Aaron Afflalo says Denver Nuggets can win title next season
By Sam Richmond
The Denver Nuggets made one of the biggest splashes so far this offseason by trading for Aaron Afflalo on the day of the NBA Draft.
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Afflalo, for one, thinks the deal could be a game-changer for the Nuggets.
From NBA.com:
"“I’ll be blunt,” Afflalo said Friday. “I believe this is a championship team. It’s hard for the casual fan to fathom that because you don’t see big-market stars. Basketball is a team game. Good players win you games."
It would be quite a remarkable (and seemingly impossible) jump for a Denver team that won just 36 games and has a fairly seismic talent disadvantage compared to the top teams in the Western Conference. But Afflalo says the Nuggets depth is what will push them over the top.
"“To have a team that I feel is pretty much 2-deep at every position in talent and experience and hunger to compete and prove themselves as players, I think this is a team with the caliber to make a run for a title.”"
Denver will certainly be improved next season based on the presumption of better health and the addition of Afflalo,
However, given the tremendous difficultly of the West and how poor this team performed last season, it would be a great accomplishment for the Nuggets to even make the playoffs.
Afflalo obviously has his sights set much higher, and one can’t really fault an athlete for having confidence in his team., even if it’s misguided
The seven-year veteran averaged 18.2 points on 45.9 percent shooting from the floor last season with the Magic. He spent three years with the Nuggets before being shipped to Orlando in 2012.