Nuggets swingman Will Barton will opt out of his $14.7MM salary for next season, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Both sides hope a new deal can be reached in free agency, Charania adds.
Today was the deadline for a decision from Barton, who has been in Denver since being acquired in a trade with Portland midway through the 2014/15 season. He is the longest-tenured player on the Nuggets’ roster and will be an offseason priority for president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Denver owns Bird rights on Barton and will be able to exceed the cap to re-sign him, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Even without Barton on the books, the Nuggets project to be over the cap for next season when taking into account the team’s first-round draft pick and a possible $7.6MM salary for JaMychal Green, whose player option decision is due by July 26.
[RELATED: 2021 NBA Offseason Preview: Denver Nuggets]
Barton, 30, suffered a late-season hamstring injury that limited his availability in the playoffs. He appeared in 56 regular season games and averaged 12.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists while shooting a career best 38.1% from three-point range.
Keep up with all the offseason decisions on player options here.
This isn’t new. He said awhile ago that he was opting out and exploring the best fit for him, which really sounds like he doesn’t like how Mike Malone used him.
He did not say that.
When it comes to declining 15 mill on a player of this ilk it’s only new to me when its “new”
I had heard word he’s leaning this direction but obv he met w his camp beforehand and they still felt confident enough in what’s out there to decline –
If his camp had last minute reservations I don’t think it would be uncommon to see him accept today and take his 10 mins of Twitter shame along w the 15 mill
Do agree he’s done w Malone and the MPJ mini show
He is 30
3pt 38.1%
Market value around 3 year $36 million
Hey this guy is pretty good!
Sign and trade for Simmons or the Sixers just sign him
I like Barton a lot, he is a solid basketball player
They don’t have any cap space to sign Barton.
Cap hold is cap killer
Most Mavs fans don’t know Hardaway cap hold is $28.5 million and they want to sign free agent Oubre
@WallyWood
Well they gotta create some lol
I just mentioned him on the Nugget offseason page. So I repeat he has missed 37% of Nugget games in the last 3 years and his PER was about 14.
This should be a hurray for Denver as they let him go. But Connelly talks like he will raise him!
Choices have to be made when the kids grow up and want millions more to stay around.
Maybe Barton will admit to why he wants out, when/if he signs elsewhere.
Him and Gordon were the only Nuggets that showed heart this year in the playoffs.
He is probably furious at nearly missing his second playoffs. He does have an active style DEN missed and can win with but Connelly is likely committed to MPJ. They cannot afford mid-priced players with three maxxes!
@DaBlow216… Jokic disagrees with you!!!
Barton wants some clear minutes and clear role.
He was uneasy when he was coming off bench behind porter jr. He also likes to be a ball handler and they have murray, Morris, mpj, jokic, and Gordon.
I like him as a player but I’m not sure if I want to invest on guy who has been plagued by injuries for the past 2 years. Last thing I need is investing 30 to 40 millions on a player who might not play more than 50 games a season.
The Nuggets got good guards in Murray, Dozier, Facundo and Morris and MPJ looked good this season. I’ll let him walk and try to get rid of Millsap as well.
Keep Barton. Letting jerami grant walk isn’t looking to good. I’m for roster continuity.
DEN should view this as a positive, or at least an opportunity. They need a reset on the wings, and the departure of guys vested with some baggage can be addition by subtraction. Will they take advantage of it? Probably not.
I also think it’s probably better to let Barton go. I would have been happy if he signed his option and stayed but I think 3 years/30 million is too much of a risk. I think there are better options (Reggie Jackson?). Austin Rivers, Shaquille Harrison, PJ Dozier will give as much or more than Barton in future years. Denver needs to shore up it’s back-up center position. Murray can play sg so while the Nuggets need more scoring in the backcourt, they don’t necessarily need a sg. The success of the Nuggets will depend on the development of MPjr and the health of Murray. If MPjr doesn’t develop or Murray doesn’t get healthy, the Nuggets will need financial flexibility, not Barton on a long term contract.