The Denver Nuggets' most underrated mistakes since 2012

The Denver Nuggets have no shortage of mistakes to blame for their unfortunate and sad state of affairs. Since their historic 57-win season in 2012-2013, things have gone precipitously downhill. Whatever the opposite of “everything they touch turns to gold” is, that’s them.

Some of their mistakes are certainly more well known and publicly criticized than others. It’s now a widely accepted belief that firing the NBA Coach of the Year was a bad idea for instance. Allowing the reigning Executive of the Year to walk while hiring an inexperienced and questionably competent replacement isn’t held in high regard either.

Then there’s the hiring of Brian Shaw, the contract extension of Kenneth Faried, the Nene trade that saddled the Nuggets with JaVale McGee and the incomparable decision to subsequently extend him to a monster contract following a few good games of basketball… I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

There’s a reason Kevin Arnovitz wrote an article on ESPN.com calling them the NBA’s biggest disappointment. The Nuggets have failed miserably and in most cases spectacularly. But it’s not always the visible decisions that are the most damning. These five under-the-radar moves have also contributed to their downfall.

Amnestying Chris Andersen

There was a time when Birdman was a fan favorite in Denver. Adults and children alike would sport their colorful mohawks and fake tattoos to the game to show their support for Andersen. That is, until his home was raided by the sheriff’s department in May 2012 for his involvement in a particularly nasty Internet crime. Although he was never charged — it was later revealed he was a victim of a vicious hoax — Andersen became a public relations liability. He was soon amnestied by the Nuggets just a few months later.

In retrospect, given his lack of any wrongdoing and the value he has demonstrated over the years since, this decision certainly appears to be a questionable one. It becomes even more questionable when you consider the fact that JaVale McGee remained on this roster for several years as a non-contributing, yet expensive burden.

Since the amnesty clause can only be used once during the duration of a collective bargaining agreement, it’s clear the Nuggets would have been better suited using theirs on McGee.

Trading Kosta Koufos for Darrell Arthur

To understand how awful this actually was you need not look any further than the reasoning behind it: to clear a path for JaVale McGee.

By trading away Koufos, the Nuggets not only gave away their starting center, they also gave up on someone who has become one of the more valuable big-men in the league over the past few seasons. Sure, he may not have been their long-term answer, but Koufos is without question one of the best backup centers in the NBA.

In return, the Nuggets got an extremely mediocre backup power forward in Darrell Arthur. Although he has some value as a stretch-four he’s far from a marksman from deep and has little else in the way of redeemable qualities you would expect from a big man.

Signing J.J. Hickson

This signing was confusing for several reasons. One, Tim Connelly stated that by trading away Koufos he was trying to clear up a logjam at the center position, and while he may have “successfully” done that he also managed to create another one at the power forward position. While Arthur may have different qualities, Hickson and Kenneth Faried are essentially the same player and made little sense on this team together.

Secondly, Hickson just isn’t a good player. So there’s that. I can certainly think of some better ways to spend more than $5 million per year.

Trading Rudy Gobert for pennies

Anyone who followed the NBA closely this season knows who Rudy Gobert is. If you haven’t, let me just tell you that he is quickly emerging as a cornerstone for the Utah Jazz and one of the most dominant big men in the league.

Nuggets fans may remember that on draft night in 2013 they selected him with the 27th overall pick, but subsequently traded him for a late second-rounder and cash considerations. That second-rounder turned into the seldom-used Erick Green. As for the cash, as well know, there’s nothing millionaires love more than saving more millions.

Allowing the Iguodala trade exception to expire

Moving Andre Iguodala to the Golden State Warriors was a no-brainer. He was certain to opt out of his final year and leave as a free agent anyway, so getting Randy Foye and a $12 million trade exception in return was a victory.

About $3 million of that exception was absorbed by Foye’s salary so the Nuggets basically had a $9 million traded player exception (TPE) at their disposal. In case you don’t know what that means, the Nuggets could have basically traded for a player or players whose salary was $9 million more than any outgoing salary. It changes the salary-matching requirements in the Nuggets favor so they could have brought in a more high-profile player.

But, in classic Nuggets fashion, they let that exception expire.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, try to follow this logic:

The Nuggets included Arron Afflalo in the deal that netted them Iguodala, sending him to the Orlando Magic. They then traded Iguodala away a year later and got Foye in return.

Two years after that they made another trade with the Magic to get Afflalo back, sending Evan Fournier to Orlando. Then they traded Afflalo to the Portland Trail Blazers this season for two players they subsequently waived, and Will Barton.

So in the end, the Nuggets ended up without the services of Iguodala, a trade exception they allowed to expire and Will Barton.

Again, not ideal.