- The Nuggets will have some tough decisions to make when it comes to their frontcourt this offseason, explains Nick Kosmider of The Athletic. Possible tax concerns may push Denver to decide between bringing back either Jerami Grant or Paul Millsap, who helped them defeat the Bucks on Monday. Grant had 19 points and six rebounds off the bench and is playing well over Denver’s last eight games. The former second-round pick has a $9.3MM player option for next season, while Millsap is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent.
In a roundtable discussion at ESPN.com, five writers were asked whether the Nuggets represent the biggest threat to derail a potential Lakers/Clippers showdown in the Western Conference Finals this spring. Of the five respondents, only Royce Young said yes, pointing to the “matchup nightmare” that Nikola Jokic represents, as well as Denver’s ability to both score and defend when the team is firing on all cylinders.
The other four ESPN reporters and analysts who participated in the roundtable weren’t quite as bullish on the Nuggets. Kevin Pelton identified Houston as a more realistic challenger, arguing that the Rockets‘ ability to play with quickness and space the floor makes them the team best suited to match up with the Lakers in a Western playoff series. Tim MacMahon suggested that the Rockets, despite some inconsistency, have the highest ceiling of any non-L.A. team.
Although MacMahon had praise for Houston, he and Kirk Goldsberry made a pick that would have been shocking six months ago, arguing that the Thunder are actually the most legitimate threat to an all-L.A. Western Finals. Goldsberry, who point out that Oklahoma City’s 29-10 record since December 15 is the West’s best during that stretch, also observed that the clutch-time lineup of Chris Paul, Dennis Schroder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, and Steven Adams has the best stats of any five-man unit in the NBA, outscoring opponents by 30 points per 100 possessions.
The Jazz, who are currently the No. 4 seed in the West, didn’t get quite as much love from ESPN’s panel, but Pelton and Young both identified Utah as the non-Lakers team that may match up best with the Clippers in a seven-game series.
The Mavericks probably aren’t ready to seriously challenge the Lakers or Clippers yet, but they may get a shot to upset the Clips in round one. Meanwhile, whichever team claims the No. 8 seed is on track for a matchup with the Lakers. Could any teams from the group of candidates that includes the Pelicans, Grizzlies, Kings, Spurs, or Trail Blazers realistically push LeBron James and Anthony Davis?
We want to know what you think. Which Western Conference team is the best bet to play spoiler and knock off one of the Los Angeles teams in the first two rounds, preventing a WCF showdown?
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- Nuggets forward Jerami Grant is fitting in seamlessly with the team, Mike Singer of the Denver Post writes. “We’ll see how it goes in the offseason,” said Grant, who holds a $9.3MM player option for next season. “It’s definitely all situational, but I’m definitely comfortable here. I love my teammates, love the coaches, everything.”
- Eric Spyropoulos of NBA.com examines what Troy Daniels could bring to the Nuggets, with Denver signing the 28-year-old to a contract this past week. Daniels, known as a valuable three-point threat during his NBA career, is expected to provide depth off the bench as the Nuggets gear up for a postseason run.
Here are Sunday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:
- The Nuggets have recalled Keita Bates-Diop from the Windy City Bulls, announcing the news on social media. Bates-Diop was the No. 48 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, with the 24-year-old appearing in two games with Denver on the season.
- The Pistons have assigned forward Donta Hall to their G League affiliate in Grand Rapids, the team announced on social media. Hall is on a second 10-day contract with Detroit and is under strong consideration for a rest-of-season deal.
Before they reached an agreement to sign Troy Daniels this week, the Nuggets considered a handful of other veteran free agents, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who identifies Iman Shumpert and Joakim Noah as two players who were on Denver’s radar.
Although the Nuggets chose Daniels for now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t add another free agent, such as Shumpert or Noah, before the playoffs begin next month. Daniels filled the 14th spot on Denver’s roster, so the team still has one more opening on its 15-man squad.
Within his latest Inside Pass column for The Athletic, Shams Charania passes along details on several deals that were pursued but didn’t get done at the 2020 trade deadline, a month ago today.
According to Charania, the Suns made a “late push” for Magic forward Aaron Gordon, while the Mavericks did the same for Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari. Gallinari is on an expiring contract, but Gordon is under team control for two more years beyond this season and is expected to receive interest from multiple teams this offseason if Orlando is willing to move him, Charania says.
Elsewhere in the Western Conference, the Nuggets attempted to make a “major trade” just before the deadline, sources tell The Athletic. Charania notes that Jrue Holiday was a player of significant interest for Denver, though it’s not clear if he was the player the Nuggets were pushing for at the deadline. The Pelicans never showed any interest in moving Holiday, per Charania.
Finally, while we’ve previously heard that the Lakers made an offer for point guard Derrick Rose, Charania provides some additional details on that offer, writing that it included fan favorite Alex Caruso and draft compensation. The Lakers would have needed to include at least one more player in that package for salary-matching purposes. In any case, the Pistons weren’t interested in moving Rose.
Although nothing materialized on any of these fronts, there’s value in knowing which teams pursued which players, since many of them remain under contract beyond this season and could become trade targets again down the road. Someone like Gallinari, meanwhile, could be on Dallas’ wish list in free agency, assuming the Mavs didn’t simply view him as a rental.
MARCH 5: The Nuggets have officially signed Daniels, the team announced today in a press release.
MARCH 4: Denver is finalizing a deal with former Lakers guard Troy Daniels, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Daniels was waived by L.A. on Sunday night after he and his agent, Mark Bartelstein, worked out a deal with the team. He cleared waivers earlier today. Daniels is a career 39.7% shooter from 3-point range and will give the Nuggets another deep threat off the bench. He will be eligible for the playoffs because he was waived by the March 1 deadline.
Denver was able to sign Daniels with the money it saved when Jordan McRae was claimed by the Pistons, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Daniels will make $481K over the rest of the season and the Nuggets will have a $385K cap hit. That salary is in addition to the $2MM he receives from the Lakers.
Daniels averaged 4.2 PPG in 41 games with the Lakers after signing a minimum-salary contract last summer. Denver will be his seventh team in a seven-year career.
The NBA requires its teams to carry a minimum of 14 players, not including players on two-way contracts. Teams are permitted to dip below that number for up to two weeks at a time, but must return to at least 14 once those two weeks are up.
Entering today, four NBA teams had fewer than 14 players on standard or 10-day contracts. One of those teams, the Hornets, signed Joe Chealey this morning to get back to 14, so no further roster moves are required for Charlotte at this time.
[RELATED: 2019/20 NBA Roster Counts]
That leaves three clubs that must make at least one addition to their respective rosters sometime soon. Here are those teams:
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers last filled the final two openings on their 15-man roster by signing J.P. Macura and Malik Newman to 10-day contracts on February 9. Because 10-day deals are required to cover at least three games, those contracts actually ran through the All-Star break and didn’t expire until February 21.
Since then, however, Cleveland has only had 13 players under contract. The Cavs will have to add at least one player by this weekend.
Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets had been carrying an open roster spot for a while. They created a second opening on Sunday when they bought out Jordan McRae. It has been less than 48 hours since McRae was released, so Denver won’t be required to add a 14th man until mid-March.
Detroit Pistons
After buying out Reggie Jackson and Markieff Morris, the Pistons filled their two open roster spots by signing Derrick Walton and Donta Hall to 10-day contracts. Both of those deals expired within the last two days. Like Denver, Detroit has only just dipped down to 13 players, so they’ll still have nearly two full weeks to get back to 14.
[UPDATE: The Pistons have re-signed Hall to get back up to 14 players.]
- Jordan McRae agreed to give up $390,424 in his buyout from the Nuggets, per Siegel (via Twitter). That’s the equivalent of McRae’s $1,645,357 salary prorated over 42 days. However, if the Suns claim McRae off waivers, as they’re expected to, the buyout agreement will be unnecessary and won’t apply to his cap hit — he’ll simply continue earning the rest of his remaining salary for 2019/20 in Phoenix instead of Denver.
- Nick Kosmider of The Athletic attempts to make sense of Michael Porter Jr.‘s reduced playing time for the Nuggets, arguing that it’s time to let the second-year forward reclaim a more impactful role.