Fans may have noticed this week that the Denver Nuggets signed an ex-Detroit Piston, Arron Afflalo, to a five-year $43 milion contract extension. This was a few days after the Pistons signed holdover Rodney Stuckey to three years at $25 million

Back in 2007, when the Pistons still were among the NBA elite, they drafted a pair of 6-foot-5 guards, Stuckey at No. 15 and Afflalo at No. 27.

The ‘Stones traded Afflalo to Denver in 2009 for a mere second-round draft pick. This may not seem like any sort of bad move, because Stuckey is a faster and more explosive athlete with a career average of 13.6 points per game, compared to Afflalo’s 7.4. Stuckey also is a superior penetrator and assist man.

However, they love Afflalo in Denver, especially after he led the Nuggets to a 17-5 record after last season’s Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony trades supposedly had doomed the team.

Afflalo “became kind of the leader of the team,” Coach George Karl gushed.

Afflalo never has knocked the Pistons, but he did say, “I got my first true opportunity to flourish as a player here (in Denver.”

Afflalo’s career-high scoring average of 12.4 points in 2010-2011 was hardly eye-popping, but there were intangibles at play. He hit 50 percent of his shots, rare for a guard, and 42 pecent of his triple tries for the second year in a row. (Stuckey never has even cracked 30 percent from downtown.) First and foremost, he is among the NBA’s best defenders. And we don’t mean to make Arron sound like the Denver Broncos’ Tim Tebow, but he has been a “just win” type of guy.

I’m not saying that I wish the Pistons had Afflalo instead of Stuckey. I just wish they had both players. When Denver has games on cable, I’ll be watching and rooting for the Nuggets, just like when they had Chauncey. Arron Afflalo is a steady, top-grade player. Check him out.

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DENVER (AP) – The Denver Nuggets have agreed to a five-year deal
with restricted free agent Arron Afflalo.

The Denver Post first reported Monday night the guard had agreed to a contract that could be worth up to $43 million.

Nuggets coach George Karl was preaching the importance of bringing back Afflalo, the player he considered the “glue guy” of the team.

Afflalo averaged 12.6 points last season and took on a bigger leadership role once Denver dealt Carmelo Anthony to the New York
Knicks last February. The team went 18-7 the rest of the way to make the playoffs.

This is the second deal Denver has orchestrated in a week. The team also re-signed Nene to a five-year, $67 million deal.

The Nuggets open the preseason on Tuesday by hosting Phoenix.

DENVER (AP)—The Denver Nuggets have agreed to a five-year deal with
restricted free agent Arron Afflalo.

The Denver Post first reported Monday night the guard had agreed to a
contract that could be worth up to $43 million.

Nuggets coach George Karl was preaching the importance of bringing back
Afflalo, the player he considered the “glue guy” of the team.

Afflalo averaged 12.6 points last season and took on a bigger leadership
role once Denver dealt Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks last February. The
team went 18-7 the rest of the way to make the playoffs.

This is the second deal Denver has orchestrated in a week. The team also
re-signed Nene to a five-year, $67 million deal.

The Nuggets open the preseason on Tuesday by hosting Phoenix.

Read More: Carmelo Anthony (F – NYK), Andre Miller (G – DEN), Danilo Gallinari (F – DEN), Ty Lawson (G – DEN), George Karl (H – DEN), Kenneth Faried (F – DEN), New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets have been getting their squad ready for the start of the NBA season, and on Wednesday Danilo Gallinari and rookie Kenneth Faried made some positive impressions with their play, while Ty Lawson continues his push for playing time with the first unit. Gallinari, acquired from the New York Knicks in the Carmelo Anthony trade last season, is a young forward looking for a breakout season, while rookie first-round pick Kenneth Faried is hoping to translate his college rebounding prowess to the NBA. Vic Lombardi of CBS 102.3FM in Denver spent some time watching the team scrimmage and came away with the following impressions:   

With Nene now back in the fold on a five-year, $67 million deal, it is difficult to take the claim about Gallinari being the best player too seriously, but the good news is that there is some visual evidence of improvement from the young talent.

As for the point guard competition between Ty Lawson and crafty veteran Andre Miller, Aaron Lopez of Nuggets.com sees an early 60/40 split favoring Lawson, with additional potential to see both players on the floor at the same time. It will interesting to see how head coach George Karl handles the rotation with two diversely talented point guards at his disposal.

Stay tuned to SB Nation Denver for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the Denver Nuggets be sure to visit Denver Stiffs. Visit SB Nation NBA for more news and notes around the league.

Last year, Carmelo Anthony(notes) forced the Denver Nuggets to find a suitable business partner and move him to a team of his liking by the trade deadline. He made no secret his preference was the Knicks, by dropping anvil-like hints he wouldn’t be signing extensions with any other team, thereby severely limiting the return the Nuggets would have received.

Chris Paul is on his way out of New Orleans. Could a stop in New York be in the cards?
2011

His urgency was driven by the fear that a new collective bargaining agreement would severely limit his options if he waited for free agency. As it turns out, he had very little to worry about, as the new CBA does almost nothing to restrict superstars like Carmelo from naming their team and price. Theoretically, if he had simply waited, he could have joined a Knicks’ team this year that was poised to climb over the hump, with all kinds of quality players at key positions, and options to move some guys in search of a center. Frankly, the Knicks should have allowed that scenario to play out and waited for the summer anyway.

With Carmelo Anthony’s cautionary tale so fresh in everyone’s mind, and no anxiety about a new labor agreement, why is Chris Paul’s(notes) agent requesting a trade to the Knicks before the season starts? Why doesn’t Chris Paul simply decline to sign extensions and prepare to secure a contract with the Knicks via free agency in the summer? As long as it seems his intentions lean that way, and his relationship with Carmelo is as strong as everyone believes it is, why create the very same circus that Anthony and the Knicks endured last year…especially when the world knows the Knicks have absolutely no chips left after stripping the cupboard last year for Carmelo?

I cannot fathom the strategy here. The NBA is calling the shots now for the New Orleans Hornets, and I can’t imagine, nor should anyone else including Chris Paul and his agent, that David Stern will want to engage in the very same activity their lockout sought to avoid. Paul will get to the Knicks soon enough, if that’s his dream. But he should know if it comes to pass that, when he arrives, there’s not likely to be enough dough to sign anyone else beyond Amare Stoudemire(notes), Carmelo Anthony, and himself. They’ll have to play a triangle zone, I guess.

Glenn Vallach has been a basketball fan, player, and coach during his lifetime and, as such, an ardent follower of the NBA even with all its warts. He have also been a New York Knick fan since the days of Howie Komives and Walt Bellamy, when he regularly boarded the IRT Subway at 180th Street in the Bronx for a trip to the Garden to see his heroes.

Sources:

• · Kelly Dwyer, Yahoo! Sports, The Hornets don’t have to lose in any Chris Paul deal
• · Brett Martel, AP Sports Writer, Paul says he’s focused on current Hornets
• · Yahoo! Sports New York Knick page
• · Yahoo! Sports Amare Stoudemire page
• · Yahoo! Sports Carmelo Anthony page
• · Yahoo! Sports Chris Paul page

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