 |
| Miller has been in Brian Shaw's doghouse since the two had a much-discussed confrontation |
Denver traded veteran point guard Andre Miller, who has had a falling out with the Nuggets' coaching staff, most notably Brian Shaw, to the Wizards for Jan Vesely, who has been a disappointment for Washington as a former 1st-rounder. The Wizards also traded point guard Eric Maynor to the 76ers, who will also receive a combination of two 2nd-rounders in the deal (exact picks not known at the time). The deal will give Philly about nine 2nd-rounders, according to reports, for this June's draft, which is incredible.
Washington, tied for 5th place in the East with the Nets, is making a playoff push, so obtaining an established presence in Miller is a nice boon for a mainly young team. John Wall and Bradley Beal constitute a great starting backcourt, but the Wizards' guard reserves aren't very deep, a problem Miller should be able to fix.
For Denver and Philly, the trade makes sense for other reasons. The Nuggets had to find a way to get rid of Miller, who was unhappy with the team, and are 6.5 games out of the 8th seed in the West, meaning anything they could get in return would be a plus. A late season push may be a little unrealistic, especially with two teams separating them from a playoff berth, so taking on Vesely is probably more of a project by Denver than an improvement job.
The 76ers, 10 games out in the East, have no qualms about the fact that they are lottery-bound, so picking up Maynor's (potentially) expiring deal and a pair of picks just gives them some more draft assets and a backup who might be off the salary books next year.
