Considering Denver’s current payroll it was obvious that the Nuggets would not be able to re-sign all of their free agents without exceeding the luxury tax threshold. After the Nuggets used their MLE to keep Chris “Birdman” Anderson in Colorado it looked like it was inevitable to let Linas Kleiza and Dahntay Jones walk.

Yesterday, the Pacers announced that they were able to acquire unrestricted free agent Dahntay Jones who was signed to a four-year $11 million contract. Although Jones only averaged 5.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest in Denver, he turned out be an impact player due to his outstanding defense. Most importantly, Dahntay Jones’ ability to keep quick point guards like Chris Paul in front of him was a key factor for the Nuggets’ successful 2008-09 post-season run.

Given the Pacers’ rather poor performance in recent years, Jones will most likely be a valuable addition to their current roster. However, one should not expect him to single handedly fix Indiana’s mediocre team defense. Nonetheless, his veteran presence and willingness to be physical could help to set a different on the defensive end of the floor.

Denver in contrast will have a hard time finding a suitable replacement for their starting shoot guard. Chauncey Billups and Carmello Anthony will be all the Nuggets need to create open shots, but Denver will now face serious problems containing explosive point guards. Despite Billups’ great leadership and floor vision he is more comfortable with defending a 2-guard of his own size. Due to Denver’s budget constraints and limited options in free agency it remains to seen if the franchise will find a suitable replacement.

You can watch all games of the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of live NBA streaming.