Somewhere, deep in the alleys and crooks of George Karl’s mind, lies a secret that few will discover – the starting lineup of the 2012-13 Denver Nuggets.

With the addition of Anthony Randolph, Evan Fournier and Quincy Miller, the Nuggets are as deep as ever and have a plethora of possibilities on who could start October 31 against Philadelphia in the first game of the season.

Can the Nuggets find a way to improve upon last season’s record? Here is one voice crying for a change from last year.

Starters: Lawson-Afflalo-Chandler-Faried-McGee

Here’s the big change – inserting a healthy Wilson Chandler into the starting lineup over Danilo Gallinari.

It’s not as crazy as it sounds. This lineup really defines what the Denver Nuggets strengths are – athleticism and ability to run the floor. Chandler finishes near the rim at a higher percentage, a key stat when considering a team that wants to hustle down the floor and score in transition.

Another reason to consider the potency of the above lineup is better defense. That 5-man unit allowed 1.02 points per possession last season, placing them among the top defensive units in the West last season. I also feel that Chandler can defend multiple positions better than Gallinari, an important factor for Denver, a team that utilizes switches on defense.

While this unit did struggle to score, averaging 1.00 points per possession, I believe that a healthy Wilson Chandler along with continued development by Faried and McGee will be more effective scoring the basketball.

The stats are impressive when thinking that these players would be playing increased minutes together. Balanced scoring, offensive rebounding, and players who can play successfully at a high tempo – a quality argument for a starting unit.

Reserves: A. Miller-Hamilton-Gallinari-Harrington-Koufos

Can a team switch their identity from the pace of a Formula One race to that of a handcart trek across America? While Andre Miller is very successful at pushing the ball up the court, Harrington has been successful as a trailing 3-point threat on the fastbreak, and Gallinari draws free throws, this unit would be best served slowing down the pace when playing together.

The strength of this unit is in two areas – size and 3-point shooting. While Andre Miller will never be recognized as a 3-point threat, Gallinari, Harrington and Hamilton can all shoot accurately from distance. Denver shot 32.7% on 3-point attempts last season, a mark that placed them 24th in the league. Hamilton, who didn’t play often during his rookie season, saw an increased role during summer league play and shot 37.9% from behind the arc while averaging 19.2 points.

The most important thing for this unit will be to get back on defense. If these five players are on the court, there will be very little balance on defense. Miller and Harrington are slowing down with age, Hamilton is inexperienced, and Gallinari can be caught staring. Koufos played solid defense last season, but can’t be expected to cover for the other four players, à la Tyson Chandler with the Knicks. That will make the 3-point shot that much more valuable, because if this team can knock down a couple in a row, they will provide the usual boost from the bench that has been associated with the Nuggets since the Carmelo trade.

Lean Machine: A. Miller-Fournier-Brewer-Q. Miller-Randolph

It has been reported that Julyan Stone, a second-year player who joined the Nuggets last season, has suffered a torn labrum and will miss five months. While injury should not be used as an excuse to lose a roster spot, the Nuggets would be better signing Quincy Miller to a contract and waiving Stone, who does not have a guaranteed contract.

This means that the Nuggets would only have two point guards on the roster, a calculated risk but a relatively safe one with Andre Miller’s durability (he’s missed six games in 13 years).

I think that this group, who might not even see the court on most days, should be nicknamed the “Lean Machine.” Why? They average just a bit under 6’8″ and weigh 208 lbs. That’s thin-as-a-post skinny and tall.

Since the Nuggets can have 12 players active during games, Fournier and Quincy Miller will likely receive a high amount of DNP-CD next to their name on the box score. The Nuggets need to see how Anthony Randolph performs as a key reserve. When Randolph has played 10-19 minutes a game, he has averaged 6.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks while shooting 43% from the field. The stats are more appealing when he plays starters minutes though. When he plays more than 30 minutes per game, he has averaged 19.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game. While I am definitely not arguing that he should start, as he needs to develop discipline on both offense and defense, his potential is the reason why the Nuggets signed him, and the coaches need to try to tap into that.

On a final note, starters for the Nuggets does not necessarily mean that those players will play the most minutes. Miller and Harrington played third and fourth highest minutes on the team, while starting a combined eight games. Mozgov started 35 games, but Fernandez played more minutes in 13 less games. So while I think it’s best that Chandler starts, it is likely that Gallinari plays more minutes anyways.

Why George Karl does that remains a secret to me, but it is a secret that will be interesting to see played out in the upcoming season.

Nuggets fan know the basic answer to this question: Right into Kenneth Faried’s mitts.

But a research project done by Kirk Goldberry has documented where rebounds end up based off of shot location.

While much of the research backs up traditional knowledge, that shots go to the opposite side of rim, the graphics are very instructional on where exactly to go when the shot goes up.

The graphics can be seen by following this link: http://courtvisionanalytics.com/where-do-rebounds-go/

League officials have announced that the Denver Nuggets used the amnesty clause on center Chris Andersen, freeing a roster spot that allowed them to sign Anthony Randolph, formerly of the Minnesota Timberwolves, to a 3-year, $6 million contract.

The deadline to make a decision on amnesty players was midnight on July 16, and the news concerning the 34-year-old Anderson came out at 11:59 pm; obviously a decision that the Nuggets wanted to be certain about.

Randolph was rumored to be courted by the Nuggets front office in recent days, having been spotted with Arron Afflalo, Wilson Chandler, coach George Karl and general manager Masai Ujiri on July 14 in Las Vegas.

Andersen will still receive the remaining money guaranteed in his contract – all $9.3 million of it. The amnesty clause allows teams to waive a player who signed a contract before the new collective bargaining agreement was agreed upon. The remaining salary, while still owed to the player, does not go against the Nuggets salary cap and the team creates an opening on the roster. If the Nuggets had signed Randolph without using the amnesty clause on Andersen, there would have not been a roster spot available for restricted free agent JaVale McGee, who is reported to be considering a 5-year, $50 million contract from Denver.

Andersen’s departure comes after a free fall from the good graces of Denver fans. Andersen was beloved by Nuggets fans, who were attracted to the comeback story of the Birdman. The highlight of his time with the Nuggets came in the 2008-2009 playoff run, where the Birdman played significant minutes, playing solid defense and encouraging the crowd. With the acquisition of Kosta Koufos and Timofey Mozgov, Andersen lost minutes to the two young centers who, while not as colorfully, outperformed Andersen 0n the court. A mid-season trade in 2012 brought in center JaVale McGee, further limiting the minutes for Andersen.

Andersen averaged his fewest minutes in 2012 as a Denver Nugget, playing 15.2 mpg in only 32 games. The limited playing time led to another all-time low in his time as a Nugget in points, rebounds, and shooting percentage.

The open roster spot didn’t stay vacant for long, as the Nuggets also announced that they have reached an agreement with Anthony Randolph, an unrestricted free agent formerly with the Minnesota Timberwolves. It is interesting to note that both players Minnesota received as the third party in the Carmelo Anthony trade – Corey Brewer and Anthony Randolph – are now on the Nuggets roster (as noted by @nuggetslove).

Randolph is only four months younger than second-year forward Kenneth Faried, but is joining his fourth team in as many seasons. Randolph was a very talented forward/center in college at Louisiana State University, and was selected no. 14 in the first round by Golden State in the 2008 draft. After joining the Warriors, he didn’t leave the bench often, but averaged 13.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.4 steals in the last 12 games of the season.

Former Lakers forward Lamar Odom had this to say about Randolph after a game in that season.

“He’s two times as athletic as I was at that age … He should set his goals high. He has All-Star potential, Hall of Fame potential, with that size, his ability to put the ball on the floor, he can shoot the three, he can pass. If he stays focused, the sky is the limit for him.”

That potential translated to career best numbers in the 2009-2010 season, but came to a stop after Randolph suffered a left ankle sprain that kept him out of the second half of the season. Randolph averaged 11.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 assists while playing 22.7 minutes per game. After the season ended, Randolph was traded in a package deal for New York Knick forward David Lee.

Randolph barely saw the court in New York, only playing 127 minutes in 17 games. He was sent to Minnesota in another trade, where he took advantage of the newly discovered playing time. Randolph averaged 11.7 points and 5.2 rebounds, including a 31 point,11 rebound, 3 assist, 2 steals and 1 block line against Dallas on March 24. He finished the season on a tear, scoring 99 points in five games while shooting .5264 from the floor.

Last season fans saw DNP-Coach’s decision next to Randolph’s name on the box score game after game until the end of the season, where he was let off the bench for another end-of-the-year scoring burst. He averaged 14.3 points in the last eight games, including a 22 point, 11 rebound performance against Oklahoma City that was lost in the lights of a 43 point performance by Kevin Durant.

So what is Anthony Randolph? He’s a 6’11″, 225 lbs power forward/center who entered the league with 4.7% body fat, a 35 inch vertical jump, and a 7’3″ wingspan (that’s the same length as Meyers Leonard, a recent first round pick). He has good ball-handling skills, can knock down mid-range jumpers, is quick and explosive. He also lacks fundamentals, strength, doesn’t have a defined position, makes bad decisions with the ball, and doesn’t try on defense, having been spotted walking back on defense numerous times.

I think Randolph is another version of JaVale McGee, just without the production. He is still very young, raw prospect, who hasn’t had the opportunity to play very often. What Masai Ujiri did was take a risk on a player who may not see the court very often, but will have the opportunity to work with a great staff and learn from a winning team. When the contract for Timofey Mozgov expires at the end of the 2012-2013 season, the Nuggets will be able to see if they need to re-sign him based upon Randolph’s growth during the season, as there won’t be a need to keep three back-up centers.

In the end, Randolph, whom will likely serve as a tall, athletic 12th man – a role similar to what Anderson used to be – was a cheaper, younger, and had more upside than Andersen, which made Andersen expendable. Nuggets fans will miss Andersen, who turned his life around in Denver, and I speak for all of those fans when I wish him the best wherever he goes.

Another development is an injury to backup guard Julyan Stone. Stone has suffered a hip injury similar to the injury suffered by Wilson Chandler, an injury that requires surgery. The recovery is five months, meaning that Stone is in danger of losing his roster spot to rookie Quincy Miller.

The roster is beginning to come together, and if McGee resigns and Quincy Miller is added onto the roster, the Nuggets will have the distinction of having one of the youngest teams in the NBA. The team will be so young, in fact, that they would have been the youngest squad last season, a mark that was held by Sacramento with an average age of 24.68.

A projected roster for the '12-'13 Nuggets

Free agents have been free to sign with their respective teams since 12:00 am this morning, and a few notable players have reached agreements while the United States slept.

The top free agent, Deron Williams, tweeted a picture which showed him signing his contract on an iPad.

Blake Griffin signed a 5-year extension that could be worth up to $95 million.

The Los Angeles Lakers officially announced the acquisition of Steve Nash for draft picks in 2013 and 2015.

J.R. Smith signed a contract with the New York Knicks, guaranteeing that he won’t be playing in Denver for at least two years.

While the only deals that will have any sort of impact are the Western Conference teams strengthening their roster, the Nuggets have been relatively quiet this offseason. As reported on prosportsblogging earlier in the offseason, Rudy Fernandez has signed a three-year offer with Real Madrid. That’s the only official move so far.

The Nuggets have reached a verbal agreement on a three-year deal with a reported annual salary of $3 million. The move likely means that Miller will be a Nugget for the remainder of his professional career, making Denver the team he will spend the majority of his career playing for.

As for the largest priority for Denver GM Masai Ujiri, resigning the young center JaVale McGee seems to be more certain each day.

Source says Denver’s talks w/ restricted free agent C JaVale McGee are progressing and all signs point to his Nuggets tenure continuing.

— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) July 11, 2012

In a sense, there are other dominoes that need to fall before McGee reaches an agreement. The free agent market for centers begins with Roy Hibbert; if Indiana matches the offer he received from Portland, then the Trailblazers will look elsewhere to fill their hole at the 5. If the Bulls match the offer Omer Asik received from the Houston Rockets, then the Rockets will look for another option at the 5 after trading Marcus Camby to the New York Knicks.

Both teams are rumored to be interested in Chris Kaman, while Portland has additionally expressed interest in McGee. Hibbert, Asik, and Kaman will likely help set the value of McGee’s contract. The best bet going forward is that McGee will be offered a contract similar to the offer extended to Anderson Varejao in 2009. Varejao signed a 6-year, $48 million contract to stay with the Cavaliers, a deal averaging $8,050,000 per year. While withholding judgment on the Varejao contract, the Nuggets would be justified offering a similar contract, albeit with less years, to McGee. Eight million for McGee would be a better deal than many teams are paying for their backup centers – cough, cough DeSagana Diop – and McGee should continue to improve under head coach George Karl.

The sound of silence emanating from the Denver front office has been matched by Oklahoma City, who have extended an offer to former lottery pick Hasheem Thabeet. The offer is reported to be a two-year, minimum level offer. Thabeet likely will not see the floor outside of the fourth quarter, and doesn’t mean anything to Denver.

Portland, Minnesota and Utah have been busy as they attempt to dethrone Oklahoma City and Denver from the top.

• The Jazz are set to receive Marvin Williams and Mo Williams via trade, while moving Devin Harris to Atlanta.
• The Timberwolves are attempting to pry restricted free agent Nicolas Batum from the Trailblazers, while signing Brandon Roy to a three-year contract
• The Trailblazers look to have lost out on their pursuit of Roy Hibbert, but with three draft picks looking to crack the lineup, may look to rebuild this year instead of reload. They have to decide whether to overpay for Batum to keep him away from their division rival.

Chandler is recovering from offseason hip surgery, and took an hour to respond to questions from fans via Twitter on Tuesday, July 3.

He spoke on a variety of topics, ranging from the new rookies on the team to his thoughts on Peyton Manning playing for the Broncos.

The fifth-year veteran returned from playing basketball in China to play in eight games for Denver in the 2011-12 season.

The link to the Storify story is here.

JaVale McGee, Rudy Fernandez and Andre Miller will all wake up with one thing in common July 1: An uncertain future with the Denver Nuggets.

Fernandez and Miller have reached the end of their contracts with Denver, and when free agency begins will they will be able to sign with whomever offers them a contract. McGee, obtained midseason from Washington via trade, will be a restricted free agent, giving the Nuggets a chance to match any offer extended to him.

Will these three return to Denver for another playoff run, or will general manager Masai Ujiri lead the team in a different direction as they strive to obtain a NBA championship?

Miller, a 36-year-old point guard, averaged a career low 9.7 points last season in a backup role with Denver. His average of 27.4 minutes per game was the lowest minutes per game since his rookie season, a number that perhaps is the cause for the rumors that he was unhappy with his role.

While Miller’s leadership played a major part in the Nuggets success, one has to think that the former University of Utah point guard will not be returning to the Pepsi Center court for the 2012-13 season. With his career drawing to an end, the veteran guard will likely receive an offer to start for another team and decide to play there. His $7.8 million contract last season also likely makes him too expensive for a backup guard on a team full of young players.

Fernandez, acquired in a trade from the Dallas Mavericks, only appeared in 31 games in the 2011-12 season, suffering from a back injury that kept him out of action. His most meaningful impact on the season may have come on a beautiful play that led to Kenneth Faried’s first points in the NBA. His contributions came with the second unit, a role that will likely be filled by Jordan Hamilton during the upcoming season.

The most recent news about Fernandez indicate that he will be leaving the US to play internationally. In an interview with TuBasket.com, Fernandez spoke of his respect for George Karl, his comfort with the playing style, but indicated that if Real Madrid made an offer that was better than the offer coming from a NBA team, he would be playing in Spain next season.

That leaves priority number one for Denver – resigning JaVale McGee, the curious 7’0″, 237 lbs. project who was obtained from Washington for Nenê.

While McGee has a reputation of a “knucklehead,” his play improved in the 31 games he spent in Denver, which culminated in an impressive performance against a talented Los Angeles Lakers frontline. McGee showed improved discipline on defense, improving his rebounding percentage while still collecting 22 blocks in the series. McGee performed so well against Andrew Bynum that he began to receive praise from national media such as JA Adande, who said, ” Who would have thought when we talked about impact centers in this series, it would be JaVale McGee, not Andrew Bynum?”

If Denver believes that the culture of winning and the coaching staff can further the maturation of McGee, then perhaps the reward of a multi-year contract will outweigh the risk implied by taking on the young center. Players with 7’6″ wingspans who can dunk from behind the backboard and significantly alter shots on defense usually get rewarded with large contracts in the $40-$50 million range.

If the Nuggets are able to resign McGee, what does their lineup project to be next season? If Evan Fournier, the Nuggets most recent first round draft pick, comes over from France, the Nuggets would have 14 players on their roster out of a maximum 15. With the Nuggets propensity to play small, it would make sense that the Nuggets would attempt to sign one more point guard to complement starter Ty Lawson and young backup Julyan Stone.

An affordable player who could be looking for a one-year deal to redeem his recent struggles is a familiar name for Nuggets fans – Raymond Felton. Felton played last season with the Portland Trailblazers, starting 56 games but putting up some of the worst numbers of his career.

If he rejoined Denver, there would be no argument about whom would be the starter, like there was when Felton arrived via the famous Carmelo trade. This is clearly Ty Lawson’s team to lose, and Felton would have to understand that coming in. This could be a good move because of the affordability of Felton after a poor year, and the familiarity of the offense with Felton. While Stone is projected to serve as the backup, competition in practice would serve the second year guard well as he fights to earn playing time. If Felton plays well, the Nuggets get the most out of the contract. If Felton plays poorly, he will only be around for one year anyways.

Another option for the Nuggets to solidify the point guard position would be Keyon Dooling, formerly of the Boston Celtics. Dooling would provide value as another backup guard if he continued to knock down timely jumpers in a similar fashion as he did during the 2012 playoffs. Dooling, who celebrated his 32 birthday in May, would come to Denver with 49 games of playoff experience to help provide leadership to a Nuggets team that is one of the youngest starting lineups in the league.

With all of the hype surrounding the Dwight Howard soap opera in Orlando and the Deron Williams courtship between Dallas and New Jersey, don’t look for the Nuggets to clamor for attention. Most of the roster is already set for next season, and if the Nuggets are able to resign McGee, the team will look very similar to the team that fans were able to enjoy in the seven game series against the Lakers.

While the Nuggets selected an international talent in Evan Fournier with their first round pick in the 2012 NBA draft, they still held two picks in the second round.

The Denver Nuggets finished the 2012 draft by selecting Quincy Miller at pick no. 38 and Izzet Turkyilmaz with the no. 50 pick.

Miller, a 19-year-old small forward, comes to Denver after playing one season at Baylor University. Miller averaged 10.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.4 steals while shooting 47.5% from inside the 3-point line.

Miller was a highly-ranked high school recruit, but tore his Achilles tendon in December before joining the Baylor team. He was able to recover from his injury to earn the Freshman of the Year award in the Big 12.

Miller is a  versatile forward who has shown an ability to score all over the floor. He measures at 6’10″ and 219 lbs, meaning that he can be bullied in the post on defense, but he has shown an ability to use his 7’1″ wingspan to swat away the ball as it leaves the hands of the player he is defending. Defenders only shot 28% on jumpers while being guarded by Miller. His lean frame also results in him struggling to drive to the rim, as defenders are able to bump him off-balance and alter his shot. He is at his best on offense either shooting after setting his feet or moving into the paint while in transition.

“I definitely love the way they run. They are a good passing team, they pass fast, they get to the cup fast, they get to the free throw line and they run,”Miller said at a workout with the Nuggets. “And that’s the way I play.”

Miller’s college numbers reflect closely to Rudy Gay and Luol Deng, while John Hollinger of ESPN ranked him as the sixth best player in the draft. His recovery from the ACL injury is a cause for concern, but if he can continue to gain explosiveness and strength while developing his jump shot, the Nuggets will have found a good value early in the second round.

With their final pick of the night, the Nuggets selected Turkyilmaz, a 22-year-old forward out of Turkey. The 7-1, 220-pound foward most recently played for Bandirma Banvit and appeared in 26 games during the Turkish league as well as eight games for Bandirma in the Eurocup in 2011-12.

Turkyilmaz played sparingly, averaging 9.3 minutes per game. His appeal to the NBA is his jump shooting ability combined with his size. While the Nuggets will debate on when to bring Fournier across the Atlantic, there will be no such discussion with Turkyilmaz. The Nuggets will retain rights to him while allowing him to play in the Turkish League and develop his game further.

With the twentieth pick in the 2012 NBA draft, the Denver Nuggets have selected Evan Fournier, a shooting guard from France.

Fournier has been playing for the French club Poiters Basket 86, and the Nuggets organization will discuss whether Fournier will join the Nuggets this season or remain in France for some time while Denver retains his rights.

Fournier worked out twice for Denver, early in the draft preparation on May 22 and then later on June 21.

Fournier, 6-7, 204, averaged 14.1 points, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game last year. Scouts praise his body control, ability to get to the rim, and his ability to change speed and direction quickly and decisively. His style of play should mesh well with Nuggets coach George Karl’s style of play.

“I know the way the Nuggets play, a lot of up and down and shooting the ball,” Fournier said. “That’s what I like to do.”

His play has drawn comparisons to Manu Ginobili from French teammates like Nicolas Batum, a forward for the Portland Trailblazers.

“I played against him during the lockout,” Batum said to NBCsports. “I’ve known him for four or five years now, and he’s a great player. He’s very confident about himself, trust me. He’s a little bit like Tony Parker (in that regard).”

With the depth at so many positions for Denver, the best plan may be to allow Fournier to continue playing in France until a roster spot becomes available. This is a pick that may not have an impact immediately for Denver, and thus fans will need to wait before criticizing the selection.

Fournier was taken ahead of other talented players such as Perry Jones III, Jared Sullinger, John Jenkins, Quincy Miller and Will Barton, all players that came to Denver for workouts in front of the coaching staff.

Michael Jordan has been in the news lately, from the Dream Team documentary to the comparisons being drawn from “The Flu Game” to LeBron’s “The Cramp Game.”

The best news for his current position, though, is the hiring of a new head coach for the Charlotte Bobcats, Mike Dunlap.

Dunlap, who had been working as an assistant coach for St. Johns, a Division I school in the Big East, emerged as the candidate for the Bobcat job over more well-known names like Brian Shaw and Jerry Sloan.

Dunlap will have the opportunity to make a name for himself as he takes over the young team alongside recent hire Rich Cho as general manager. The two have a monumental task of taking a 7-59 team and attempting to mold them into a NBA champion caliber squad.

Dunlap, while relatively unknown in the coaching universe, made a name for himself while working in Denver for Metro State and as an assistant for the Denver Nuggets from 2006-2008 under current head coach George Karl. Dunlap lead the Division II team to national championships in 2000 and 2002.

Nuggets player development coordinator Patrick Mutombo played college ball for Metro State under Dunlap and feels that Dunlap will be an excellant choice for the Bobcat team.

“Coach Dunlap came and built upon what my father had already done in my life,” Mutombo said to Aaron Lopez of NBA.com. “He ushered a lot of us into adulthood with his values of hard work and commitment and honesty. The things he preached to us back then, he still abides by those principles.”

Karl also sung his praises of Dunlap’s intensity and character, who impressed Karl during his three years with the Nuggets.

“He’ll do everything they want him to do,” Karl said. “He’ll take the bullets, he’ll take the losses and he’ll build a good foundation and a good culture. It’s kind of a unique hire, but the karma of it says I think it can work. To hire a guy of knowledge and character and service more than spin and perception is something that makes me feel great. The basketball gods kind of rewarded the right stuff.”

New GM, new coach, new jerseys, and a new schedule await Charlotte next season.