Nuggets Power Rankings: No. 9, Darrell Arthur

Mar 11, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Darrell Arthur (00) during the game against the Atlanta Hawks at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets’ preseason roster includes 19 players, and the team will try to figure out which 15 of them deserve a shot during the regular season throughout the team’s seven-game exhibition slate.

But, for now, how do these players stack up? We polled our staff writers and editor at Nugg Love to get a consensus power ranking of every player on the roster, and we’ll be releasing one player each day from October 5 to 23, starting from No. 19 and finishing at No. 1.

Lost in the offseason re-signings of forwards Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler and guard Will Barton, one player quietly returned to the Nuggets: power forward Darrell Arthur.

Let’s look at the veteran power forward and his role with Denver in 2015-16.

Who is Darrell Arthur?

Arthur was originally acquired by Denver in 2013, along with power forward Joffrey Lauvergne, from the Memphis Grizzles for center Kosta Koufos. Arthur then exercised his player option in 2014, before being resigned to a two-year deal in 2015.

The 6’9” power forward notched 6.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks per game average last season for the Nuggets. He gained more playing time as the season went on and he showed he deserved a bigger role.

During his six-year career with Memphis and Denver, the Kansas product has averaged 6.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game and has played a valuable role off the bench for both teams.

Strengths

The 235-pound big man is an all-around solid player. He is fierce on defense, protecting the paint well despite his size, and sets the tone for the Nuggets.

Arthur is also a great player setting picks for guards in the Nuggets offense, often popping out to the mid-range or the three-point line for catch-and-shoot looks.

Arthur creates shots for himself and gets others in better positions, helping the offense keep its flow.

Overall, Arthur is a great option of the bench for the Nuggets.

Weaknesses

Arthur could improve his rebounding.

While he does get some rebounds, he could be more aggressive in attacking the boards. By doing this, the Nuggets would see less of a drop-off when they sub him in for forward Kenneth Faried

He also isn’t overwhelming on the low block on offense and prefers to score his points on jumpers and threes.

2015-16 Outlook

Arthur is a safe bet to make the roster, especially after the Nuggets both resigned him and also with the health of center Jusuf Nurkic in question. Arthur will provide nice depth in the post for the Nuggets.

Outside of Arthur, the team has only four healthy players: Kenneth Faried, J.J. Hickson, Joffrey Lauvergne and Nikola Jokic to run the power forward and center positions.

None of these players have established themselves as deserving of a huge minute total, and a great spinning rotation seems likely. Therefore, Arthur stays.

This No. 9 ranking could look high to some, but the experience and fight Arthur brings is the type of bench player the Nuggets need.

Note: All statistics are from RealGM unless otherwise indicated.