Off-Season Nuggets Report

So let’s talk Draft. There is a lot going on this draft, and even more to be excited about. With 3 picks in the top 20 the nuggets are in position to change their fortunes.

This draft is jam packed with potential. First off, the superstar potential that is expected to go within the first two picks. I’m talking Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram. Of course, with our top pick being lucky number 7 its unlikely we pick up either of these two great studs. But with some fancy wheeling and dealing, nuggets GM Tim Connelly, can possibly find himself dealing with the number 1 or 2 pick. This would take some serious dismantling of our current roster, in other words it will come with a serious cost. In turn we get a chance at the next super star or at least someone who will bring in a crowd, which is exactly what the nuggets need at this point. Someone, who will attract fans back into the Pepsi Center, and give the nuggets a shot at their former post-season glory.

What exactly are the costs though? Well fortunately the nuggets are in prime position to make a trade and get the deal done. With standout players like Will Barton, Nikola Jokic and Kenneth Faried currently under contract they can sweeten nearly any deal. Personally I am a Joker fan, so keeping away from any deal that involves him would be best. To start off the bidding process I think the nuggets have a good chance at the Number 2 pick owned by the Lakers. Though I find it hard to see them giving up this type of pick/star potential. I think a package including center Jusuf Nurkic, Maninmal Kenneth Faried and our 7^th pick overall could draw some interest. For one the Lakers are in serious need of a Big man, someone who fills the lane and is a bruiser on the block, In comes Nurkic. They could also use some energy, someone who will plays monstrous Defense and makes the highlight reel, cue in Kenneth Faried and the potential of a 7^th overall pick. This is probably the highest I’d like to see the nuggets bid, but adding a couple more prospects to gain that pick and the potential superstar that comes with it could be seen as a good risk.

This is only one proposed trade among many the nuggets could make; personally it’s my favorite due to the likelihood of grabbing someone like Simmons or Ingram.  Though it’s not their only option, to make a big trade or get rid of any talent to gain another. They have plenty of potential right now with their current roster. Players like Mudiay, Gary Harris, Will Barton, Gallo, and my favorite the Joker Nikola Jokic, all are amazing players and showed plenty of capabilities to make a run of the post season. For instance I saw a lot of growth among the young players, it seemed like Gary, Mudiay and Jokic became more comfortable with each other’s playing styles. With this group it’s hard to target any specific player to go off, making it very difficult to game plan a defensive strategy, Which in a seven game series could come in handy. Though it does expose the true weakness among the team, we don’t have a superstar. Or anyone for that matter who we can rely on to win crucial games in stretches.

This Is why the nuggets are in such dire need to make a difference this off-season. They need to pick someone up who will light up scoreboards, get on highlight reels and bring the life back into the nuggets. The players who are there right now are great, but not big enough. If they plan on keeping the seventh and not changing the good things going on, someone needs to step up as that star. 

Finals Update

First, I want to apologize for the wait in between posts. I’ll have much more time on my hands now that summer has started, and there is a lot to get into.

Alright, let’s get back to sports and I want to start off with the Finals. What a series it’s been so far. I was fortunate enough to watch game 1 and 2, for I was in Israel and wasn’t sure how things would be broadcast. But it was great, everyone was cheering and in true Israeli fashion it was very festive. Though I’ve tried to lose my bias, I still can’t picture the warriors winning it all again. It could just be that dirty series the nuggets had against them in their last playoff appearance, but I just don’t like the warriors. I respect them, for they deserve it. They are a great team. I’m just not a big fan of Curry, or Bogut, or even Draymond Green. Klay Thompson on the other hand, he is truly a great player! Never have I seen him gloating or ever getting overly excited, he just plays to play the game.

Now back to the series, at this point its Fairly interesting with the Cavs down one game 3-2. And right now, with home court advantage the warriors are heavily favored to prevent King James from bringing his home city a Ring.  Personally he has had a mix match of games, first he scored for him pretty average with 23 points 12 boards and 9 assists. For the king these are pretty good numbers, I’m always a fan of a triple-double. He has kept his numbers up from there, scoring 41 last night along with 16 boards and 7 assists. He has started to take over these Finals, and hopefully he can keep this type of production going. That including what Kyrie and Love have to offer, and this series will get much more interesting, especially with the Cavs facing elimination. 

2016 NFL DRAFT: FIRST ROUND

Jonah Donaghy
4/28/2016 4:16 p.m.

Tonight is the start the NFL draft, and its already starting to be one of the busiest and most interesting drafts in awhile. With two huge trades already taking over the 1 and 2 picks, it seems like there will be even more moving around as the draft starts and the clocks starts to wind down and gets deeper in to the round. Personally this sounds pretty good coming from a broncos fan perspective. This mean teams are looking to trade up or down, and you might as assume the Broncos are in the conversation. Though I do believe they can still wait and pick up a very valuable player at 31, it would be nice to see them going down and picking a QB like Paxton Lynch or a skill position player, it seem as though many projected high picks have fallen down in the mocks so maybe they can pick up a player like Treadwell, Hargreaves or Robert Nkemdiche in the mid-first round stage.

Again I would love to see the broncos moving around and seeing how John lynch in particular does business but at the same time they're some great value players projected to go late. So far I haven't heard much talk about Cardale Jones or even Braxton Miller a Possible explosive receiver. I've mentioned several options for the broncos in the late round previous in my last Post, they may not be in the minds of the Broncos but I still believe any of them are game changers and may even become starters right out of training camp.

Of course they may take the safe choice and draft a linemen either on the offensive or defensive side, either way it will help them beef up their line which will help any QB they decide to go with, either in the late rounds or maybe they will pull something off like a trade for someone like Keapernick or Bradford. They have many options to go with, and it will be very exciting to see how it turns out. This is always an exciting time of the year, watching team as they develop their future. Enjoy the draft, and don't forget to Subscribe to get updates when I post new stuff about our favorite Colorado teams.

2016 NFL Draft

Jonah Donaghy

So it's time for for the draft, one of the most exciting times for any football/ professional sports fan. This year is particularly exciting with the amount of talent that has committed this year. Now the Broncos aren't going to be able to pick up any huge names unless they trade up which is a possibility. Now there is still some great talent available when the Broncos are selecting, it all depends on what they want to strengthen this coming year. We all know they need a QB and bad, but they don't necessarily need to pick one up in first round. They're are plenty of options, personally I've been watching guys like QB Cardale Jones and CB/S Karl Joseph who I really want the Broncos to pick up. Especially Joseph he is an incredible player, I don't know how he isn't higher in this draft his highlights are stand out and he can really play some ball. Same with Cardale, he's a national champion, as a rookie no less, and he's led a team and started over two nfl caliber QBs.

As for the guy I think the Broncos may be able to pick up later in the draft, but he's been getting a lot of attention after his record breaking draft workout, and who I think may be the next breakout player, Terron Beckham. He's Odell Beckham Jrs. Cousin and he is a BEAST! Literally one of the biggest players in this draft physically. Whatever position he's put in he will excel at, especially with his attitude.

The draft is coming up fast and those three guys HAVE to be on the Broncos Draft board, if they pick up one of these guys It will be a great draft, but with the way they are positioned in this draft they should almost be able to pick up all three! I can't even picture a better draft, QB of te future, standout RB/WR, and a steal DB that will make huge plays and hits. I'm excited for this draft no matter who the Broncos get, so far it's been exciting with the two top picks already being traded.

Jonah Donaghy

4/12/2016

 Denver Broncos Off-Season Update:

             This is the time of the year that really gets me interested in Football. Which doesn’t really makes sense, there’s hardly any football being played. There is just something about the offseason that interests me, it could be all the highlight videos and the draft prospects. Though the Broncos due to very fortunate circumstances have the 31^st, which could change on draft night either going up for a better prospect (hopefully a QB), or getting more picks in the next round and pick up a someone who many people aren’t looking at in the first but have shown to have NFL level skills such as Cardale Jones out of The Ohio State University. I really like this guy, he would do rather well in a Roll-out play-action style offense doing well getting yards both running and throwing. With big receivers like Thomas and Sanders to throw to and a Big one cut running back CJ Anderson to help him in the backfield I think this would be a great pick up. He might not be the top QB pick but he’s shown he can play, and he can win, winning the national title and outplaying 2 other great QBs for the starting position. Of course the broncos could go a different direction maybe not on the offensive side, maybe going for someone to fill in the DT position that was cratered by the loss of Malik Jackson. This could be filled in by a number of names for this is such a deep draft at this position but most notably who could fall to 31 is Robert Nkemdiche from Ole Miss. Either way the Broncos go it will be fascinating, who wouldn’t like to see John Elway picking a QB, that just sounds right!

 As for the Current Roster, who couldn’t be happier with what the Broncos have put together on the Defensive side, as for the Offense that’s a question mark to say the least. Everyone on the skills side of the ball downplayed this year except for Emmanuel Sanders, Who continues to be an incredible Free Agent pick-up along with everyone else picked up over the Years. He embodies everything that is a Bronco, he’s always smiling he attitude is infectious even through a Screen, and is one of the toughest players on the roster, proven by the amount of hits he withstands nearly every game. Though the star of the D who might be the greatest selection in Broncos History except for John Elway himself and that’s Von Miller, has yet to get paid like it and is in discussion with the Team over a max contract that hopefully gets settled sooner than later.

 We are still in the Sweepstakes to pick up Colin Keapernick, with many discussions between the Niners and the Broncos Front Offices, even agreeing upon a trade just waiting for the restructure of Keapernicks Contract to something more affordable for the broncos, he’s also downplayed since the contract was made so hopefully they can restore some value. As for other Names that have had the Broncos linked to them such as Tyrod Taylor out of Buffalo and even Tim Tebow, who I personally was a major fan of. I wasn’t into the religious aspect I just liked his playstyle, it was boring and not the direction John wanted to go in, but both my father and I loved it! Yes he’s probably the least likely candidate for the job, but it’s always fun to talk about.

 I can’t wait for the Upcoming Draft and I’m hoping they make the right decision, I trust in John to too do so but we never know until the selections made.

 P.S this is my first blog so if you have any advice or requests please leave a comment and please follow me on Twitter @centenialstream Thanks for reading!

 

Jonah Donaghy

4/12/2016

 

Nuggets Update:

          So the end of the regular season for the Nuggets is coming. Maybe a little quicker than anyone really want it to, except maybe the players so they can get on with their Offseason Vacations and get ready for maybe a more successful season next time around. They had a very good run in the end, yes they lost some crucial games that could have had them in playoff contention, but they had some great wins as well. Personally I really enjoyed watching these last few games as it shows what Denver Nuggets basketball is really about, and that’s Pushing the tempo and never giving up even when the playoffs are nearly impossible to get to. I have to give the Team and the coaches credit they have played very hard this last stretch of games. For the season isn’t over yet, and many of these players are fighting for something even bigger.

         Players such as Mudiay and Jokic are clear candidates to receive awards or to be named into the first team all rookies teams, but teammates Will “The thrill” and Gary Harris have also had award receiving seasons. Will Barton, who has slowly become my favorite nugget player is also candidate for 6^th man of the year awards and Gary who had an incredible second year has been mentioned as a most improved player candidate. Both of these guys are incredible players and make a huge difference when they’re on the court, whether it’s Harris’ defense or Barton timely scoring they both act as leaders and hopefully they will be nuggets for a very long time.

        As for the Offseason, there is a lot going to happen, I believe. For one thing the Nuggs are loaded with Prospects and Picks that many teams could really use right now in this star packed draft that’s coming up. It won’t come as a surprise when Tim Connely’s phone starts ringing off the hook. People are going to want their picks and are going to be very interested in studs such as Kenneth Faired, Nikola Jokic, Jusuf Nurkic, Will Barton and Gary Harris. All players whom I believe the nuggets can keep and create a very successful franchise off of. These players are all super talented and in a few years of working together have the potential to be the next Spurs or Golden state Warriors. Teams that acquired talent through drafts and kept them together for years until they became great. Of course they acquired super star level talent, but I see the same potential in many Denver nuggets if they really worked hard enough, they could become Stars just as Carmelo and many other great names have, in this god forsaken “Cow-Town” of a city.

        Players like Mudiay and Jokic are the superstars for this team, they just need to accept the role and decide whether they want to do that here or elsewhere. As for players who aren’t on the list of crucial players for the nuggets but are very important and I would really like seeing them back here next year, this includes Jakarr Sampson, Axel Toupane and DJ Augustine who’s had an incredible second half of the season with the nuggets. Jakarr has shown his abilities to fly down the court play defense and make plays, whereas axel has been a very dependable gourd making his shots and playing excellent defense, securing himself a multiyear deal with the team.

       I can’t wait for the Offseason to start, just because I love seeing what each team is going to do, and I see the nuggets making big moves!

Denver Nuggets: Jonah Donaghy, 3/17/2016

 

Thank you everyone for reading my previous posts, and for the feedback. I will continue to work on making better more interesting posts. Saying that lets get down to business and talk about my favorite team in Denver, the Nuggets. I know, I know, but the broncos are actually good and its bronco’s country, but there is just something about the nuggets, when I talk about how Colorado sports are fast paced, I’m talking about the nuggets and how they outpace just about every team here at home. I grew up watching Carmelo and Iverson as they used to battle it out against the best teams in the west and against the refs because of their bad boy attitudes. They’re used to be an aura around the team of pure excitement as to how far they can go. Now when I look at the Nuggets and their fans I don’t get the same kind of aura, it’s kind of a stuck feeling. It’s a feeling of being extremely talented but just not enough.

I personally am very happy with our roster, and I’m proud that we can be as good a team as we have been, without a superstar. I believe they can have incredible success if they truly wanted to. Which I think is starting to happen, they have developed a good young core group in Mudiay, Barton, Harris and both Jokic and Nurkic. If this group stays together for a couple seasons, the sky is the limit for this group   but as for this season it’s a little late with less than 10 games left in the season. Thought this will help for seasons to come, I believe this can not only help make the already existing team better, but future players coming into Denver as well. It may not be the free agent lure like media epicenters in LA or NY but Denver is an up and coming city and with a good group of guys willing to stick around the city like the group Denver has now, it might just tempt a big name into joining a good team willing to pay the big bucks for top level talent.

As for the team now, it’s a really good group of guys that any team would love to have in their locker rooms, especially playoff contenders. This group of guys includes, Mike Miller, Darrell Arthur, Jameer Nelson, DJ Augustine and Danillo Gallinari who are all great veterans that any contender team would like to have backing up or even playing starter minutes. But this group is reportedly really into what the Nuggets are doing and where they are heading as a team. If a group of guys like that is saying they wish to stay here, that’s a very good sign for what’s to come.

Which for someone outside the league it might not look so good, typically having a group of veterans who barely see the court due to injuries or not having the spark anymore isn’t a good thing, but these players aren’t at the end of their careers they still have several years to come, other then maybe the exception Mike Miller, and they are teaching these young guns everything they know. They are teaching them everything from how to handle life in the league to what kind of passes to make and when. Giving these really young group of guys a hand up and making sure they don’t make the same mistakes.

To many people that doesn’t mean much, heck LeBron James never needed tutoring he was destined to be an all-star no matter who he was around. But for a nuggets team who just last year had a PG get two DUI’s in the same season, this is a much needed change. Everyone knew about the party culture of Ex Nuggets players, and that culture transferred around even after those players where gone. But that’s starting to change and players are starting to look a lot more like professionals and helping out in the community more than ever.

All in all I really like what the nuggets have got going on with their team, Players maybe leaving this coming season but I believe that no matter what this season was a stepping stone to a much larger staircase that will hopefully bring us back to before the Melo trade and back into the playoffs.