On the Mercer trade

[W <titans@ihug.com.au>]

Sorry if this was posted way back, just read it then and smiled...

Mercer and the Nuggets

                   February 8, 2000, Nuggets4.

                        Chuck's Note: Steve and I don't normally publish
things like this where we get
                        taken to task over apparently erroneous stuff
we've written on the site. However,
                        we do deserve to get corrected when we make
mistakes, and we actually quite
                        enjoy getting challenged over our
opinions/predictions, so here this piece is.
                        Plus, we couldn't stand having an article
praising Aussie Ball at the top of our
                        page...



                   Myth #1 -- But if Issel is bringing in a Glen Rice or
a Larry Hughes or even a Mo Taylor,
                   voluntarily losing Mercer is a worthwhile sacrifice.
-- OnHoops.com.

                   I'm sorry, you guys are incorrect. Losing Mercer in
the first place was a step in the right
                   direction for the Denver Nuggets. Anyone who follows
the team knows that Mercer did more
                   damage to the Nuggets than he helped. Sure, Mercer's
18 points a game were great for the
                   team. However, Mercer always believed he was "the
man" in Denver, something that would
                   never be true as long as Antonio McDyess and even
Nick Van Exel were there. McDyess is
                   the Nuggets franchise. He is their star player. He is
the all-star on the team (not this year, but
                   look for him next). If it wasn't for an groin injury
problem that hampered him the first 2-3 months
                   of the season, McDyess would be averaging over 22
points a game right now.

                   Then there's Nick Van Exel. As goes Nick, so go the
Nuggets. At least this season. When
                   Van Exel takes over a game, the Nuggets win. It's as
simple as that. The first game of the year
                   proved that, as Van Exel exploded for the Nuggets,
scoring 34 points, dishing out 9 assists
                   and grabbing 9 rebounds. The Nuggets went on to win
that game 107-102 in overtime. When
                   it's clutch time, and the Nuggets are down 1 with 20
seconds remaining, there's nothing else I
                   want to see than Van Exel and McDyess working the 2
man game.

                   So as you can see, Mercer was already the third
option on the team. Something he did not like
                   one bit. When he would get the ball, it would become
a game of isolation, and Mercer would try
                   to take on the whole world. That didn't fit well into
the Nuggets passing offense. So, Mercer
                   was not helping the Nuggets much, unless you call
taking a team out of it's offense and never
                   passing on a fastbreak a huge help.


                   Myth #2 -- Their locker-room was the happiest it's
been since 1993, and the team was winning
                   as often as not. -- OnHoops.com

                   OK, the winning part is somewhat correct (we've had
dry spells here and there, but that's ok),
                   but the locker room wasn't necessarily that happy.
And if they were, it was because of veterans
                   like Van Exel, George McCloud and Bryant Stith, not
some greedy third year player like
                   Mercer. Mercer came to Denver saying, and I quote,
"I'm renting". Not exactly something you
                   want to hear from a player you're supposedly building
around.

                   Truth #1 -- In return, the Nuggets get one of the
best 6th men in the game in Gatling, who can
                   play both center and power forward. However, the real
steal was Abdul-Wahad. Abdul-Wahad is
                   almost exactly what Mercer wasn't. He is a great
defender and a solid passer. And recently, he
                   has become a scorer for the Magic. -- The Pinnacle -
The Home For Your Nuggets News.

                   Abdul-Wahad is a better player than Stith, so he will
be starting soon. He is a solid defender,
                   and his shot has been falling lately. He has an
overall solid game. As for Gatling, he brings
                   inside toughness to a team that DESPERATELY needed
it. He is also another veteran for the
                   Nuggets to use in the locker room (I don't buy the
'locker room cancer' rap personally). Plus,
                   Chauncey Billups will be coming back to Denver. So,
if you combine this with the trade that the
                   Nuggets made last season with Orlando (we sent our
first round pick to Orlando for Keon Clark
                   and Johnny Taylor), you get the following deal:

                   Denver gets: Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Chris Gatling and
Keon Clark
                   Orlando gets: Ron Mercer

                   So tell me once again who got the better of this
deal?