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Denver Nuggets: What Does Mike Miller Bring To The Table?

By Gerald Bourguet

Jan 19, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Mike Miller (18) reacts against the Chicago Bulls at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland won 108-94. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 19, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Mike Miller (18) reacts against the Chicago Bulls at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland won 108-94. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Denver Nuggets sank pretty low following their first-round elimination in the 2013 NBA Playoffs. As the third seed in the Western Conference, the well-rounded Nuggets seemed poised to prove that you don’t need a top-10 player to compete for a championship.

But then Danilo Gallinari tore his ACL before the postseason even began, Stephen Curry third quarters happened, George Karl was fired, Brian Shaw was hired, Denver’s lineups and health fell apart and Ty Lawson, the player designated as the guy who needed to step up, wound up with two DUIs.

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Lawson is gone, rookie Emmanuel Mudiay is here to stay, Gallo is back and the Nuggets seem to be heading in the right direction. At the very least they’re moving in a more concrete direction, but the 2015-16 season will still be a rough one with a rookie point guard running the show.

More than likely, the Nuggets will end up with another top 10 pick next summer, meaning this season is more about development than actually competing for anything. So at this point, what most people are probably wondering is: Why on earth did that Mike Miller signing happen?

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    • After being traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Brendan Haywood deal, Miller negotiated a buyout with his new team. He cleared waivers and could’ve signed with a contender since, at age 35, his career is winding down — and that’s before even mentioning his history of back problems.

    But instead of bringing his three-point shooting to a bonafide championship contender, Miller chose the Mile High City as his next NBA destination, signing a one-year deal with the Nuggets.

    Last season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 15-year-veteran averaged only 2.1 points in 13.5 minutes per game. He shot 32.5 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from three-point range and only appeared in 52 games for the Cavs before being completely phased out of David Blatt’s rotation in the playoffs.

    For his career, Miller has averaged 11.3 points per game on 40.7 percent shooting from three-point range. But with Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler at the 3, and Randy Foye, Will Barton and Gary Harris competing for minutes at the 2, it’s unlikely Miller will crack Denver’s rotation.

    On paper, this seems like a nonsensical agreement for both sides. Why would Miller choose a lottery-bound team to spend what might be the end of his career? And why would the Nuggets add a player who won’t play much and might be washed up?

    When you consider how bad the culture of the Denver Nuggets has been over the last few seasons, the answer becomes more apparent: locker room leadership.

    Mike Miller was the fifth overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft, but he’s never really been considered a “leader,” and he’s never been the best player on his team either. His best season came in 2006-07 with the Memphis Grizzlies, when Miller averaged 18.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 40.6 percent from downtown.

    But even if Miller struggles to find minutes in a wing-heavy rotation, his greatest asset to the Nuggets will be the experience he can share with the younger players, especially Emmanuel Mudiay and Gary Harris. Harris, another wing shooter, should benefit in particular from practicing with a sharpshooter like Miller.

    Jameer Nelson will be a solid mentor for Mudiay, but adding Miller helps the Nuggets move out of the Brian Shaw-Ty Lawson era of negative vibes. It’s about changing culture and putting players in the locker room who will form a tighter bond and become a more unified team than the one we saw give up on the season last year.

    Miller’s days of contributing on the court are probably over, but what he brings to the locker room in terms of good habits on and off the court can only be a positive for a young team in search of a brighter future.

    Next: NBA: 10 Bounce-Back Candidates For 2015-16

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