Denver Nuggets

Erick Green played four seasons at Virginia Tech. He led the nation in scoring last year with an average of 25 points per game - not as easy accomplishment when every team you face is game-planning for you. Green is also a diverse scorer. He took 4.9 three-pointers per game and made them at a 38-percent clip. He shot nearly 50-percent from the field (47.5-percent) and 81-percent from the foul line -- where he was a frequent visitor with 8.3 free throw attempts per game. Just looking at the numbers, one would venture to guess that the game comes easy for Green. That is not the case. Take this snippet from Jake Fischer's piece Emerging from the Shadows: Green was an EA Sports All-American his senior season [in high school], averaging 16.8 points per game, but still only received scholarship offers from George Mason, James Madison, St. Joseph's and Virginia Tech. Then, during his freshman '09-10 season, the guard was again cast aside and found himself practically glued to Tech's bench behind guards Malcolm Delaney and Dorenzo Hudson who averaged a combined 35.4 points per game. Green only played 12.6 minutes per game, having to prove himself on the court to receive more burn. He often cracked under the pressure and was visibly frustrated. "I remember seeing tears in his eyes during games when he was on the bench," Hokies head coach James Johnson, who was an assistant on VT's staff during '09-10, told us. "He knew he was a winner and he wasn't playing well. Then he would watch guys like Malcolm score at will." He endured the transition from the high school to college game and proved himself the following three seasons at Virginia Tech where his statistics and playing time improved each season. At just 22 years-old, Green is the same age as Nuggets guard Jordan Hamilton and is eager for his shot in the NBA. Mock drafts have him all over the place and it's anyone's guess if he'll still be on the board when the Nuggets pick at No. 27. Green grew up in Winchester, Virginia - which is about three hours Northeast of Blacksburg, VA (where Tech is located). He studied business in college, but switched over to sociology where he can envision what he'd be doing perhaps after basketball. "I'm trying to get into criminal justice like my father did," said Green. "[Be a] probation officer of something in law enforcement." Green is also the oldest of five siblings. "I'm very family oriented," said Green. "I'm like the second father in the household, my dad is not around. Everybody looks up to me and I lookout for my little sisters." Let's get to know a little more about Erick Green with a Q&A style interview: Nate Timmons: Julyan Stone is from Alexandria, VA, which is about an hour from Winchester. Do you know him or any other guys on the Nuggets team? Erick Green: I know Tywon from the D.C. area - Maryland area. I don't really know anybody else, but I've watched [the Nuggets] play a lot and I like how they play." (Tywon is of course: Tywon "Ty" Ronell Lawson.) NT: Not necessarily guys who you mirrored your game after, but who did you admire or like watching growing up? EG: Isiah Thomas, I really liked him growing up. Nick Van Exel, I liked him growing up. My father, he used to love watching basketball and I like taking after good point guards. (Nick Van Exel? One of my all time favorite college (Cincy) and NBA players!) NT: In that vein... If you were trapped on a desert island - would you rather be stuck with Shaquille O'Neal or Charles Barkley? And why? EG: Shaquille O'Neal. I think Shaquille O'Neal's a funny dude and just me and him together we could make each other laugh and have a good time. NT: His humor has been winning out over Charles Barkley. EG: He's a very funny guy, I'd love to be around Shaquille O'Neal. NT: You're on the brink of being in the NBA, once you're established what would you rather have? A shoe deal, your own videogame, or your own restaurant? EG: I like that. I'm a shoe fanatic, so

The Denver Nuggets will play three Summer League games before beginning single-elimination tournament competition in Las Vegas.

This Week's Colorado Sports Guys podcast ran the gamut of emotions, action, excitement and intrigue. Carl Greenfountain of the website Notrealatall.com describes this episode of CSG as "a thrill a minute laugh riot". And Reginald Pennyfeather of the New Brittan Times Call says that CSG 112 was "a knee slapping good time and a roller coaster of zany fun". Don't just take those totally real reviewers at their word. No. Come enjoy CSG, as we debate all that is Colorado sports. This week we delve deep into headlines as Ross talks about Aaron Hernandez and his murder troubles. We also talk Lionel Hollins and Brian Shaw, as well as the Nuggets new Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly. Then Jeff's segment "Things Jeff believes to be True" talks about how Miami winning the series would have nothing to do with some grand conspiracy to "let" them win. In a seven game series the best team always wins, and whomever wins this series will know they are the best team without the help of the refs. Finally, Nate, Ross and Jeff give their top 5 sports blunders. An entertaining segment that brought out some excellent debate and discussion, particularly about the Denver Broncos and Bernie Bickerstaff. What are your top 5 sports blunders?? Hope you enjoy the podcast! Listen to the show here. If you haven't already, add us on iTunes (easiest way to listen) or if you have an Android you can always use Pocket Casts app ... well worth the two bucks or so the app charges (the podcast is always free). And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @Nate_Timmons @hirossco = Ross Martin @jmorton78 = Jeff Morton.

NCAA scoring leader Erick Green of Virginia Tech is one of six players scheduled for a predraft workout for the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday at Pepsi Center.

Apr 20, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) before game one of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried returned to Morehead State for his annual two-day basketball camp that he sponsors. News stations and papers from around the area had the chance to speak with Faried at the end of the day. This is a transcript of the questions that were asked and Faried’s answers. Full Disclosure: this was a room full of media so these questions aren’t all mine. Is this the first time you’ve been back to Morehead since you left school? It’s been about a year and a half since I’ve been back to school but, I mean, when I do come back I do show love and appreciation of being here and try to say ‘Hi’ to everybody as much as I can. What’s it like coming back? It’s a good feeling. Just to come back and see the faces and it reminds me of where I came from and how far I came to get where I’m at now and to keep the motivation, the fire that burns inside me to keep grinding. What’s it mean to make the Team USA mini-camp? How did you find out about that? I found out ahead of time before it was released. But I was excited about it. I was just ecstatic about the whole thing, to be a part of such an elite group. And to be, I guess, a nominee for the mini-camp. Just to go out there to Vegas and try to the best of my abilities to make the team is just an honor. How do you like your chances (to make the team)? I don’t really know. I’m anxious to see how it’s going to turn out but I think my chances are just as good as anyone else’s If there was a flaw on the USA team maybe it was physicality: Hopefully they could use me for that and hopefully I could make the team because of my physical presence. But if I don’t, there’s always next year or maybe the year after that. So you just gotta stay locked in and focused and grind. But if I do make the USA team it’s an honor to be a part of it. Just to be nominated is an honor. What did you think of your season overall? Me, personally, I think for the regular season we did fantastic, I mean, we did a great job. As a team coming together and string along wins and that win streak we went on was pretty amazing and a real fun ride to be a part of. The group of guys in that locker room just loving and caring for each other and basically balling out. The playoffs was tough. We just gotta use it as motivation this summer to get better and grind. How surprised were you that GK wasn’t retained? I don’t have a comment on that. Do you have thoughts on what the coach should look for? [laughs] No comment on that either. I just want a coach, basically. What’s been your proudest moment in the NBA so far? Getting the recognition of becoming a rising star and just being a part of that group of guys and that team. It was fun. Just different players from different teams coming together and it was fun with them. I think the proudest moment is when we went to a playground with NBA Cares to try and build a jungle gym and that was really fun. Has the NBA been what you expected? Nothing surprised me I think I prepared myself going to college for four years for about anything. I think what surprised me was the brute strength of guys. Everybody is strong, everybody is quick so you gotta bring it every night. Who’s the toughest guy out there? Tim Duncan. Something about him. You can’t call him old. [laughs] He just knows the game, he does it so well. It’s an honor to step on the court anytime we play against each other because he knows how to play the game and he respects the game. Just a privilege to be out there with him. Anyone you wanted to meet? Kevin Garnett. That was my favorite player growing up, just watching him. Other than Dennis

Josh Kroenke found his man in hiring Tim Connelly as the next Vice President of Basketball Operations. The Nuggets search for a new head coach begins today as Brian Shaw is in town and Lionel Hollins is set to interview with the team on Wednesday, June 19th. Nuggets' hiring of Tim Connelly as GM won't alter scheduled coach interviews for Brian Shaw Tues and Lionel Hollins on Wed, source tells Y!— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) June 17, 2013 While DEN still expects to offer coach job to Hollins or Shaw,CEO Josh Kroenke & new GM Tim Connelly will discuss coaching situation tonight— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) June 17, 2013 Shaw has been a hot name for several years around the NBA, but he has yet to choose where his first head coaching gig will be. Why not choose the Nuggets? Shaw has been on the Indiana Pacers bench for the past two seasons. The Pacers took the Miami Heat to six games in the second round of the 2012 playoffs after going 42-24 in the regular season. That was after taking out Dwight Howard's Magic 4-1 in the first round. This season the Pacers improved to 49-32 in the regular season. In the 2013 playoffs the Pacers defeated the Hawks 4-2, the Knicks 4-2, and again pushed the Heat - but this time it was in the Eastern Conference Finals and this time they got to Game 7. That was the Pacers' first trip to the ECF since 2004. The two biggest concerns surrounding Shaw? 1.) He wants to run Tex Winter's triangle offense that Phil Jackson had so much success with and nobody knows if the Nuggets personnel can handle it! Brian Shaw would not necessarily run the triangle as a head coach, source said. Has been part of an effective traditional offense in Indy— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) June 17, 2013 So, if you're afraid of the triangle - that should ease your mind a bit. But are you worried about the triangle because you don't really know what it is? Well, I found the following that breaks down the triangle in an easy to understand video (take two minutes and watch it): Constant motion and constant ball movement? That sounds like an offense that I would enjoy watching and one that would suit these Nuggets quite well. This current roster is used to a fast-break style that has been predicated on finding outlet passes, running lanes, and making the right decisions to get the easiest shots. With play-makers galore in Ty Lawson, Andre Iguodala (if he comes back), Danilo Gallinari (when he comes back), Andre Miller, Evan Fournier (has shown a knack for movement and creativity), and Julyan Stone (if he comes back) the Nuggets would have the right guys to run the triangle. What about the big men? Kenneth Faried would need to develop that little jumper, along with McGee and they both would need to work on their passing skills. I do believe McGee is an underrated passer and he has shown that he's a willing and creative passer. Don't be afraid of the triangle. 2.) Why hasn't Shaw been hired yet? Shaw has had numerous interviews and numerous teams chasing him. Just this offseason Shaw has been linked to the Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, and now your Denver Nuggets. Shaw also wound up with the Pacers because he was passed over by the Los Angeles Lakers for Mike Brown, despite Kobe Bryant publicly lobbying for him back in 2011: "I feel all of the players believe in coach B-Shaw," Bryant said the Lakers' Friday morning shootaround. "We have such a rapport with him. He's been with us for such a long time. We all have a bit of a bias towards him. I don't want to get in the way of management. But we've all kind of had our eye on him for a while." But, like we could see here with Melvin Hunt, Jim Buss wanted a fresh voice and did not hire from within with a Phil Jackson guy. Shaw may have gotten a raw deal with the Lakers, but why hasn't he taken a job yet? Perhaps Shaw hasn't found the right team. The Nets eagerness

After working his way up through the NBA ranks, Tim Connelly reached new heights Monday when he was named executive vice president of basketball operations for the Denver Nuggets.

On Monday morning it was revealed that Tim Connelly, former assistant general manager of the New Orleans Hornets, would be the Denver Nuggets’ new Vice President of Basketball Operations. Not much is known about Connelly at this time in terms of his abilities. Those talents can only be revealed after he has assumed his (somewhat titular) GM position in Denver and made moves that can be analyzed. Here is what we do know about his background… From Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post: Connelly, like Ujiri, is known for his international scouting abilities and has a vast basketball background… “His reputation around the league as a front-office rising star is spot-on,” said Chicago Bulls assistant general manager Brian Hagen, who worked with Connelly in New Orleans. “I think the world of him. He’s a class act who is hard-working, smart and will have a plan and process in place for the Nuggets’ continued success.”… Connelly, 36, joined New Orleans in 2010 after working as the director of player personnel for the Washington Wizards. In New Orleans he worked under Dell Demps. Connelly first got his first NBA experience in 1996, working as an intern for the Wizards. After graduating from Catholic University in Washington D.C. in 1999, he was hired by the Wizards as the assistant video coordinator. He became a scout the following season. From the Nuggets homepage on NBA.com: Connelly, 36, joins the Nuggets front office after three seasons as assistant general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans, where he worked closely with general manager Dell Demps. Connelly’s duties included scouting, draft preparation, trade negotiations and player contracts… Prior to his time in New Orleans, Connelly spent 10 years with the Washington Wizards organization, rising to director of player personnel. His role included overseeing scouting, salary cap and database management, player evaluation and assisting the vice president of player personnel with all front office duties… A native of Baltimore, Connelly began working with the Wizards as an intern in the basketball operations department in 1996 and joined the team full-time as the assistant video coordinator in 1999. He became a full-time scout in 2000 and spent four years in that role before becoming the director of player personnel… Connelly has strong international connections, having traveled globally to identify talent around the world. He currently serves on the board of the GEN Basketball Academy, a Sarajevo-based academy funded by NATO, and has assisted with their youth camps… In addition, Connelly has also worked as an instructor at the NBA’s “Basketball Without Borders” program in Moscow, Russia, last year. His first experience with the program took place in South Africa in 2006. That same summer, he was involved with the Seed Academy in Dakar, Senegal. From Yahoo!Sports.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski: Connelly, 36, has been considered one of the league’s rising young executive stars and will move immediately into the Nuggets’ search for a coach and preparation for the NBA draft and free agency… Nuggets CEO Josh Kroenke plans to work closely with Connelly in reshaping the Nuggets’ front office and building upon a 57-victory team that earned the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs… Connelly is part of a younger generation of league executives moving into top management positions and has been compared favorably to Orlando’s Rob Hennigan and Phoenix’s Ryan McDonough as part of the league’s next crop of bright young minds… After learning that his best internal candidate, Pete D’Alessandro, had left to take the Sacramento Kings GM job late last week, Kroenke targeted Connelly and moved quickly to hire him over the weekend, sources said. And lastly, from Scott Hastings’ Twitter account: Reaction: All signs point to this being a good hire

With the NBA draft just 10 days away, I'm curious as to what new VP of Basketball Operations will want the Nuggets to do with the 27th pick. Tim Connelly had been employed with the New Orleans Pelicans, as their assistant GM, who hold the 6th overall pick in the upcoming draft (their only selection). Connelly must be very familiar with the tops picks in this draft, but like Nuggets Director of Player Personnel Mike Bratz shared with me recently, teams must prepare for all scenarios in the draft: trading up, trading down, what teams around you might do, and all sorts of other options. I'm sure Connelly is very familiar with just about every player that could be taken this year, so getting up to speed with what the Nuggets have done thus far should be an easy transition. Could we see Denver trade up to get a guy Connelly has a hunch about? Maybe. Will the Nuggets keep their pick? Perhaps. Might the Nuggets look to acquire an additional selection in this draft? That's got to be on the table too. What I'm more interested in, at the moment, is Connelly's draft history. The following passage from Connelly's hiring in 2010 with the Pelicans (still hard to get used to that name) got me intrigued: "Tim [is] very well respected in the NBA as two of the top, young talents in the league," said Hornets General Manager Dell Demps. "Tim has a keen eye on international talent and has been a key asset to the Wizards basketball operations department for the last decade."Connelly comes to the Hornets from the Washington Wizards where he most recently served as the Director of Player Personnel. Connelly's recent roles at the Wizards as Director of Player Personnel including head scouting, salary cap and database management, player evaluation responsibilities, as well as assisting Tommy Sheppard, the Vice President of Player Personnel, with all front office duties. -Entire post here. So, Connelly served as the Wizards' Director of Player Personnel as his last duty with Washington. That was the same title that Mike Bratz currently has with the Nuggets. Going to the Pelicans, Connelly got a promotion to assistant general manager under Dell Demps. And now Connelly is the VP of Basketball Ops with the Nuggets (another promotion). During his tenure with the Wizards it sounds like Connelly had strong ties from 2000-2010 with their drafts. Duties like "head scouting" and phrases like "keen eye for international talent" indicate as much. So, let's take a look at the draft selections the Wizards had from 2000-2010: Year Round Pick Player College/Country 2010 1 1 John Wall Kentucky 2010 1 30 Lazar Hayward Marquette 2010 2 35 Nemanja Bjelica Serbia 2009 2 32 Jermaine Taylor Central Florida 2008 1 18 JaVale McGee Nevada 2008 2 47 Bill Walker Kansas State 2007 1 16 Nick Young USC 2007 2 47 Dominic McGuire Cali State - Fresno 2006 1 18 Oleksiy Pecherov Russia 2006 2 48 Vladimir Veremeenko Russia 2005 2 49 Andray Blatche High School 2004 1 5 Devin Harris Wisconsin 2004 2 32 Peter John Ramos Puerto Rico 2003 1 10 Jarvis Hayes Georgia 2003 2 38 Steve Blake Maryland 2002 1 11 Jared Jeffries Indiana 2002 1 17 Juan Dixon Maryland 2002 2 38 Rod Grizzard Alabama 2002 2 40 Juan Carlos Navarro FC Barcelona (Spain) 2001 1 1 Kwame Brown High School 2000 2 35 Mike Smith Louisiana-Monroe The No. 1 overall picks: Connelly was part of a front office team that presided over two number one selections. They took Kwame Brown in 2001 (when Connelly was a second year scout) and John Wall in 2010 when Connelly was the Director of Player Personnel. Brown is considered one of the worst No. 1 over all picks in NBA history and much has been debated over whether it was Michael Jordan's insistence on taking Brown after seei

The Denver Nuggets have hired Tim Connelly as executive vice president of basketball operations.