Jamaal Tinsley Traded to the Denver Nuggets; Juwan Howard Signed

October 3, 2008 – Dr. J-Water

For those of you that have been following the Doc J-Water posts, you will know that a few days ago I took some heat for saying that I agreed with the Nuggets player statements that they have a shot next year at winning 60 games. This taking into account the fact that they won 50 games last season and have now dealt away their former defensive player of the year Marcus Camby.

Well i’ve been defending that position for the past few days among friends, family, and readers. My case just got a little bit easier to make thanks to the management of the Denver Nuggets. Word was released today by the New York post that the Nuggets have acquired Pacers point guard Jamaal Tinsley in exchange for Chucky Atkins and Steven Hunter.

The Pacers had recently locked out Jamaal Tinsley until they could find a suitable home for him outside Indiana. After trading Jermaine O’Neal to the Toronto Raptors for young point guard T.J. Ford the Pacers had made a committment to move Tinsley. Although Tinsley has spent very little time on the court the past couple of seasons due to injuries and off-court issues, no one can argue that this guy is extremely talented and dangerous on the court when he’s healthy. Good news for Nuggets fans: Tinsley say’s he’s healthy and ready to go for this season. Apparently after a summer of working out and rehabbing in Denver, Tinsley is in the best condition he’s been in for years.

Why does this trade make sense for Denver? Aside from the fact that they will take a bit of a hit financially, on the court it makes sense for a couple of reasons. One is the biggest weakness of the Denver Nuggets for the past two seasons has been their lack of a quality and confident point guard who can be a leader and take on the difficult role of distributing the ball to both Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony on the wings keeping them both happy. Tinsley has great handle and court vision, and he has more than enough confidence to stand up to both Iverson and Anthony and explain that the right play doesn’t always mean they shoot the ball. Although Tinsley is not a lights out shooter, he is more than adequate, and is definitely known for being a strong penetrating point guard who can overpower his defender at the position.

The second reason I think this is a good trade for Denver is because of how tough the Western Conference is this season. Chucky Atkins just underwent knee surgery and is in danger of missing the first few weeks to a month of the regular season. The Denver Nuggets, scratch that, NO TEAM in the Western Conference can afford to get off to a slow start this season and still have a shot to make the playoffs in what is sure to be an even tougher playoff qualifying battle than last year. With Atkins being moved in favor of Jamaal Tinsley the Nuggets will be able to go through a full training camp with Tinsley and get the season started off right.

In other Nuggets news, they have signed veteran power forward Juwan Howard to a one year non-guaranteed contract to bolster their front line. Juwan is a well respected high percentage guy that will certainly improve their locker room leadership and be able to pass on some wisdom to the young front line that includes Nene and Carmelo.