(Boulder-CO) When taking a closer look at Reggie Evans in relationship to the Denver Nuggets season one has to understand that he was fighting for light with the Defensive Player of the Year and Big Brazil shading all the sun. The Joker is a rebounding specialist, and with a majority of the rebounds being handled by the previously mentioned, Reggie’s services were often times not needed. But with the season-ending injury to Kenyon Martin coming within the first week of the season… the question of why is still in the mind of many Nuggets fans. In 2006-07, Evans played in the fewest amount of games of his five-year career by only registering appearances in 66 games with eleven starts. In addition, Reggie also tied his career-low in average playing time with 17.1 minutes. His overall numbers were relatively on par for his career totals, (4.9 points and 7.0 rebounds), but there is a bigger story going on with Reggie Evans. Out of the 66 games he appeared in, 16 of those appearances were for what many would label, “garbage minutes”, and were for less than ten minutes per.
The main problem that I see with Reggie Evans is that he is very one dimensional on the offensive end. On the left side of the block, he is very capable of creating his own lay-up with a series of head-fakes that are usually intended for setting up an up-and-under move, but other than that single area on the offensive end, Reggie is relatively uncomfortable. The left handed Evans has a hard time making even the shortest of shots on the right hand side, (even off the offensive glass), and is horrendous from the free-throw line with a sub .500 percentage.
So, with the pending return of the untradable Kenyon Martin, the emergence of Nene, and the fan favorite Eduardo Najera all clogging up the four spot, I can not find any reason why the Nuggets would want to keep Reggie Evans for the duration of his five-year contract. He earned $4,000,000 big ones for his services last year, just below the mid-level exception, and could be a very intriguing trade for any team down at the bottom of the rebounding barrel. I’ll have more on how I think the Nuggets should wheel and deal this off-season, but Reggie Evans is definitely one of the more valuable commodities on their roster and if were to be combined with say, an unnamed starter, could fetch exactly what this team is lacking. As for what this team is lacking, feel free to discuss that topic in the comments section. I’m anxiously awaiting what all of you think is the absent major component.
2 comments:
Nugg Doctor, I really appreciate your run-down of the team, player by player. I think it gives us an effective look at what really must change.
As far as Reggie Evans, I agree with your assessment wholeheartedly. He is very one dimensional, and his lack of abilities on the offensive end are really hurting his minutes. The problem with Reggie also, is he feels he can score, so he is always calling for the ball out their. He needs to be setting screens, and worrying about rebounding solely, as that is his specialty. STOP TRYING TO BE A LOW POST THREAT!!! Anyhow, I think this is a for sure move to make. We must get rid of him, even if just to ensure that we can hold onto Marcus Camby, by trading Evans in a salary cutting move.
With Kmart back year, it will be hard for Najera to find time, let alone Evans. And if you keep Sampson as a much cheaper insurance policy on the bench, you certainly do not need Evans services.
So...if this team trades Evans, ideally I would like to see him traded for a player that can contribute, instead of the aforementioned salary cap space. But that is up to Stan Kroenke and company. If they trade anyone this offseason, it needs to be for a player that can shoot and play defense on the perimeter. Ideally, I would like to see a combo guard brought in, someone who can start alongside AI so that we can bring Blake appropriate off the bench.
A Raja Bell type of player would be a dream for this team. Even to a much lesser extent, a guy like Charlie Bell. James Posey possibly??? We need a defender and a shooter, so if we can find that combination, that is the most ideal situation. If, we can also add point guard skills to the aforementioned shooter/defender, that would be even more ideal.
Also, I am not against combining Blake along with Evans to get a big point guard who can be the guy alongside AI. But if we do that, we MUST get a point guard in return. Otherwise, keep Blake as a point off the bench.
We shall see what happens, but it should be interesting!!
What about a guy like leandro barbosa? He plays some point and can shoot
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