The Nuggets lost Nate Robinson for the season after he underwent surgery to repair an ACL injury on Friday, but even that apparently isn’t enough for the team to attempt to reconcile with Andre Miller.
Miller is a veteran point guard who clashed with first-year head coach Brian Shaw over playing time, and served a pseudo-suspension before essentially being excused from all team activities.
Denver has been trying to trade Miller, who hasn’t played since the initial incident occurred back on Dec. 30. But there have been no suitable offers, so he remains in limbo while the team presses on without him, despite the fact that there is a very real need for his services with Robinson gone for the rest of the year.
From Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post:Nuggets coach Brian Shaw was asked if the Nuggets had reached out to Andre Miller for a possible return, given the team’s dire need for a reserve point guard with Nate Robinson out for the season after ACL surgery.
The short answer? No.
“There won’t be any reaching out from our end,” Shaw said. “I think we’ve operated and done everything that we’re supposed to do. So, if there’s any reaching out that needs to be done I think the reaching out has to come from him to us. But at this point we’re still trying to evaluate the situation.”
Miller likely expressed an extreme lack of respect for Shaw and his decision making that would have relegated Miller further down the bench, and perhaps into no minutes at all on some nights.
This can be a major problem for former players entering the coaching ranks, with veterans who have had better and longer careers expected to passively adjust to a reduced role based on someone’s choice whom they don’t exactly trust.
Miller would be a nice pickup for a team looking to add talent for a postseason push. But it’s clear he’s no longer a fit in Denver, no matter how dire the situation has become at the point guard position given the latest season-ending injury.