Denver Nuggets: Can JaVale McGee Turn It Around Next Season?

JaVale McGee became the Denver Nuggets’ biggest investment of the 2012 offseason, but many in Denver are still wondering if McGee will ever turn his untapped potential into qualities that can make him quite the force in the league.

McGee is only 25 years old, has great per-36 numbers at 18 points on 57.5 percent shooting and 9.6 rebounds last season to go with a PER of 20.7, Many are hoping that his game finally breaks out after constantly being overshadowed by his poor decision-making and his antics off the floor.

Somehow McGee’s Twitter account is updated multiple times daily by Pierre McGee, JaVale’s alter ego, and JaVale has said on Vine that he’s taking no days off, hopefully to improve his game. Some days entail in-house dribbling moves, while others include dominating the Drew League in Los Angeles.

There’s no doubting McGee’s athletic ability as a 7-footer who can leap out of the building, but it’s a shame when those leaps are on ill-advised dunk and block attempts. It says something about him when a YouTube search of his name results in blooper highlight reels as the top three choices.

His size and vertical make him an excellent blocker, but he’s yet to establish a mid-range shot nor has he developed solid go-to post moves to make him a true threat on the offensive end. Many felt that the change of scenery would do him good, especially under George Karl in Denver, but there haven’t been all that noticeable improvements in his game thus far.

In a market where the big men run the show, the Nuggets took on the risk of McGee with a four-year, $44 million contract last summer, after being well aware of his basketball IQ issues. This past season, his numbers actually had a slight decrease compared to his short time with Denver in 2012 after the trade from the Washington Wizards.

Though still young, it’s difficult to see McGee getting his act together with the team now that they have an unstable identity due to the rocky summer they’ve gone through so far. He may see a minutes increase with the departure of last year’s starting center, Kosta Koufos, but can rookie head coach Brian Shaw get more out of McGee than what Coach Karl got?

Perhaps this new opportunity under a new coach and management is what McGee needs to finally open another dimension of his game, but if the potential doesn’t truly show this season, it should be time for the Nuggets to reconsider their investment.