Former Magic Guard Jameer Nelson Reduced to Journeyman; Traded Again
Jameer Nelson was released this past offseason from his contractual obligations to the Orlando Magic, and what has resulted is something most Magic fans may not have suspected: wandering around the NBA as a journeyman.
Jameer Nelson first signed with the Dallas Mavericks, expected to be part of a platoon guard situation with Devin Harris and Raymond Felton. But that all changed when Mark Cuban and company found out they could swing a deal for perennial All-Star ball hawk Rajon Rondo.
In acquiring Rondo, the Mavs shipped Nelson off to play for a former rival, the Boston Celtics. Jameer did not spend long in Boston, despite having been handed the keys to the engine in his first game with the C’s.
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Instead, the Celtics made a move to bring back a former fan favorite, Nate Robinson, while shipping Nelson off to the Denver Nuggets according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
Robinson is really just a way for the Celtics to infuse some energy into its young team, a spark plug off the bench and offensive threat that Nelson is not at this point in his career. Robinson may not be in Boston long as the team continues its firesale of veterans to race toward the bottom of the standings.
That may be speaking prematurely, or even rashly, but there is no sense envisioning that Nelson will see major time in Denver barring a serious injury to Ty Lawson.
Undoubtedly, the former Magic floor general will see time backing up the highly-used Ty Lawson. Lawson is the head of a high-scoring Denver offense and averages 16 points and 10 assists per game. While the Nuggets do go small, the majority of Nelson’s minutes will be seen backing up Lawson, not playing alongside him. That essentially means he is unlikely to see more than 16-18 minutes a game, absorbing a role similar to what Andre Miller once did in Denver.
It just seems to be quite a devolution in Nelson’s career. But this is what happens to NBA point guards when they reach their twilight years. Teams are not interested in starting guys who are marginal starters at the sacrifice of not developing younger talents, and that was clearly the case in Boston.
Rather than give Nelson the minutes he deserved, the Celtics preferred to push major minutes on rookie Marcus Smart. With Rondo already out of town, Boston is in no way considering the postseason, so developing young talent (or “tanking” as so many prefer to dub it) only made sense.
The result is that Nelson is now a coach from the bench, a spottily used reserve whose best contributions may now be as a spot up shooter and ball distributor in second units. It is not that the day would never come, but it is still a bit depressing to see the long-time Magic guard having trouble sticking on any team at this point in his career.
Nelson will be in the NBA again next year. He has a player option for $2.8 million in his contract, and he may be spending his final season in Denver barring a major reversal in fortunes: Nelson has shot just 34 percent from the floor this year and only stuck for six games in Boston.
The Nuggets appear to be in the process of overhauling the roster outside of its core talents (indicated by Windhorst citing sources relaying the Nuggets shopping both Arron Afflalo and Randy Foye), so Nelson may not be in Denver permanently either.
Maybe it is best to just remember him as he was wearing No. 14 in Orlando, because the days of being a starting NBA guard are clearly behind the Saint Joseph’s alum.