2009–10 Denver Nuggets season

The 2009–10 Denver Nuggets season was the 43rd season of the franchise, its 34th in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After their trip the Conference Finals last season, the Nuggets started the season 35-18 before the All-Star break. Coach George Karl and Carmelo Anthony were the only Nuggets to represent the Western Conference in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. During the break, Anthony sported a new haircut. However, not long after the break, dark clouds gathered around the team as coach Karl was diagnosed with neck and throat cancer. Adrian Dantley took over and the team struggled in the second half of the season, finishing with a 53-29 record and earned the number 4 seed in the West. Denver's season ended in the first round with a defeat to the Jazz in six games.

Key dates

• June 25 – The 2009 NBA draft took place in New York City.
• July 8 – The free agency period started.

Free Agency

On July 8, the Nuggets re-signed fan favorite Chris "Birdman" Andersen to a 5-year, $21.17 million contract, worth up to $26 million with incentives. However, on July 13, the Nuggets lost starting shooting guard Dahntay Jones, who signed a 4-year, $10.6 million contract with the Indiana Pacers. The Nuggets also lost reserve forward Linas Kleiza to Greek team Olympiacos Piraeus on August 10, when he signed a 2-year, $12.2 million contract. On August 16, backup point guard Anthony Carter was re-signed to a 1-year minimum-salary contract worth $1,306,455. On August 27, the team re-signed reserve center Johan Petro to a 1-year minimum-salary contract worth $884,881. On September 25, the Nuggets signed forward Joey Graham to a 1-year, non-guaranteed, minimum salary contract worth $884,881. On September 28, reserve point guard Jason Hart signed a 1-year non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. On September 26, the team also signed forward Keith Brumbaugh, point guard Dontaye Draper, and center Kurt Looby to non-guaranteed contracts for training camp. Brumbaugh was waived on October 10. Draper and Looby were waived on October 21.

Trades

The Nuggets made two draft-day trades as well as several others later in the offseason. On draft day, the Nuggets acquired the draft rights to point guard Ty Lawson, the 18th overall pick, from Minnesota in exchange for Charlotte's 2010 1st round pick, which they had previously acquired. The Nuggets also traded the draft rights to point guard Sergio Llull, a second round pick (34th overall), to the Houston Rockets in exchange for $2.25 million cash. On July 13, the Nuggets acquired shooting guard Arron Afflalo, forward Walter Sharpe, and $350,000 cash from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for a 2011 2nd round pick. The pick will be the lower of the Nuggets' and Blazers' selections, which the Nuggets previously acquired. On July 31, the Nuggets acquired power forward Malik Allen from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for swingman Sonny Weems, Sharpe, and cash considerations. On August 10, the Nuggets traded F/C Steven Hunter, their 2010 1st round pick, and $3 million cash to the Memphis Grizzlies for a 2014 conditional 2nd round pick. On September 22, the Nuggets acquired swingman James White from Houston in exchange for the draft rights to forward Axel Hervelle, a 2005 2nd round pick (52nd overall). White was waived on October 21.

Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	18	Ty Lawson*	Point guard	United States	UNC
2	34	Sergio Llullx	Point guard	Spain	Real Madrid (Spain)

^* Acquired from Minnesota. ^x Traded to Houston.

Roster

Denver Nuggets roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From 1.5 !G 6 USA ! Afflalo, Arron 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) UCLA 4.0 !F 30 USA ! Allen, Malik 7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Villanova 5.5 !F/C 11 USA ! Andersen, Chris 7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 228 lb (103 kg) Blinn College TX (JC) 4.0 !F 15 USA ! Anthony, Carmelo (C) 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 228 lb (103 kg) Syracuse 4.0 !F 32 USA ! Balkman, Renaldo (IN) 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 208 lb (94 kg) South Carolina 1.5 !G 1 USA ! Billups, Chauncey (C) 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Colorado 6.0 !C 43 USA ! Butch, Brian (IN) 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Wisconsin 1.5 !G 25 USA ! Carter, Anthony 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Hawaiʻi 2.5 !G/F 14 USA ! Graham, Joey 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Oklahoma State 1.5 !G 22 USA ! Karl, Coby (IN) 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Boise State 1.5 !G 3 USA ! Lawson, Ty 7000180340000000000♠5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 195 lb (88 kg) North Carolina 4.0 !F 4 USA ! Martin, Kenyon (C) 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Cincinnati 5.5 !F/C 31 BRA ! Nenê 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Brazil 6.0 !C 27 FRA ! Petro, Johan 7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 247 lb (112 kg) France 1.5 !G 5 USA ! Smith, J. R. 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) St. Benedict's Prep (NJ)	Head coach George Karl (North Carolina) Assistant coach(es) Adrian Dantley (Notre Dame) John Welch (UNLV) Tim Grgurich (Pittsburgh) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Pre-season

Regular season

Standings

Game log

Playoffs

Game log

Player statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards, records and milestones

Awards

Week/Month

• Carmelo Anthony was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from Tuesday, Oct. 27 through Sunday, Nov. 1.^[1]
• Carmelo Anthony was named Western Conference Player of the Month for games played during the month of November.^[2]
• Carmelo Anthony was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from Monday, Jan. 11 through Sunday, Jan. 17.^[3]
• Chauncey Billups was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from Monday, Jan. 18 through Sunday, Jan. 24.^[4]

All-Star

• Carmelo Anthony was voted as a NBA Western Conference All-Star starter.^[5]
• Chauncey Billups was named to the NBA Western Conference All-Star team as a replacement for Chris Paul.^[6] Billups finished in 3rd place in the 3-point contest.^[7]

Season

• Carmelo Anthony was named to the All-NBA Second Team.^[8]

Transactions

References

External links

• 2009–10 Denver Nuggets season at ESPN
• 2009–10 Denver Nuggets season at Basketball Reference