Nuggets lose Blake,signs atkins

[McDwyane]

Steve Blake is heading to Portland, meaning he won't have to travel far to join his new team.
The free-agent point guard said today he has agreed to a three-year deal with the Trail Blazers. Though a Florida native, Blake and his family make their offseason home in Portland.

Blake averaged 8.3 points and 6.6 assists in 49 games with the Nuggets last season. He was willing to return to Denver but opted for Portland as the Nuggets were on the verge of finalizing a contract with guard Chucky Atkins.

"That's OK, if that's the direction they want to go," Blake said in a brief phone interview. "I just decided to go back to Portland."

Blake, 27, made $1.33 million last season and was seeking a starting salary close to the NBA's $5.35 million midlevel exception.

In addition to having a home in Portland, Blake is familiar with the local NBA franchise. He averaged 8.2 points and 4.5 assists for the Blazers in 2005-06.Heading into the offseason, the Nuggets were in search of veteran leadership, someone capable of playing point guard and a decent outside shooter.
Chucky Atkins provided one- stop shopping.

Atkins, a point guard with eight years of NBA experience, said Thursday night he will be in Denver today to sign a multiyear contract with the Nuggets.

"Pretty much a done deal," Atkins said. "I'm very excited. Very happy. For one, just to be off the (free- agent) market. Secondly, to be going to play for a very talented team that has a chance to win it all."

Atkins, who will turn 33 on Aug. 14, enjoyed one of his best statistical seasons in 2006-07, averaging 13.2 points and 4.6 assists in 75 games with the Memphis Grizzlies.

For his career, he has averaged 10.8 points and 3.7 assists and is a 37 percent three-point shooter.

His shooting ability was a strong selling point for a Nuggets team that was 28th in the league from behind the arc last season.

"I just want to ease the double- and triple-teaming of Carmelo (Anthony) and Allen (Iverson)," Atkins said. "I think we can make some things happen."

Atkins' pending arrival means point guard Steve Blake is unlikely to return to the Nuggets.

Blake started 40 of 49 games and averaged 8.3 points and 6.6 assists after being acquired in a trade with Milwaukee on Jan. 11.

Seeking a significant raise from $1.33 million, he might have been too expensive for the Nuggets' taste.

The Nuggets were more than $12 million over the $67.87 million luxury tax threshold heading into the free-agent signing period. They can lower the dollar-for-dollar tax burden through trades between now and the end of next season.

Atkins' contract is expected to include a two-year guarantee, with a third-year option and an annual salary of about $3 million.

For now, Atkins will be penciled in alongside Iverson as he joins his seventh NBA team. The last time he was a full-time starter was in 2004-05, when he averaged a career-best 13.6

[_marsal]

Won't he be behind Jack and Rodriguez at the PG spot?

[Indy]

I wonder if this makes Jarrett Jack available via trade.

Maybe the Blazers would be interested in Mike Dunleavy.

[The X]

What are the Nuggets thinking?!? Chucky bloody Atkins, they are idiots IMHO....great pickup for Blazers....I'd say Blake will be the team's starting PG when the season starts & will be their starter until a guy like Rodriguez is ready to take the reins....

you might be right Indy, a trade of Jack seems on the cards....I don't think Blazers would want to take Dunleavy though....whilst they need a starting SF, he's not the answer....I'd think the Blazers would prefer Marquis Daniels and a 2nd Rounder than the contract of Dunleavy....I know you were joking though....

[NovU]

i think dumpin blake is a good move
atkins is cheaper, more experienced (altho i think the move isn't enuf for them to be a contender)
besides nuggets is not a rebuilding team and needs to free up some cap space

however, iverson & atkins r probably the most undersized 1-2 duo in western conference. this bother me a bit. i guess it's up to how much kleiza improves and get more min.

[Anthony15]

What are the Nuggets thinking?!? Chucky bloody Atkins, they are idiots IMHO....great pickup for Blazers....I'd say Blake will be the team's starting PG when the season starts & will be their starter until a guy like Rodriguez is ready to take the reins....

X, calm down man, he at least isn't afraid to shoot when he gets open unlike Blake was for Nuggets. I know we don't get much defense from him, but we still got Iverson who's is a very good perimeter defender and if Diawara gets playing time, he is a solid outside defender also. Chucky is here to shoot and pass. He will take off the pressure from Iverson and Anthony when they're double teamed and will be open on the perimeter to shoot and not pass it back to them. Chucky can get streaky, but what I don't like about him is his D and that he sometimes is way too confident in his shooting. Plus he makes 4 more PPG then Blake.

[Abctest123]

Blake averaged 8.3 points and 6.6 assists in 49 games with the Nuggets last season.

He averaged 6.6 AST in Denver??? Wow I knew he did well in Denver but damn.

[Andrew]

Solid signing for the Blazers. I expect Blake will be battling Jack for the starting job assuming he's still going to be around. Atkins is a decent pickup for the Nuggets and it wouldn't surprise me if he ends up starting in the backcourt alongside AI, though I think the Nuggets should go with a starting five of Melo, AI, Nene, Camby and Smith with K-Mart and Atkins coming off the bench. That's not a bad lineup to have one through seven, in my opinion.

[---]

Why are they stockpiling so many point guards? By my count that's 5. Petteri Kopenen, Jarrett Jack, Taurean Green, Sergio Rodriguez and now Steve Blake.

[Its_asdf]

I don't think any of those are of a real threat to Jack except for maybe Blake and Rodriguez. Taurean Green doesn't really impress me too much and Petteri Kopenen is just another player to take up a roster spot.

Chucky is here to shoot and pass.

Haha, no he isn't. He's here to shoot and pretend he's the next Kobe Bryant. Trust me on this when I say Chucky Atkins is probably hated by every fan of any team he's played on. He's nothing but a shoot first, shoot second and shoot third guard who's basically not going to compliment Iverson's style of play which uses up a lot of offensive posessions.

[Anthony15]

I don't think any of those are of a real threat to Jack except for maybe Blake and Rodriguez. Taurean Green doesn't really impress me too much and Petteri Kopenen is just another player to take up a roster spot.

Chucky is here to shoot and pass.

Haha, no he isn't. He's here to shoot and pretend he's the next Kobe Bryant. Trust me on this when I say Chucky Atkins is probably hated by every fan of any team he's played on. He's nothing but a shoot first, shoot second and shoot third guard who's basically not going to compliment Iverson's style of play which uses up a lot of offensive posessions.

He better pass, thats what his main thing he will have to do, we can do well enough on offense without him shooting the ball much, I told you, we only need him to shoot the 3's, if he's gonna do crazy stuff that JR Smith tried to do last year in the playoff series against Spurs, Karl will not have to think long and will bring in Von Wafer

[---]

^

Von Wafer doesn't pass either. He shot the ball on 5 straight possesions in a summerleague game the other day, all bad shots.

[Anthony15]

^

Von Wafer doesn't pass either. He shot the ball on 5 straight possesions in a summerleague game the other day, all bad shots.

Haha, you're right, just looked at his boxscore, 22 points, 0 assists...damn ...last effort is to bring in Anthony Carter

[The X]

Why are they stockpiling so many point guards? By my count that's 5. Petteri Kopenen, Jarrett Jack, Taurean Green, Sergio Rodriguez and now Steve Blake.

Koponen will either be in Europe for next 2-3 years on in D-League then at end of bench, so I wouldn't add him....Jack will probably get traded I think, he's more of a backup anyways....Green may be on roster....I think they are stockpiling them & letting them work it out between each other who is going to take the minutes....if Jack plays well, he'll stay on team....if not, probably traded....


EDIT: Sorry guys, I just hate Chucky Atkins for some reason....he's like a poor man's Mike James....& I don't like Mike James either....I think a pass first PG was more important for Nuggets than a shoot first one....ahh well, if that's how the Nuggets want to play the game, then that's how they will....

[Axel]

Good for the Nuggets. Atkins is a better shooter, and will fit into their system better and at a cheaper price.

The Blazers need to pick a point guard. I personally like Sergio the best, and I think he has great potential. The team really seemed to click when he was in the lineup last season. It seemed like everytime the Blazers went on a run to get back into games, Sergio was on the floor.

[Its_asdf]

EDIT: Sorry guys, I just hate Chucky Atkins for some reason....he's like a poor man's Mike James....& I don't like Mike James either....I think a pass first PG was more important for Nuggets than a shoot first one....ahh well, if that's how the Nuggets want to play the game, then that's how they will....

Damn X, I was thinking the same thing. I can't stand streaky shoot-first point guards that suck at everything else.

[benji]

Atkins is just their move to replace Boykins, they're essentially the same type of player. And before we all hate on Chucky Atkins, did you see last season? I don't think anyone expected that. If he played like that in Detroit, they would've had a title a lot quicker.

[McDwyane]

good news for chucky

[Air Zoom Kobe I]

Atkins is just their move to replace Boykins, they're essentially the same type of player. And before we all hate on Chucky Atkins, did you see last season? I don't think anyone expected that. If he played like that in Detroit, they would've had a title a lot quicker.

If you liked him last season, you should have seen him the year before in the 2nd half of the season: 16.4 ppg, 5.9 apg through the 05-06 playoffs.

Impressive for a streaky shooter.

[scrub]

The nuggets need to invest in a bigger point guard who will pass the ball. Blazers probably took Blake cause Green, Kopenan or Rodriguez won't be good enough backup for this season.

[McDwyane]

Nice move for both squads

[NovU]

The nuggets need to invest in a bigger point guard who will pass the ball. Blazers probably took Blake cause Green, Kopenan or Rodriguez won't be good enough backup for this season.

people should quit crying like a baby for passing pgs in this forum
i c this in almost every team threads
how many of nash & kidd out there, u tell me
u pick up what's available and its not like u can steal nash or kidd and make em urs
besides, nuggets had a real good passer in andre miller but didn't really work out so forced to take a risk in iverson
besides, not necessarily passing pgs are always better than atkin kinds of pgs
that's just stupid bias for pg position

[---]

^

Excluding Chris Paul, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, these guys could do a good job of sharing the ball as a pass first point guard (for any team, not just Denver):

Andre Miller, TJ Ford, Sergio Rodriguez, Shaun Livingston, Jose Calderon, Brevin Knight, Luke Ridnour, Eric Snow, Steve Blake, Earl Watson, Kirk Hinrich, Antonio Daniels.

They don't have to be a "pure" point guard, just one willing to step back, initiate the offence and take a shot when needed, like a point guard is supposed to do. I'm sure there are alot of guys I'm forgetting who could fill this role too.

[Anthony15]

I wanted for Knight to come to the Nuggets and take over at point, but he's not a good shooter, and most of the time team will double team Iverson or Melo with their point guard. This would leave him wide open and thats why chose Chucky over Brevin, he can make the shots.