SUNDAY, 11:59pm: The move has taken place, according to the RealGM transactions log.
THURSDAY, 4:11pm: The Nuggets are expected to release Shavlik Randolph, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reports. The forward had been recently acquired by Denver via a waiver claim from the Celtics. The 31-year-old had been waived by Boston to accommodate the signing of Chris Babb to a multiyear deal.
Denver currently has the league maximum of 15 players on its roster, and releasing Randolph would give the team some level of roster flexibility for its remaining four contests. The team could use the roster spot for another player whom the Nuggets would retain on their roster for the summer and into training camp in order to get a good look at him, Dempsey speculates.
Randolph wasn’t plucked off of waivers by the Nuggets to help them on the court. Instead, the veteran’s $1,227,985 salary was desired to help bring the franchise closer to the league mandated salary floor. Adding Randolph decreases the amount of shortfall the franchise would need to distribute amongst its players. This could mean a savings of roughly $1MM for the organization, provided another team doesn’t submit its own waiver claim on Randolph.
The 6’10” forward has appeared in a total of 21 games this season for the Suns and Celtics. His career averages through 146 appearances are 2.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.2 assists. Randolph’s career slash line is .449/.167/.544.