Five Denver Nuggets who wore out their welcome

 

Denver is a proud city. Its sunshine radiates satisfaction, its people beam with content, and its identity stands upright and solitary with purpose. It’s a distinct, albeit outwardly misunderstood jewel. People who don’t live here just don’t understand.

There are several things that Denver residents truly enjoy and appreciate. They love the outdoors, they love their food, they love their craft beer, and they love their sports teams. Likewise, there are a few things that people from Denver simply won’t tolerate. They don’t like laziness, they won’t accept conformity, and they won’t allow you to talk bad about their beloved city.

Earlier this week Nuggets’ point guard Ty Lawson made a comment on his Instagram feed which strongly insinuated he wanted out of Denver. More specifically he stated “I wish” in response to a fan of the Dallas Mavericks’ calling for him to come join their team. The backlash was predictably vehement.

Had this been his first transgression fans surely would have been more lenient. But when combined with his growing list of misdeeds this may have been the act that officially wore out his welcome in the city of Denver.

This got me thinking. The Nuggets have had their fair share of loyal players and coaches over the years, but Lawson certainly wasn’t the first to get on the wrong side of fan sentiment. The following five Nuggets all officially wore out their welcome in Denver in one way or another…

Brian Shaw

This wound is fresh and weighs heavy on the minds of many Nuggets’ fans. In most ways it’s hard not to feel bad for Shaw. In what world is it a good idea to hand the keys over to a first-time head coach and ask him to revamp the style of play so deeply embedded into the fabric of Denver basketball all while failing to give him the necessary tools to do so successfully? It was a fools-errand to say the least.

That said, Shaw’s utter inability to relate to and engage with his team was not only the cause for his demise but also for much of the negative feelings held towards him by the fanbase. Whether it was publicly lambasting his players, showing desperation in his desire to relate to millennials by rapping or his unrelenting stubbornness displayed by continually playing J.J. Hickson over Jusuf Nurkic in the fourth quarter, none of what he did during his time in Denver worked. His dismissal was received with almost unanimous praise.

Andre Iguodala

The moment Iguodala was brought on board in 2012 as part of the four-way deal that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers, Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson to the 76ers and Arron Afflalo and Nikola Vucevic to the Magic, his future in Denver came into question.

When he joined the Nuggets he was only guaranteed to be with the team for one season before his player option became available to exercise. His one season in Denver was, by all accounts, a complete success. He was an instrumental piece in the Nuggets winning a franchise-best 57 games that season, finishing with the third seed and securing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Everything appeared to be set up for a mutually beneficial, long-term relationship — that is until the Nuggets faced the Golden State Warriors in a brutally physical and contentious series that ultimately led to their dismissal from the playoffs.

You may recall that in the aftermath of that series Mark Jackson claimed to have received inside information about the Nuggets’ game plan to play dirty and rough up Steph Curry. You may also recall that in an interview with Dave Krieger, George Karl was asked whether he thought Iguodala was Mark Jackson’s mole. His response: “No question.”

This was, of course, further reinforced when Iguodala elected to join forces with the Warriors the following season. To this day Iguodala remains a reviled figure in Denver sports for his treacherousness.

Bernie Bickerstaff

Bickerstaff’s reign as president and general manager of the Nuggets was definitely the most controversial and one of the least successful in team history.

From hiring the incompetent Paul Westhead to allowing one of their all-time great players, Dikembe Mutombo walk for literally no compensation, to his famously disagreeable relationship with Dan Issel, Bickerstaff’s time in Denver, save for an anomalous playoff run, was a train wreck.

He literally unwound more than a decade of successful basketball and competent ownership the span of one season, turning the Nuggets into one of the more hapless franchises for the better portion of the decade to follow. He made questionable draft decisions, like trading out of the 10th pick in the 1996 draft to select Efthimious Rentzis. He also added no quality free agents throughout the years, neither did he trade for anyone of value outside of Antonio McDyess. His decisions as a GM were as questionable as his ability to coach and he sent the Nuggets into a tailspin from 1995 to 2003, proving that even after his resignation his imprint could be felt for years.

Kenyon Martin

Kenyon Martin’s arrival in Denver marked one of the biggest trades in Denver basketball history. A former No. 1 overall pick rooted squarely in his prime, Martin would be putting on a Nuggets uniform and presumably turning Denver into one of the best frontcourts in the league as well as a legitimate contender.

However, the sign-and-trade with the New Jersey Nets resulted in a mind-boggling seven-year $92 million contract that would go on to weigh down the Nuggets for years. And it’s not that Martin didn’t have value. His role on the 2008-2009 team that went to the Western Conference Finals was undeniably important. He just never really lived up to his astronomical contract. Not at all.

In a 2012 interview with Sports Illustrated, Martin made some controversial remarks about George Karl and the Nuggets organization that only further reinforced the fans’ happiness in his departure.

Carmelo Anthony

Ah yes, the one that got away. In 2003 after eight years of basketball futility Carmelo Anthony fell into the Denver Nuggets’ lap with the third pick in the draft. His impact was immediately felt and he played an integral part in helping the Nuggets reach what would be their first of ten straight playoff appearances.

Melo was beloved by the Nuggets and fans everywhere who embraced his gleaming smile and were willing to adopt him as one of their own. He was on track to becoming one of the most endeared sports figures in Denver’s history. He would have been immortalized. He would have been on the Mount Rushmore of Denver sports, right next to John Elway. That is, until he forced his way out of the town that so dearly adored him.

As I mentioned earlier, people from Denver don’t put up with people who bad-mouth their city, and although Carmelo never explicitly stated anything bad about Denver his actions and his wife’s words by proxy were enough to solidify the undeniable feeling of betrayal. “If you don’t want to be here, then get the hell out, and take your lavish lifestyle with you,” was the general sentiment. And that opinion remains unchanged to this day. Even if he came crawling back on hands and knees Denver would turn in disgust. Carmelo Anthony is dead to us.