Perko was having a bad one, so I may as well give other players a go... see into that what you will

At some point I'll try the sim intervention feature, but right now I'm kind of motivated to get Perko's status back after an absolutely terrible simmed season. I think Lamrock even mentioned once that he did an entire season where he did a sim intervention every 4th quarter. I'd like to try that too in one of the future seasons.

Well, we've got a new chapter in this amazing story, so I'm excited.

I hope so too... even if the guy turns out to be a bust, I'm excited about it

Congrats on getting the top pick, man! Hope you get back to your winning ways in '24.

So, how many real players are left?

I hope so too... it was hard to watch my franchise crumble so emphatically.

As for that, I'll guess that there are less than 10 (including free agency). Season 16 could be completely generated... Jrue Holiday is nowhere to be seen, so that experiment failed miserably

Wow, have not been here for a while, good do see this one still going.

If people are leaving, you got to work with that #1 pick right.

Pretty sure I'm commited to the 25 with this one, since I don't have NBA 2K12 and I suck at NBA 2K11

The pick is very important as far as my team and my continued interest with this story are concerned. Hopefully the new guy can give this dynasty a new dimension.

[Kenny]

With the first pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, the Denver Nuggets select:

Stan Griffiths
(Georgia Tech)
Power Forward
Age: 21
6'10
200lbs

NBA Comparison: Kevin Garnett

Inside: A-
Outside: B
Defense: A
Teamwork: C-
Athleticism: B


With pick number 32, the Denver Nuggets select:

Timothy Ullrich
(Memphis)
Centre
Age: 22
6'7
240lbs

NBA Comparison: Nick Collison

Inside: B
Outside: C-
Defense: C
Teamwork: D-
Athleticism: B-

--------------------------

There you have it, one skinny Kevin Garnett clone and a Chuck Hayes style centre in the draft. I'm hoping Stan can get some minutes at centre and co-existent with Perko and play pretty much all the minutes when he's on the bench. It was a draft stacked with point guards, so while I didn't get the centre I wanted, I got the guy who's the most NBA ready and is probably the best pick of the draft (the next best had comparisons to Jameer Nelson).

Sorry that my draft presentation is underwhelming, after many seasons of getting the 30th pick, I haven't really got a flashy template or great coverage of the event.

[Houndy]

Nice picks, maybe this guy has the same emotion KG does

[Kenny]

I'm just hoping for the same level of play as KG... he better leave my Euros alone

[Kenny]

Off-Season Acquisitions

Denver Nuggets

-DeMar DeRozan will be the only "real" player left on the Nuggets this season, as he signed a 2 year deal.
-Nicklas Good signed for 2 years as well. At 7'1, Good provides much needed height in what is an undersized centre rotation.
-Axel Donnelly signed a 4 year deal with the Nuggets. The 5th year power forward out of Arizona State spent his first 4 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs.
-Vincenzo Russo is back in the NBA after a 4 year stint in Turkey. He signed a 2 year deal with the Nuggets.

Other Interesting Moves

-Dwight Howard landed back in Indiana after signing a 1 year deal.
-Zach Pearson (Los Angeles Clippers) and Armando Ferrer (Houston Rockets) both re-signed with their respective teams.

Still Looking

-LeBron James once again finds himself without a team at the start of the 2023-2024 season. When he finds one, it'll be his 21st season in the NBA.

[Andrew]

It's definitely a different looking team with just the one real player on the roster. Hopefully Griffiths proves to have been worthy of being the top pick and Ullrich can chip in here and there.

[Axel The Great]

A Kevin Garnett type player is definitely great for your team. Hope he can co-exist alongside Perko, if he can get his MVP status back. Great signing in Donnelly, I no longer mourn Duncan Werner's departure from your team.

[The X]

Sounds like I could break him in half like a twig. 200lbs for a 6'10" player is skinny as. Skinnier than Jonathon Bender & Kevin Durant as rookies. Even Garnett as a rookie was an extra 20lbs I think. Ahh well, maybe it's very, very lean muscle mass

[Mavs4Life]

Maybe he'll have KG's Play, Blake's play, and KG's emotion . Sounds aweomse though.

[Kenny]

Prologue

Did they tank for the number 1 pick? Or were they legitimately awful last season? Whatever the true answer is, the Nuggets are looking to the future and they have themselves a terrific prospect in Stan Griffiths.

Griffiths was the emotional leader of his Georgia Tech team and reminded many scouts of the great Kevin Garnett. But will his skinny frame be able to compete with the likes of Armando Ferrer and Igor Martin? Well, with a Denver team looking to erase the previous season from their fans' mind, he's likely to get a lot of help from players looking to prove people wrong.

The other side of this story is Borislav Perko. He had the worst season of his career, both on an off the court. It also happens to be the last season on his remaining contract. If he has another bad one and Griffiths lives up to the hype, the unthinkable could happen; Borislav could become expendable.

Along with Stan Griffiths, the Nuggets basically have a new centre rotation, with the additions of Timothy Ullrich and Nicklas Good. While Good may appear as a placeholder centre while the Nuggets decided if Griffiths can play the position, Nicklas' height and rebounding ability make him a valuable commodity.

How will this season go down? Will the Nuggets return to their winning ways? Or will continue the downward spiral?

The 2023-2024 Denver Nuggets

The Starters

| Nicklas Good | Borislav Perko | Cody Campbell | Taylor MacKenzie | Steven Hunt |

The Bench

| Stan Griffiths | Simon Sampson | Liam Leopold | Bartholomew Myer | DeMar DeRozan| Axel Donnelly | Vincenzo Russo |

IR

| Ollie Stearn | Kitt Graham | Timothy Ullrich |


In

Stan Griffiths (Number 1 Pick), Nicklas Good (free agency), DeMar DeRozan (free agency), Axel Donnelly (free agency), Vincenzo Russo (free agency), Timothy Ullrich (second round pick)

Out

Dwight Howard (signed with Indiana), Brook Lopez (retired), Nigel Costa (free agency), Adrian Young (free agency), Cyrus Banks (free agency), Lino Sweeney (free agency)

[Kenny]

It's definitely a different looking team with just the one real player on the roster. Hopefully Griffiths proves to have been worthy of being the top pick and Ullrich can chip in here and there.

I managed to hold on for one more season with a real player, but next season could be the first one without... it's definitely looking that way since there's very few left in the game. Not sure how many minutes Ullrich is going to get at this point, but it'll be interesting use an undersized centre like him.

A Kevin Garnett type player is definitely great for your team. Hope he can co-exist alongside Perko, if he can get his MVP status back. Great signing in Donnelly, I no longer mourn Duncan Werner's departure from your team.

I'm personally not a big fan of KG, but like LeBron, it's purely because of his attitude (plus Tim Duncan is one of my all time favourites). I can't deny what a great player he's been over his career though and if Griffiths can live up to that, Denver will be competing again.

I thought you and Cruzerr would be the happiest with my off-season acquisitions this time around... also, Simon Sampson has the Kevin Martin jumpshot too (and is a much better shooter)

Sounds like I could break him in half like a twig. 200lbs for a 6'10" player is skinny as. Skinnier than Jonathon Bender & Kevin Durant as rookies. Even Garnett as a rookie was an extra 20lbs I think. Ahh well, maybe it's very, very lean muscle mass

To put it even more in perspective, Andre Miller's listed weight is 205, and he's only 6'2

I wonder how much the game's comparison to KG was based on his skinniness... I'm hoping he can be a beast as well.

Maybe he'll have KG's Play, Blake's play, and KG's emotion . Sounds aweomse though.

I'm just hoping he doesn't pick on Steven Hunt... I'm pretty sure he's a Euro.

[Andrew]

I'm guessing Griffiths will work his way into the starting five sooner or later, or at least see starters minutes off the bench...perhaps another rookie Sixth Man winner? Hopefully Perko will have some better performances outside of simulation.