Brian Spurlock – USA Today Sports Images
The Denver Nuggets suffered a pretty big blow to the core of their roster that led them to the third seed in the Western Conference in the 2013 NBA Playoffs. Andre Iguodala opted out of the final year of his contract with the Nuggets and decided not to accept the Nuggets’ offer when the free agency bidding process for Iggy got underway.
Now the Nuggets have a new head coach in Brian Shaw and a roster without a talented rim-scorer and their best perimeter defender. Sure the Nuggets signed Randy Foye, but that’s not the answer to their problems in any shape or form.
However, it seems like the Nuggets are attempting to add yet another guard. According to a report from ESPN’s Marc Stein over the weekend, Denver has been in contact and is one of the teams in the running to land free-agent guard Nate Robinson.
As a member of the Derrick Rose-less Chicago Bulls last season, Robinson provided a ton of offense and energy off the bench. In 82 games, he played 25.4 minutes per game and averaged 13.5 points, 4.4 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and a fantastic 40.5 percent from long-range.
However, it’s hard to really tell if Robinson really fits an immediate need for the Nuggets. Could they use another guard? Absolutely, but they could really use an effective shooting guard, which the 5’9” Robinson doesn’t really qualify as. Robinson is best-suited as an energy scorer off of the bench, not as a featured shooting guard.
Another thing adding Robinson would cause in Denver is somewhat of a log-jam at the point guard position. With Ty Lawson, Andre Miller and Evan Fournier, though Fournier can possibly play as a two-guard, already on the Nuggets’ roster, that doesn’t leave much room for Robinson.
The Nuggets are trying to compensate for losing Iguodala, which is understandable and probably a smart move on their part. However, this is hardly the way they should be going about it. Robinson is an effective role player, but his skills aren’t going to be maximized in Denver.
Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google+ and like his Facebook page.
