Utah Jazz Vs. Denver Nuggets Q&A With A Nuggs Fan

I recently did some Q&A with noted Denver Nuggets fan and one of my favorite twitter follows @SmoothsHoops.  Give him a follow. The Utah Jazz and Milwaukee Bucks are his surrogate teams this year.  Wait. that was before the Nuggets got back to .500…

Without any futher ado here are some of the things we discussed:

Jared Barker: What was the situation surrounding Evan Fournier‘s departure?

Justin Faudree: Fournier wasn’t succeeding in Denver and they thought it was best to move him for Arron Affalo with the trade exception from the Andre Iguodala sign and trade.  Or just the Iggy trade to Golden State.

JB: How do you feel about Mozgov and his developmental trajectory?

JF: I’ve always liked Timofey Mozgov. He’s been one of my favorites since the Nuggets received him in the Carmelo Anthony trade. I’m not yet totally sold on his developmental trajectory, as I still think Denver should station him at the high-post and run *some* offense through him. Much of the time, it looks like Denver’s offense is too fast-paced and not totally suited to Mozgov’s game.

However, he’s always had good instincts — particularly on the glass and in rim protection — which is what makes him successful in any system.

JB: Would you say the Nuggets officially rebuilding from the Carmelo era?

JF: I would say the Nuggets are “reloading”, as opposed to rebuilding. Granted, last year (and the start of this year) might have indicated the Nuggets were in need of a rebuild, I feel like they’ve righted the ship after winning seven of their last nine and moving their record to .500. This season can still go terribly awry, as it did last year in so many ways. But the addition of Arron Afflalo and the return of Danilo Gallinari from injury make a collapse unlikely.

JB: Jazz fans often feel frustrated about being good for so long but rarely great enough to make the finals and win a championship would you say there is a similar feeling among Nuggets fans?

JF: Yes, I would say there is definitely that feeling among die-hard Nuggets’ fans. However, one thing Utah has going in their favor is a tremendous history of success paralleled by few teams in professional basketball.

Consider: The Nuggets have advanced past the FIRST round of the playoffs just TWICE in the last TWENTY years, making the Western Conference Finals once in 2009, while rolling up a composite record of 802-872 (.479 winning percentage). Even with George Karl‘s run of regular season success, the Nuggets still haven’t broken the .500 mark over the last twenty years.

In the same twenty years, the Jazz made the Western Conference Finals in 1994, 1996, and 2007, the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998, advanced past the first round NINE times, all while rolling up a composite record of 988-686 (.590 winning percentage)

So, yeah, sure. Nuggets fans feel their beloved franchise should’ve broken through, which is why so many thought George Karl deserved to be fired. But once a professional team — and that’s any major sports team — starts mimicking EVERY desire of its fan base … Let’s just say, many good things are not bound to happen. Whereas Utah is one of the elite organizations in the NBA, as their incredible run of regular season and playoff success shows. While fans may think the two teams are one in the same, careful examination proves much different.

JB: If you could have anyone on the Jazz roster who would it be and why?

JF: That’s a tough question. I’m a HUGE fan of Rudy Gobert, Dante Exum, Derrick Favors, AND Gordon Hayward. Even Alec Burks, one of my beloved Colorado alums, has a high ceiling he’s only now reaching. So, I wouldn’t take just one. Can I have them all?

Thanks for the info Justin! On that note, the Jazz need to show these Nuggs by protecting homecourt!  MOAR GOBERT AND FAVORS PLEASE!