Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2019 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2019/20 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Denver Nuggets.
Signings:
- Standard contracts:
- None
- Two-way contracts:
- Non-guaranteed camp contracts:
- PJ Dozier: One year, minimum salary (Converted to two-way contract).
- Jorge Gutierrez: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Elijah Millsap: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Tyler Zeller: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
Trades:
- Acquired the draft rights to Bol Bol (No. 44 pick) from the Heat in exchange for either the Nuggets’ or Sixers’ second-round pick (whichever is least favorable) and cash ($1.2MM).
- Acquired Jerami Grant from the Thunder in exchange for the Nuggets’ 2020 first-round pick (top-10 protected)
Draft picks:
- 2-44: Bol Bol — Signed to two-way contract.
Draft-and-stash signings:
- Vlatko Cancar (2017 draft; No. 49 pick) — Signed to three-year, minimum salary contract. Third year non-guaranteed. Signed using mid-level exception.
Contract extensions:
- Jamal Murray: Five years, 25% maximum salary. Projected value of $168,200,000. Starting salary can be worth up to 30% of the cap if Murray earns All-NBA honors in 2020 (full details). Starts in 2020/21; runs through 2024/25.
Departing players:
- Brandon Goodwin (two-way)
- Trey Lyles
- Tyler Lydon
- Isaiah Thomas
- Thomas Welsh (two-way; waived)
Other offseason news:
- Retained Tim Connelly as president of basketball operations after Wizards pursued Connelly.
- Exercised 2020/21 rookie scale team option on Michael Porter Jr.
Salary cap situation:
- Remained over the cap.
- Currently about $979K below the tax line.
- Carrying approximately $131.65MM in guaranteed salary.
- $4.82MM of taxpayer mid-level exception still available ($898K used on Vlatko Cancar).
Story of the summer:
After improbably finishing at the bottom of the Northwest in 2017/18 despite winning 46 games, the Nuggets were the division winners in 2018/19, earning the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed with a 54-28 record. The club then followed up its regular season performance by winning its first playoff series in a decade.
Nikola Jokic was the driving force behind Denver’s success, earning a spot on the All-NBA First Team, but it was the Nuggets’ depth that helped set them apart from many of the other contenders in the conference.
Ten players averaged 19 or more minutes per game for the Nuggets in 2018/19, and all 10 of those players remained under contract for ’19/20. While many of their Western rivals drastically transformed their rosters, continuity was key for the Nuggets, who retained a dozen players in total from last year’s end-of-season squad. As we detailed earlier this week, no team in the West brought back more players than Denver.
Continuity isn’t inherently a good thing. A front office won’t be praised for keeping together an aging roster that just won 35 games. But in Denver, the approach makes a lot of sense.
Jokic is still just 24 years old. Jamal Murray, the second option on offense, is 22. Gary Harris is 25. Rotation players like Malik Beasley, Monte Morris, and Torrey Craig are coming off breakthrough seasons and still have plenty of room to grow. And 21-year-old forward Michael Porter Jr., the 2018 lottery pick who missed his entire rookie season due to injuries, is now ready to contribute.
With so many promising young players still on the rise, the Nuggets can realistically count on improvements from within to keep them near the top of the standings in the West. And if they want to go out and make a splash, all those young prospects – and available future draft picks – give them the ammo to do so.
The Nuggets may not have made many changes to their roster this offseason, but they didn’t need to.
