Denver Nuggets: A Mix Of Something Old And Something New

The Denver Nuggets have assembled a plethora of promising young talent over the last few years, but it leaves a few of their veterans in a curious position as the team continues to rebuild.

There may not have been a devastating rock bottom, but for the Denver Nuggets, the last few years have been a battle with futility.

After climbing to the top of the Western Conference in the 2012-13 season, the Nuggets submerged themselves into mediocrity over the next two seasons.

Their fall from grace led to many changes over that time frame, ranging from numerous trades to receive valuable draft picks to the firing of former Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw.

With the addition of head coach Mike Malone, as well as moving on from former long-time point guard Ty Lawson around this time last summer, it was clear the Nuggets were ready to embrace a new direction and build themselves up from the basement of the league.

Fast forward to the present and the Nuggets have quickly emerged with a young foundation of players that are as promising and talented that you’ll come across in the NBA.

We’ve already seen a few of the Nuggets’ newcomers like Nikola Jokic, who had a strong rookie campaign, and Emmanuel Mudiay, who broke through his rookie wall after the All-Star break last season.

Of course, the team’s base of budding talent has only gotten richer this summer as the team held four draft picks in this year’s draft, which turned out to be Jamal Murray, Juan Hernangomez, Malik Beasley and Petr Cornelie.

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Yes, the Nuggets are only just starting to see the fruits of their labor with the countless of young players they’ve accrued over the last few years, but it’s a position that leaves the Nuggets with a bright future nonetheless.

However, as bright as the future looks for the Nuggets’ wealth of young talent, they face an interesting dilemma with a few players that have been through the (Rocky Mountain) highs and lows.

As it stands now, the Nuggets still have three holdovers from their high mark 2012-13 season: Kenneth Faried, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler.

For as integral as they all grew to be during the team’s last stint of success, all three–Faried, Chandler and Gallinari–have experienced hardships for different reasons over the last few seasons.

Both Gallinari and Chandler have missed significant amounts of playing time due to injuries, with Chandler missing the entire year last season due to a tear in his right hip and Galinari missing the entire 2013-14 season due to a torn ACL in his left knee.

While Chandler is getting back to full health, Gallinari has returned the offensive form he was performing at during the team’s most recent heyday.

As for Faried, the last few years have been challenging for him on the floor.

After making a great first impression upon entering the league, Faried has rounded out into a high motor, active rebounder who’s defined by his limitations as he doesn’t space the floor and struggles to make a positive, consistent impact on the defensive end.

Now with all three players reaching or are in the mid-point of their respective careers and on a team that’s suddenly rejuvenated the base of their roster, where Chandler, Gallinari and Faried stand in the Nuggets’ rebuild is a curious question.