SEPTEMBER 15: Stokes’ deal with the Nuggets is now official, the team announced today in a press release. Terms of the deal still aren’t known, but it’s likely a minimum-salary pact that includes little to no guaranteed money.
SEPTEMBER 4: The Nuggets are close to a deal with reigning D-League MVP Jarnell Stokes, tweets Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post. Stokes played briefly for the Grizzlies and Heat last season.
The 6’9″ center/power forward helped Sioux Falls win a D-League record 40 games in 2015/16, posting averages of 20.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per night in 28 games. At the NBA level, Stokes appeared in two games with Memphis before being traded to Miami in November. The Heat shipped him to New Orleans in February, but the Pelicans released him the next day.
Stokes, 22, was a second-round pick in 2014 by the Jazz, who traded him to Memphis on draft night. He has spent most of his career in the D-League. Dempsey expects him to have a legitimate shot at earning a roster spot in Denver Twitter link).
A little surprised the Heat didn’t bring him to camp. MVP on their D League team posting strong numbers but the Heat brought two big men and a guard up. Hope this isn’t another one that got away.