Wendell Moore is gone!

[Monster]

After moving Reggie Jackson (assuming no salary is coming back), the Nuggets are:

$1.4M under the tax
$8.7M under the first apron
$19.5M under the second apron

So the Nuggets are in a much different situation than the Wolves. Moving Jackson’s guaranteed $5.5 million salary moves then under the luxury tax threshold, but more importantly it positions them sign free agents without exceeding the 2nd apron and perhaps without exceeding the 1st apron. So trading Jackson will yield HUGE transactional benefits for the Nuggets by allowing them to sign a high caliber free agent and avoid the severe strictures of the 2nd apron and possibly avoid the strictures of the 1st apron.

In contrast, the Wolves are over the 2nd apron with or without Moore’s $2.5 million salary. So giving away picks to trade him rather than just waiving him to open up a roster spot provides no transactional benefits. If we simply waived Moore it would cost the Wolves an extra $2.5 million plus some additional luxury tax payment, but that total would be trivial relative to the Wolves $192 million payroll and $85 million in luxury tax payments. That suggests there might be something else behind these deals. Maybe the second apron prohibits waiving players while keeping them on the payroll. Or maybe the Wolves are getting some future 2nd round picks.

Then again, maybe they just didn’t want to pay a dime more to keep their 2nd round pick. I get it.

At the end of the day, it’s not a big deal. What matters is how well Dillingham and Shannon Jr. perform and develop. The development of Minott, Miller and Clark is also a significant variable as it would be nice of one of those three could be in a position to help the team next season or the season after next.

I believe Denver is only under the cap if KCP opts out and leaves, which it sounds like is going to happen. Denver has said they wont get into a bidding war to retain KCP. Unless Denver does the Paul George trade, they are going to be a worse team next season.

Ya. They are going to lose KCP also. So is the guy/guys they can get for the MLE going to be better than the combo of KCP and Jackson? That I’m not sure on. Also Aaron Gordon is going to be getting a pay jump in the near future, they could be in financial hell like the wolves real soon and the nuggets owner is cheap. (He cares about the broncos). So are these KCP/Jackson moves about getting better or are they salary cutting moves to keep the owner under the lux tax line

Lip makes good points about the benefits Denver gets. The reason I posted the transaction was Denver had to pay to get rid of a guy they decided to guarantee money to last off-season which was a mistake they had to pay for. This happens to playoff level teams and good organizations. Moore was a bad pick and unfortunately they hoped he would take a step towards being a better player after just one season. It wasn't a terrible gamble especially since he was a guy that didn't figure it out right away in college. He is an example of how sometimes having draft picks isn't always a good thing. If they suck you end up having to pay to get rid of them. GS did a lot of that when even they were winning championships and were a contender every year.

[Lipoli390]

I believe Denver is only under the cap if KCP opts out and leaves, which it sounds like is going to happen. Denver has said they wont get into a bidding war to retain KCP. Unless Denver does the Paul George trade, they are going to be a worse team next season.

Ya. They are going to lose KCP also. So is the guy/guys they can get for the MLE going to be better than the combo of KCP and Jackson? That I’m not sure on. Also Aaron Gordon is going to be getting a pay jump in the near future, they could be in financial hell like the wolves real soon and the nuggets owner is cheap. (He cares about the broncos). So are these KCP/Jackson moves about getting better or are they salary cutting moves to keep the owner under the lux tax line

Lip makes good points about the benefits Denver gets. The reason I posted the transaction was Denver had to pay to get rid of a guy they decided to guarantee money to last off-season which was a mistake they had to pay for. This happens to playoff level teams and good organizations. Moore was a bad pick and unfortunately they hoped he would take a step towards being a better player after just one season. It wasn't a terrible gamble especially since he was a guy that didn't figure it out right away in college. He is an example of how sometimes having draft picks isn't always a good thing. If they suck you end up having to pay to get rid of them. GS did a lot of that when even they were winning championships and were a contender every year.

I agree, Monster. Even though I’ve been down on Moore for a couple years, I didn’t object to TC’s decision to pick up Moore’s option last summer. It’s tough to give up on a player and let him walk for nothing after believing in him and selecting him in the first round. As you noted, even the best organizations make mistakes like this in hindsight. As I’ve noted before, I can live with mistakes and misses so long as there are successes and extra base hits, including a home run or two. TC’s deal for Conley, NAW and future picks was a triple. The Slo Mo acquisition was a double or at least a solid single. I can’t view the Rudy deal as more than a double because of the opportunity costs associated with the deal.

Without the benefit of hindsight yet, I’m calling TC’s first round draft this week a home run.

The Moore pick was a strike out on three pitches. TC has an 0-2 count on Minott as Josh repeatedly fouls off pitches with aggressive swings to stay alive. TC’s Miller pick count is also 0-2 with a number of foul balls. Some of Miller’s fouls are long balls on the wrong side of the flag pole. But some are anemic swings that barely make contact. The Clark pick hasn’t come up to bat yet, but his carefree attitude in the on-deck circle is troubling.

When I look at the record as a whole so far, I’m really glad Tim Connelly is here.