The Nuggets are open to listening to inquiries on swingman Malik Beasley, but are seeking a first-round pick in any deal for him, two league sources tell Mike Singer of The Denver Post.
After enjoying a modest breakout season a year ago for Denver, Beasley has been in and out of the rotation and hasn’t been as productive in 2019/20. For the season, he’s averaging just 7.8 PPG on .392/.364/.941 shooting in 40 games (18.1 MPG). The 23-year-old is in the final year of his rookie contract and will be eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end, so the Nuggets will have to decide soon whether he’s in their long-term plans.
Like Beasley, Juan Hernangomez will be eligible for restricted free agency this offseason and could be had this week for the right price. The Nuggets are seeking a second-round pick for Hernangomez, sources tell Singer. Denver has already traded away its own first- and second-round selections for 2020.
The Timberwolves are among the teams with interest in Beasley, a source tells Chris Crouse of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link), who cautions that any pursuit of Beasley would be secondary to Minnesota’s efforts to land D’Angelo Russell. As for Hernangomez, Singer reports that the Hawks are one team that has inquired on the power forward.
While the Nuggets could explore the market for a larger trade, don’t expect second-year forward Michael Porter Jr. to be involved in such a deal. We heard earlier in the season that Denver views Porter as essentially untouchable and recent reports have confirmed as much.
Singer hears from a source that the Nuggets have no intention of moving Porter, while Sam Amick of The Athletic said on the Tampering podcast that team owner Stan Kroenke is among those who don’t want to see the 2018 lottery pick go anywhere (hat tip to RealGM).
Don’t think Beasley will get the Nuggets a first rounder cause they have left it so late and because his deal expires in 3 months…
Definitely don’t see him staying at the Nuggets after FA tho.
He would be great for the Hawks, Cavs, Raptors, Grizzlies, OKC and Spurs
First, he’s going to be a RFA this summer, so he has quite a bit of value.
Second, Denver doesn’t have to trade him because he’s an RFA this summer…they can ask for the moon, and if they don’t get it, oh well.
Third, if Denver re-signs him on a cheap deal, his value as a trade asset goes up.
Fourth, he could help Denver swing a bigger trade this summer.
How does being a RFA make him valueable it means he’s on 3 mil now but next year if you want him he may cost 15mil to keep…
They can ask for the moon and if they get nothing then in FA he leaves leaving them with nothing ….
There is no way he signs a cheap deal considering he already turned down 13 mil from them earlier and he wants more minutes…
The headline for all the stories this deadline should be “Team X asking way too much for Player Y”.