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By Heath Copps

Celebration in the Mile High city. There's been groaning that the Nuggets haven't done enough this offseason, but I don't buy it. I too had visions of three impact players being signed with the oodles of cash Kiki freed up, but that was a pipe dream. All the major free agents ended up with offers higher than I thought they'd get.

So, Kiki identified the major need on the ballclub -- point guard -- and went after it. Undrafted rookie Junior Harrington put up a valiant effort, but rookies don't play effective point in the league, especially undrafted Division II rookies. The team turned the ball over a ton, looked lost most of the time on the offensive end, took too long to get into their sets and couldn't run a decent fast break. Why? Because they had guys that should be apprenticing in the NBDL running the show.

Miller is one of the best PGs in the league and I see a bit of a New Jersey-type turnaround brewing, as his ability to run a team makes everybody on the roster better.

I love this guy and last year never happened for him -- a bump in the road, a blip on the screen. He's going to have a great year. 17 points a game. Lead the league in assists again, hit 80 percent of his free throws and grab 4-5 rebounds. Solid. Solid. Solid. Pass-first point guard play. And the kicker: he plays every game. In four seasons he's only missed three games.

As long as he doesn't shoot any threes (.234 career average) Dre will be alright. Probably won't make the All Star team with Marbury and Nash in the West, but he'll be close. Very close. Better than Mike Bibby, Sam Cassell, Tony Parker, Gary Payton and Jason Williams.

And don't tell me that he can't run an up-tempo game, because he's a step slow. You don't have to be a gazelle to run a great fastbreak. Think Magic Johnson. He definitely wasn't a speedster, but he was a genius at transition basketball because he could always get his man the ball in the best position to score. And he was committed to running at all costs. James Worthy, Byron Scott, AC Green, Michael Cooper filling the wings definitely helped, but Magic was the man. And Miller has similar passing skills.

Off-the-bench the team brings in Earl Boykins (who probably accepted a Nuggets offer at press time) to take the tempo up one more notch. Great move. Boykins reminds me of the diminutive Michael Adams, who had many good years in a Nuggets uniform. Nuggets advisor and most successful coach in team history, Doug Moe wanted Boykins when he was available last year. A year later Moe gets his wish. The little man will create havoc, score points in bunches and use the altitude for maximum advantage.

Perfect.

Offer JT a Contract for the Hell of It

After taking care of the point guard slot, here are a few other moves Kiki and Co. should consider:

- Rodney White might be a consistent contributor to this team in the future. He may even be ready this year (he showed signs of breaking out in summer league), but I'm not convinced he's ready for big SG minutes. The Nuggets need another two guard. Jason Terry is the guy. He can flat out fill it up. Offer him $6-7 million and see what the clueless Hawks do. Probably not going to happen after spending big money for two PGs, but if it does the Nuggets are set solid at four positions for a long time. Let me repeat that. Denver will be one center, a couple of utility pieces and some playoff experience short of a championship caliber club.

- Stephen Jackson was in the Mile High city checking things out last week. He's one of those very special players with the ability to keep both teams in the game and food on the table of antacid manufacturers everywhere. Don't do it, even though his drag racer nose is super cool.

- Talk to Raja Bell. He's feeling dissed about the Mavericks slow hand in re-signing him and the squeeze of drafting Josh Howard and signing undrafted guard Marquis Daniels.

Bell can defend Kobe, Finley, Sprewell and Allen. He's all-out hustle and he shot 41 percent from three last year. And, even though he's only played three years, he has big time playoff experience with both the Mavs and the Sixers. A perfect compliment to the slashing, scoring youthfulness of White and the O-minded Carmelo Anthony.

More Names to Think About

- Jason Richardson -- Rumors say he's on the block. 15 points a game. Big time athleticism. Hmm.

- Larry Hughes -- I like him. A lot. If a team doesn't force him to play out of position at the point, this long, 6'5" shooting guard adds juice to the lineup.

- Aaron Williams or Jason Collins -- work a trade for one of NJ's surplus big men, give them cap space in return. Williams has a nice little offensive game and Collins is a big body with some touch around the basket.

- Courtney Alexander -- Didn't work out with New Orleans but could be a valuable addition at guard.

- Vladimir Stepania -- A big man with some skills -- gives depth down low.

- George McCloud -- Cheap points. Utility-type backup from 1 to 3. Veteran leadership.

- Walt Williams -- Veteran leadership and some offensive punch off the bench.

- Derrick Coleman -- Not exactly mature veteran leadership, but a big body that can score. Had a year and a half of pretty good ball in Philly. Sign him up. Seriously.

Prognosis

Assuming Boykins signs up the Nuggets roster looks like this...

PG -- Andre Miller/Earl Boykins/Junior Harrington
SG -- Rodney White/Jeff Trepagnier
SF -- Carmelo Anthony/Ryan Bowen
PF -- Nene/Nikoloz Tskitishvili /Chris Andersen
C -- Marcus Camby/ Francisco Elson

Naysayers point at the departure of Juwan Howard as a key to keeping this team near the bottom of the standings. Hogwash, hooey, hokum.

- Anthony, as a rookie, is easily good for Howard's 18 points and close to his 7.6 rebounds. Push.

- Miller/Boykins are good for a +10 wins swing. Honest to God. Point guard is that important. Think of the Nets without Kidd. Mediocre at best.

- Overall improvement of the youngsters: Nene, Tskitishvili and White. These guys, especially the Brazilian Bull, are going to make a huge impact this year. +5.

- Marcus Camby. A definite wildcard. But, what if the man could actually play 60 games this season? +3

That's a 32-35 win team. And they still have money to spend. It will be a 15 to 20 win improvement this year. A very nice turnaround in the long journey to championship contention.

Freelance writer Heath Copps gets basketball visions while eating slightly fermented mangoes. E-mail him at gowiggle@qwest.net.