- With Jamal Murray out for the season, Michael Porter Jr. has been tasked with carrying more of the scoring load for the Nuggets, and with Will Barton sidelined, PJ Dozier has taken on an increased rotation role. As Mike Singer of The Denver Post details, both Porter and Dozier embraced their increased responsibilities on Saturday, combining for 62 points and 11 three-pointers in a win over Houston.
The strained hamstring that Nuggets swingman Will Barton suffered Friday night is “significant,” coach Michael Malone said, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Malone added that he doesn’t expect Barton to return for the “foreseeable future.”
The injury occurred in the opening minute of a loss at Golden State as Barton felt a pop in his right hamstring area. It’s the latest in a series of costly injuries for Denver, which lost Jamal Murray to a season-ending ACL tear and is also missing Monte Morris with a hamstring issue.
Barton is averaging 12.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists through 55 games and has taken on a more significant role since Murray got hurt. He has a $14.67MM player option for next season.
Barton pledged on Twitter to be back as soon as possible. “Lil setback. Be back soon,” he wrote. “Ain’t seen the last of me this season. GOD always looking out.”
The injuries may not affect the Nuggets’ playoff seeding as they are securely lodged in the fourth spot in the West, three games ahead of the Lakers and three and a half behind the Clippers. The bigger concern is how the team will handle the postseason if other players aren’t available in addition to Murray.
Malone was unhappy with the way his team responded Friday in the wake of Barton’s injury and said there has to be more focus, no matter who is on the court.
“It’s our job,” he said. “Do your job… No Jamal Murray, somebody’s gotta step in. No Monte Morris, no Will Barton, somebody’s gotta step in. And it starts with playing hard. We did not play hard enough tonight. … That was the worst part about the loss tonight was that, give them credit, they played well, but we did not bring the requisite energy, fight, effort, whatever you want to call it.”
Nuggets swingman Will Barton will undergo an MRI after suffering a right hamstring injury, ESPN’s Royce Young writes. Barton felt a pop less than a minute into the team’s game against Golden State on Friday. The Nuggets are already depleted in the backcourt and can ill afford to lose another rotation player. Jamal Murray is out for the season after undergoing ACL surgery and Monte Morris is also sidelined with a hamstring issue. Barton, who holds a $14.67MM option on his contract for next season, is averaging 12.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 3.3 APG in 55 games this season.
It has been nearly a month since the NBA’s trade deadline passed, but we’ve still seen a flurry of transactional activity during the last four weeks, as teams have signed and waived players ahead of the postseason.
While some clubs have full rosters and seem unlikely to make any changes between now and the end of the regular season, that’s certainly not the case across the board.
With the help of our roster counts tracker, here’s our latest look at open roster spots around the league, as of April 22:
Teams with one or more open 15-man roster spots:
- Golden State Warriors
- Miami Heat
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New Orleans Pelicans (2)
- New York Knicks
- Portland Trail Blazers
- San Antonio Spurs
The Heat, Timberwolves, Knicks, and Spurs each have 14 players on standard contracts and one opening on their 15-man rosters. They’re all good bets to sign a 15th man before the season ends, either for developmental purposes or for added postseason depth.
The Warriors and Trail Blazers have 13 players apiece on standard deals, one on a 10-day contract – Gary Payton II for Golden State and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson for Portland – and one open spot. Hollis-Jefferson’s 10-day pact runs through next Tuesday, while Payton’s goes through Wednesday. Once those deals expire, the Warriors and Blazers will each have up to two weeks to get back to 14 players.
Since the NBA only allows teams to dip to 13 or fewer players for up to two weeks at a time, the Pelicans are very much on the clock. They’ve been at 13 players for the last nine days, since Isaiah Thomas‘ 10-day contract expired. The expectation is that New Orleans will sign draft-and-stash prospect Didi Louzada as a 14th man by early next week.
Teams whose 15-man rosters are full due to one or more 10-day contracts:
- Cleveland Cavaliers (Mfiondu Kabengele)
- Denver Nuggets (Austin Rivers)
- Los Angeles Clippers (DeMarcus Cousins; Yogi Ferrell)
- Memphis Grizzlies (Tim Frazier)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (Justin Robinson)
- Orlando Magic (Donta Hall; Robert Franks)
- Philadelphia 76ers (Anthony Tolliver)
- Sacramento Kings (Damian Jones)
- Toronto Raptors (Freddie Gillespie)
- Washington Wizards (Jordan Bell)
These 10 teams have full 15-man rosters as of today, but that might not last long. The dozen 10-day contracts listed here will begin expiring as soon as tonight (Hall), so if those players aren’t re-signed, the clubs will have roster openings.
The Nets will also fall into this group once they officially waive LaMarcus Aldridge and sign Mike James to a 10-day deal.
Teams with an open two-way contract slot:
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Phoenix Suns
- Toronto Raptors
The Suns have only carried a single two-way player all season long, so there’s no guarantee they’ll fill their second slot before the end of the regular season.
The other teams listed here are all better candidates to do so — Cleveland (Lamar Stevens) and Toronto (Yuta Watanabe) just recently promoted two-way players to their respective 15-man rosters, while Minnesota was carrying a pair of two-way players until waiving Ashton Hagans in February.
The Cavs reportedly intend to sign Jeremiah Martin to fill their two-way opening.
Prior to Wednesday’s game against Portland, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone told reporters that the team didn’t bring in Austin Rivers just to “hang out” and that the plan was to incorporate him immediately, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Malone delivered on that promise by playing Rivers for 13 minutes in Wednesday’s win — the veteran guard scored five points and added three rebounds.
After the game, Rivers said he reflected on his situation a lot since being traded and waived in March, and arrived in Denver determined to be a professional teammate who brought a “positive energy” to the Nuggets (Twitter link via Singer).
In addition to that positive energy, Rivers should bring capable outside shooting, shot creation, and perimeter defense to a backcourt that has been hit recently by injuries, writes Eric Spyropoulos of Nuggets.com.
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray underwent surgical reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, the team announced in a press release.
The Nuggets did not release a timetable for his recovery, though the nature of the surgery suggests he’ll miss time next season as well.
Murray suffered the non-contact injury during the fourth quarter of Denver’s loss to Golden State on April 12. His knee buckled as he attempted to take off for a layup and he immediately fell to the floor in obvious pain, pounding the court with his hand. He eventually refused the wheelchair that had been brought onto the floor and hopped to the locker room without putting any weight on the leg.
The injury is a devastating blow to Denver’s championship aspirations. A year ago, Murray was Denver’s leading scorer in the playoffs, with 26.5 PPG on a scorching .505/.453/.897 shooting line in 19 games (39.6 MPG). He was averaging 21.2 PPG, 4.8 APG and 4.0 RPG this season.
The Nuggets will rely on Facundo Campazzo and Monte Morris in Murray’s absence. They’ve won their first three games since Murray’s season-ending injury.
APRIL 20: The Nuggets have signed Rivers to a 10-day contract, according to Singer. Denver has announced in a press release that it’s official, so it will run through April 29, covering the team’s next six games. The deal will pay Rivers $158,907, with the Nuggets taking on a $110,998 cap hit.
APRIL 14: The Nuggets are negotiating with free agent guard Austin Rivers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic, who adds that they are in “serious talks” toward a deal, pending health and safety protocols. The team’s interest in Rivers was first reported on Monday.
Rivers is currently in Denver and is expected to sign within the next few days, a source tells Mike Singer of the Denver Post (Twitter link). It will likely be a 10-day contract, Singer adds (Twitter link).
The Nuggets are need of backcourt help after losing star guard Jamal Murray for the rest of the season with a torn left ACL. Denver has a roster opening and can add Rivers without a corresponding move.
Rivers, 28, signed with the Knicks during the offseason, but was never able to establish himself in the rotation, averaging 7.3 points and 2.0 assists in 21 games. He was traded to the Thunder at last month’s deadline and was waived a few days later.
Rivers would be eligible for the postseason because he wasn’t on an NBA roster beyond April 9, Singer notes (Twitter link). He offers plenty of playoff experience, having reached the postseason five times, including the past two years with the Rockets.
In a conversation with Sam Amick of The Athletic, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon spoke about how he impressed he has been with Nikola Jokic during his first few weeks in Denver, and said his team still has championship aspirations this season, even with Jamal Murray unavailable for the postseason.
Additionally, acknowledging rumors that the Celtics tried hard to acquire him at last month’s deadline, Gordon said he would’ve enjoyed playing in Boston, but stated that he views the Nuggets as an ideal fit for his skill set.
“Obviously Boston has those guys with (Jayson) Tatum and (Jaylen) Brown, and they would have been hell of fun to play with,” Gordon told Amick. “But I feel like Denver was just the best fit to showcase my well-roundedness as a ballplayer, the defensive aspect and the offensive (aspect) — basically just (the) glue that I can bring. The guy who can fill in, do a little bit of everything on the offensive end and then lock up the other team’s best player, or at least make their night hard, make it a frustrating night for them.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson is considered the frontrunner for this year’s Sixth Man of the Year award, but he tells Mark Medina of USA Today that his “main goal” is trying to win games and to win a title — but he’d be honored to win the award. “If the Sixth Man of the Year award comes and I don’t get it, I don’t need the validation because my teammates, coaching staff and a lot of my peers gave me that,” Clarkson said. “They’re telling me, ‘I respect what you do’ and all of that. So, I know that goes a long way as well. But it’s definitely something I want to get accomplished one of these years. Hopefully it’s this year.”
- Thunder wing Luguentz Dort expressed interest in representing Team Canada in the Olympic qualifiers this summer, tweets Steven Loung of Sportsnet. While Dort said he was willing to “try out” for the team, it’s a safe bet that Team Canada would welcome him onto the roster if he wants a spot.
- As we wait for Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor to work out a sale agreement with potential new owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, Lee Schafter of The Star Tribune explains why he thinks Taylor’s pledge to keep the team in Minnesota should be successful, while Chris Hine of The Star Tribune looks at the roadblocks that would be in the way of the new ownership group attempted a move.
- While the plan is for Rodriguez and Lore to begin as limited partners before they eventually assume majority control of the Timberwolves, sources told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic last week that the new owners will still have a “significant influence” on the team’s basketball and business operations right away. Krawczynski also heard that the Wolves’ financial situation isn’t in bad shape, signaling that the NBA remains viable in the market.
Several weeks ago, the NBA Most Valuable race looked like a wide-open competition, with a number of viable candidates surging, including Sixers center Joel Embiid, Lakers forward LeBron James, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nets guard James Harden, among others. Since then, however, all of those players have missed time with injuries.
As a result, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has emerged as the clear frontrunner for this year’s MVP award, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Jokic, who is the only top candidate not to miss a game so far this season, has been outstanding, averaging new career highs in points (26.0), rebounds (10.9), and assists (8.8) per game to go along with a scorching .564/.418/.853 shooting line.
Bontemps conducted a straw poll of 101 NBA media members, and Jokic received 90 first-place votes and 969 total points, blowing away runner-up Embiid (five first-place votes; 401 points). If the outcome of the final vote is similar, Jokic will become the first center to win the MVP award since Shaquille O’Neal did so in 2000, Bontemps notes.
Here’s more on the Nuggets:
- Head coach Michael Malone said on Wednesday that Jamal Murray was “devastated” to learn that he’d suffered a torn left ACL, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “It was really hard. We stayed over for that game in San Francisco,” Malone said. “Just sitting with him on the way to the airport, your heart breaks because you can see the raw emotion that he was feeling.”
- With Murray out, the pressure is on Michael Porter Jr. to show the Nuggets he can become the team’s go-to scoring option on the perimeter, says Sean Keeler of The Denver Post. Keeler acknowledges that it’s not fair to put that sort of pressure on the 22-year-old, but writes that it’s an ideal opportunity for Porter to deliver on his star potential.
- Nick Kosmider of The Athletic also explores how the Nuggets can cope in the wake of Murray’s injury, focusing on Porter and backup point guard Monte Morris, among others.
- In case you missed it, the Nuggets and Austin Rivers are reportedly on track to finalizing a deal, perhaps a 10-day contract for now.
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, who left Monday’s game with a scary non-contact knee injury (video link), has been diagnosed with a torn left ACL, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The club confirmed the diagnosis, announcing that Murray will be out indefinitely.
As we detailed earlier today, Murray suffered the injury during the fourth quarter of Denver’s loss to Golden State on Monday. His knee buckled as he attempted to take off for a layup and he immediately fell to the floor in obvious pain, pounding the court with his hand. He eventually refused the wheelchair that had been brought onto the floor and hopped to the locker room without putting any weight on his left leg (video link).
Murray had been scheduled to undergo testing today to determine the severity of the injury, and while there was some hope that there would be good news, those tests have instead confirmed the Nuggets’ worst fears.
Based on the typical recovery timeline for ACL tears, the injury will end Murray’s season, putting a serious dent into Denver’s title hopes. It will almost certainly delay his 2021/22 debut as well, since the NBA is looking to get back on its usual schedule, which would mean an October start.
It’s a crushing blow for a Nuggets team that has played some of its best basketball of the season as of late. Before losing its last two games, Denver had won 17 of 20 and appeared to have hit its stride since adding Aaron Gordon at the trade deadline.
At 34-20, the Nuggets rank fourth in the Western Conference and should still earn a playoff spot, but Murray’s absence will significantly reduce the likelihood of a deep postseason run. A year ago, the standout guard was Denver’s leading scorer in the playoffs, with 26.5 PPG on a scorching .505/.453/.897 shooting line in 19 games (39.6 MPG).
Prior to Murray’s ACL tear, the Nuggets had already been in the market for more backcourt depth, with Austin Rivers, Gerald Green, and Troy Daniels among the players on their radar. That search figures to intensify in the wake of Murray’s injury, as the club may now be able to offer those players a spot higher on the depth chart.
Murray, meanwhile, is scheduled to fly back to Denver with the team in the next few hours, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post, who tweets that the 24-year-old’s surgery hasn’t yet been scheduled.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.