The Denver Nuggets are in the middle of attempting to rebuild. Having missed the playoffs the past two seasons, Denver is looking for guys they can build around while dumping a few players. Ty Lawson is reportedly in the latter category, as he has been involved in a lot of trade rumors, but guys like Will Barton are being brought back, because of age and potential. The Nuggets reportedly are also bringing back Jameer Nelson, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.
Stein reports that the deal is for three years and $13.5 million, which, based on his performance last season, is quite a good deal for Nelson. Nelson is the third point guard on the roster after Lawson and first round pick Emmanuel Mudiay, which will fuel speculation again of a potential Lawson deal. Nelson at this point in his career is best suited as a backup point guard, so if Lawson were to get traded (Bleacher Report believes he will) then Mudiay would likely step right in as the starter.
Nelson had a lot of success in his ten seasons with the Magic and was even an All-Star in 2008-09. In his first season outside of Orlando though, Nelson struggled as he played with three different teams. He shot only 37 percent from the field in 23 games with the Dallas Mavericks before being traded to the Boston Celtics where he only played in six games before being shipped to Denver. For the year Nelson averaged 8.3 points per game (a career low) on 41 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent from three.
Nelson was clearly at his best while playing with Dwight Howard, who opened up the floor and helped get him open shots. After Howard left Orlando in 2011-12, Nelson's shooting numbers plummeted. He really hasn't been able to find his game since. The Nuggets did get some solid numbers from Nelson in his 34 games last season, but the evidence shows that if Nelson is not with a dominant big man he will be a low percentage shooter, and since he never was much of a facilitator (5.3 career assists per game) his value might not be so high.
It's hard to blame the Nuggets for giving Nelson as much money as they did, considering they had it to spend. But although they saw firsthand that he can still play, the numbers with and without Howard are tough to ignore.
