Denver Trades the Joker!

(Boulder-CO) Today the Nuggets have found a way to alleviate some of their roster problems by trading forward Reggie Evans and the rights to forward Ricky Sanchez to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for center Steven Hunter and forward Bobby Jones. Many of you might remember the name Ricky Sanchez because I included him in my memory lane series back around the time of the draft.

This trade doesn’t come as that big of a surprise to me despite the surprise timing of the deal. Reggie Evans was, at no fault of his own, the odd man out in the power forward log jam the Nuggets were dealing with and ultimately Reggie’s remaining years of contractual obligation to the Nuggets probably made him the man traded over fellow teammate and forward Eduardo Najera who becomes a free agent after this season.

Now onto what we received in return for Evans.

Steven Hunter is a versatile seven-footer who can block shots and run the floor. His mid range game is definitely a spot that needs work, but overall he gives the Nuggets a cheap insurance policy at center. Hunter is a six-year veteran with time spent in Phoenix, Orlando, and Philadelphia.

Where things start to get interesting is in the acquistion of Bobby Jones. While Jones only finished last year’s rookie season averaging 2.5 points and 1.3 rebounds. It was the way he came on at the end which makes him intriguing. Some would say that Philly didn’t have the best of years in last season’s efforts, but in the month of April Bobby Jones averaged 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in a total of nine games.

And to conclude this post I would like to remenise some of the finer points of game belonging to Reggie “The Joker” Evans. We will always remember the “intimate” grab of Chris Kaman in the 2006 playoffs and Reggie’s fulltime sense of humor. I will also remember Reggie’s sense of professionalism in regards to not complaining about playing time or talking to the media. Best of luck to Reggie Evans as he teams back up with Andre Miller in Philadelphia.