Big Z in Denver: Story of a Pipe Dream

I recently learned that after the Wizards bought out Zydrunas Ilgauskas' contract, the Nuggets have been in contact with his agent to try to get him to come to Denver instead of going back to Cleveland. This is a story that at one time makes me piss-my-pants excited AND already morbidly disappointed. Big Z is almost for sure going to go back to Cleveland to re-bolster their front line for a title run. But, and this is a but that comes with enormously bad odds, if he were to join the Nuggets, he WOULD be the piece that would vault us into major, major contention for an NBA title THIS YEAR. As of right now, we are forced to play second fiddle in the West to the Lakers until we can beat them in the playoffs. On top of that, it's not even clear if the Lakers are first fiddle when you compare them to the Cavaliers. So to steal a key player from the Cavaliers in order to make ourselves better able to compete with them and the Lakers would be Willy Wonka sweet. It would be like playing one of those crane games where instead of stuffed animals they have watches and iPods. The odds are enormously against you, but if you somehow pull it off, your pants get noticeably chubby and you buy a round of celebratory drinks. If the Nuggets got Ilgauskas, I, along with the rest of the knowledgeable Nuggets fans out there, would crap my basketball pants. The Nuggets are already beating the Lakers and Cavs this year without having a 7'3" monster coming off the bench for 20 minutes a night to do nothing but clog the middle, play defense and knock down 15 foot jumpers which draw other teams' bigs away from the basket. In addition, he is dynamite on the pick and roll, which would be simply exquisite with Billups, Melo, and Lawson. I have yet to have a hometown team win a championship when I am old enough to celebrate it properly, and the Nuggets definitely have the best chance of any Denver team right now (Rockies and Avs aren't far off, but neither have the opportunity to legitimately win a championship within the next year or two). Since this has never happened for me, and Z could be the key to it realistically happening, I have decided to compare Cleveland and Denver in three very important categories to show Zydrunas the way to the Mile High City. Hopefully, he and his agent will stumble upon this obscure blog and see the light. This scenario is definitely a pipe dream, but what would sports be without pants-wetting, almost-certainly-never-going-to-happen-but-would-be-INCREDIBLE-if-it-did dreams?

CATEGORY #1: TEAMMATES

CLEVELAND: It's hard for me to make a case against playing with LeBron James. He is the most exciting player in the league and playing with him puts you right in the spotlight. He also gives you the chance at a championship just by stepping on the court. I can, however, make a case against the rest of the players in Cleveland. If I were in the NBA, I would not want to be Shaq's backup. This is especially true with Shaq playing with LeBron. His ego has already taken a big enough hit by having to defer to LBJ as the alpha dog on the Cavs, no matter how much it seems like it isn't. So you better believe that Shaq is doing everything he can to at least be the alpha dog on the block in Cleveland. Big Z would be overshadowed immensely by the the combo of LeBron and Shaq, and adding Antawn Jamison to the front court that already has an awkward foreign guy in it (Anderson Varajao), and there is even less room for Ilgauskus in Cleveland. As for the rest of the team, you know who I would rather play with than Mo Williams, Daniel Gibson, Anderson Varajao, and the rest of their cast of forgettable, barely mediocre players? The answer: just about anyone else in the league. If Z goes back to the Cleve, he gets the opportunity to be virtually anonymous and play with guys who might as well be named Frogger they are so far in the middle of the road.

DENVER: Hey! I just thought of a few answers to the question of who I'd rather play with than Cleveland's supporting cast: Chauncey Billups, Chris Andersen, Ty Lawson, J.R. Smith, just to name a few. This is not even mentioning Carmelo, who is the alpha dog in Denver, and has been transformed as a player and a person by Chauncey. Zydrunas would not be overcrowding the Denver front court like he would be in Cleveland. He would simply be turning our essentially three-man big man rotation into an excellent four man rotation. He would take up 15-20 mintues a game, which are minutes that will keep Nene fresher, help protect Kenyon Martin from injury, and complement Chris Andersen off the bench beautifully. So let's just imagine that Z will be playing mostly with the second unit (which is infinitely more exciting than the Cavs' second unit, by the way). You can't tell me that this unit's go-to play wouldn't be Ty Lawson drives off the high pick set by Z, and either drives to the basket, kicks it back to Ilgauskas for a mid-range jumper, or kicks it out to J.R. for a three. Also, Z will bring whoever is guarding him out away from the basket (let's say, Pau Gasol), leaving Bird Man much more room to do what he does best: be active, get offensive boards, and slam home put backs. Shifting to the defensive end, who are you going to drive the lane at, shot-block machine Chris Andersen or 7'3" Zydrunas? You can't ask for anything more from your second unit than to have a seemingly unstoppable go-to play on offense and the ability to shut down the lane on defense. Do you see how well you would fit here, Zydrunas?

Advantage: Denver

CATEGORY #2: CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES

CLEVELAND: The Cavs are obviously one of the favorites to win the championship this year, and the thought of them in the Finals against the Lakers just makes David Stern dewey. Regaining Z would obviously help fortify their front line to make their championship chances even greater, but it wouldn't make as much of an impact as it would in Denver. Ilgauskas would be joining a front court already chock full of egos, and there is a possibility that Z could, in the other front court members' minds, overcrowd the paint and be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Adding another player to the Cavs could set off these huge egos and turn them into a team with mental toughness issues that could actually DETER them from winning a championship.

DENVER: Like I said, Ilgauskas is legitimately the difference from a decent shot at a title to an EXCELLENT shot at a title THIS YEAR. He is the extra big man Denver needs to be a bonafide threat in the playoffs to LA and Cleveland (and it will help against Dallas too, where unfortunately, Brendan Haywood is working out swimmingly). As far as egos go, Carmelo's has been curbed by the presence of Chauncey, and I think he would relish playing with a big man like Z who can stretch the defense and open up driving lanes for him. Nene has no troublesome ego to speak of, and Bird Man will always be a crowd favorite no matter who else joins the team, so he is safe. The only potential problem would be K-Mart, but he plays PF and Z plays C, so I don't think it would be THAT big of an issue. Also, I believe that if the Nuggets are going to win a championship anytime soon, it HAS to be with Chauncey Billups running the point. And unfortunately for Nuggets fans, his window of awesomeness probably only has a few years left on it. The Nuggets need a player like Zydrunas Ilgauskas AS SOON AS POSSIBLE if we want to see our championship hopes realized.

Advantage: Denver

CATEGORY #3: THE CITY

CLEVELAND: Contrary to the way it is portrayed in 30 Rock, "the Cleve" is not a sunny, magical place where all of your dreams could come true. It is a desolate, depressing city who still accepts the nickname "The Mistake By The Lake" and is seemingly cursed when it comes to sports. No team in Cleveland has won a championship since the 1960's and they have had some Cubs-esque bad luck for all of their teams that has made sure that streak stays intact (The Drive, The Fumble, and Michael Jordan in 1989 to name just a few). Sure, the Cavs look primed to finally break the curse this year, but who is to say that Z overcrowding their front court won't spell doom for this team and add a few more logs to this city's stink-fire of sports failure. Bottom line, I wouldn't feel confident about anything, sports or otherwise, if I lived in Cleveland.

DENVER: Denver, how are you better than Cleveland? Let me count the ways. Do you like 300+ days a year of sunshine? Do you like a city nestled right up next to the mountains with seemingly every outdoor activity known to man right at your fingertips? Do you like a city that is considered a beer-brewing Mecca in the United States, which fuels a fan base that would love and appreciate you much more than they would in Cleveland? Do you like a city that has one of the best economies in the U.S. right now? These are just a small sampling of the ways that Denver is much more inviting, loving, and superior to Cleveland. But, if you want to go be anonymous in a depressing, ugly city that sits against a polluted lake rather than the Rocky Mountains, then the choice is yours.

BIG Advantage: Denver

So, you see, Z, that Denver is the Rocky Mountain high, sunny, non-cursed NBA contending city you are looking for. While Cleveland may seem like the safe choice here, it is plain and simple the WRONG choice. I know that if you actually weighed the pros and cons of each situation, you would see very clearly that Denver is the place where you fit best. But I just know deep down that you are going to break my heart and take the safe choice, which is the reason I have the phrase "pipe dream" in the title of this blog post. But hey, a man can dream, right?