Walan changed his mind, but this version of the Nuggets is still terrible

How many steps does it take to play a dead chess game? The new Nuggets management tells you that only one step is enough.

What difficulties are the Nuggets facing when ending the 24-25 season? The team is seriously insufficient in depth, and there are only seven people who can play in the playoffs. Westbrook will also jump out of the contract and choose to leave. At the same time, they did not have a first round in this year's draft, and the first round they can use has been ranked in 2032.

, and without any reinforcement players, the Nuggets' salary has exceeded the first tycoon line, the team has very little room for operation, and the middle class special case cannot be used. At that time, the Nuggets were just a game of chess to outsiders, but the Nuggets' new management team took only one step to revitalize the overall situation.

On the first day of the opening of the free market, the Nuggets completed a deal, packing Porter Jr. and the team's only unprotected first round of 2032, which was the only one that could be traded, and exchanged Cameron Johnson from the Nets.

In 2032, Jokic was 37 years old, and the Nuggets chose to trade this first round undoubtedly took huge risks. High risks also bring high returns. The team completed the three goals of clearing Porter's contract in just one first round, plus strengthening the team's wings and freeing up salary space, which can be said to be a kill of three birds with one stone.

First, Porter Jr.'s salary is about 38.3 million next season, and Johnson's salary is about 21 million next season. The Nuggets suddenly reduced their salary by 17 million, instantly turning from a first-rate team to a luxury offline team, and there are special cases for middle-class use. According to the data, Johnson averaged 18.8 points per game last season, with a three-point shooting percentage of 39%; Porter Jr. averaged 18.2 points per game last season, with a three-point shooting percentage of 39.5%, but Porter Jr.'s three-point shooting percentage dropped to 34.3% in the playoffs. Johnson's defense is theoretically much better than Porter Jr. Of course, the most important thing is that Johnson is much cheaper.

The new management of the Nuggets keenly realized the bottom line of the Nets' asking price for Johnson. The Nets' offer last season was never sold in two first rounds. Then the Nuggets used an instant battle forward + an unprotected first round seven years later to leverage the bottom line of the Nets. The Nets themselves have enough salary space to take over Porter Jr.'s contract.

Nuggets saved more than 40 million in spending (wage + luxury tax) with a transaction; avoided luxury tax; owned a $14.1 million middle-class special case; and even received a $16.8 million transaction special case. The Nuggets' operations are not over yet. They then quickly signed old acquaintances Bruce Brown and Hardaway Jr. with basic salary in the free market, making up for the loss of Westbrook on the first day. Bruce Brown is an important contributor to the Nuggets' championship and is familiar with the team players; although Hardaway's three-pointers lasted for a while, what kind of bicycle does the basic salary require?

The next deal of the Nuggets surprised me. They used Sharic, who could not play the ball at all last season, to switch from Kings to Varancius. Last season, Walan averaged 10.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, with a shooting percentage of 55%. Sharic averaged 3.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, shooting 36.2% from the field.

It is completely impossible to imagine why the king would agree to this single exchange and did not ask for any other assets in the Nuggets. The only explanation may be that Walan's salary of 10.4 million is too much, and the king doesn't want it.

For the Nuggets, Walan's addition made up for the gap in the substitute center. Although Walan's defense has been seriously deteriorated, his first-hand attacking skills on the offensive end are still there, and it is no problem to last for more than ten minutes. The key Nuggets once again completed the operation of killing two birds with one stone, and threw away Sharic's contract without any cost, and got a substitute center.

Of course, today's news is that Panathinaikos has issued a three-year contract of 12 million euros for Walan. Walan himself also has a strong desire to return to Europe to play. It is said that Walan has decided to return to Europe.

Even in the worst case, Walan returned to Europe due to the hard work of the year, and the Nuggets cleared Sharichi's contract without losing anything. The rookie center Holmes who were reimbursed last season in their team can top it up, and they also have a middle-class special case to grab players in the free market.

Nuggets appointed Ben Tanze to replace Booth after firing Booth in April. Ben Tanze has worked in the Nuggets for more than ten years and is considered an expert in the salary cap. In the offseason, the Nuggets dug Jon Wallace from the Timberwolves as executive vice president of player affairs. Wallace went from Connery to the Timberwolves, but now he has been dug back by the Nuggets.

The two people completed a series of trading since the opening of the Nuggets' free market, which was impressive. It also shows how bad Booth, the Nuggets' previous general manager, was, overdrawing all the team's assets and leaving a mess. The stupid operation of signing Reggie and then spending three second rounds to send Reggie away will not appear in the Nuggets.

The Nuggets' reinforcement has not ended yet. Now that Walan has chosen to end his NBA career, the Nuggets can completely turn their goals to Horford. This team, which has the world's number one player and has lost seven games before losing to the champion Thunder, will only become stronger next season.