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Sixers Discussing Extension With Ben Simmons, Nuggets Begin Talks With Jamal Murray

June 30th, 2019 at 6:12pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Sixers have begun contract extension talks with Ben Simmons and his agent Rich Paul, Adrian Wojnarowski of the ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Sham Charania of The Athletic tweets that the Nuggets have starting discussing an extension with Jamal Murray and his agent, Mike George of One Legacy.

Players from the 2016 draft class who remain on their original rookie deal are eligible to sign extensions this summer. Simmons was the No. 1 overall pick from the draft and Murray was the No. 7 overall selection.

Assuming a projected salary cap of $117MM for the 2020/21 season, the total max value of an extension for either player is approximately $170MM over five seasons.

Each player had arguably had their most successful campaign in 2018/19. Both the Nuggets and Sixers made it to the Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs, each falling in heartbreaking fashion.

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Free Agent Rumors: Middleton, Butler, Kanter, Temple

June 30th, 2019 at 3:27pm CST by clarkcrum

According to Marc Stein of The New York Times, the quietness surrounding the free agency destination of Bucks’ All-Star forward Khris Middleton is because interested front offices are universally presuming that Middleton is going back to Milwaukee on a “monster” five-year deal.

Middleton, 27, is eligible to sign a five-year, $189.904MM maximum-salary contract with the Bucks, while rival suitors can only (relatively speaking, of course) offer up to $140.791MM over four years.

Echoing Stein’s sentiment from rival front offices, Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’s Press Box reports that Middleton is expected to re-sign with Milwaukee, adding that Brook Lopez and George Hill are also considered good bets to return.

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Malcolm Brogdon Gets Qualifying Offer From Bucks

June 29th, 2019 at 11:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks took the decision down to the wire, but they have extended a qualifying offer to Malcolm Brogdon that makes him a restricted free agent, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Brogdon’s offer is $3,021,354, according to Basketball Insiders, and that will also count as his cap hold.

The 2017 Rookie of the Year has been limited by injuries the past two seasons. He put up a 15.6/4.5/3.2 line in 64 games before suffering a minor plantar fascia tear in his right foot in March. Brogdon has earned a reputation as one of the NBA’s most efficient shooters, averaging 51% from the field, 43% from 3-point range and a league-best 93% from the foul line this year.

The Bucks may be reluctant to match a huge offer for Brogdon when they have other free agent concerns in Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez. The Suns, Bulls, Mavericks and Pacers have been mentioned among interested teams, but there are lingering concerns about the long-term condition of his foot.

There are a few more decisions on qualifying offers to catch up on:

  • The Nuggets extended a QO to two-way player Brandon Goodwin, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. The point guard got into 16 NBA games during his rookie season.
  • The Hawks opted not to give a QO to Justin Anderson, making him an unrestricted free agent, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Journal Constitution (Twitter link). Anderson appeared in 48 games for Atlanta after being acquired in a trade with the Sixers last summer.
  • Jerian Grant will also be an unrestricted free agent after the Magic passed on a QO, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge. Acquired from the Bulls during the offseason, Grant appeared in 60 games for Orlando.
  • The Clippers didn’t extend a QO to G League Rookie of the Year Angel Delgado, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
  • Rockets two-way players Trevon Duval and Vince Edwards didn’t receive qualifying offers, and neither did Warriors two-way player Marcus Derrickson, according to Keith Smith. However, Damion Lee – Golden State’s other two-way player – received a QO (Twitter links).
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Nuggets Extend Qualifying Offer To Trey Lyles

June 29th, 2019 at 12:53pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Nuggets remain busy ahead of free agency. Denver exercised the $30.35MM team option on Paul Millsap earlier today and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets that the team will extend a qualifying offer to Trey Lyles.

Lyles’ qualifying offer comes in at approximately $4.46MM. After exercising Millsap’s option, the team won’t sniff any available cap space, though they still have to be wary about staying below the tax line.

Lyles came to the Nuggets during the 2017 draft as part of a trade that allowed the Jazz to move up to No. 13 overall. Utah selected Donovan Mitchell with the pick and Denver came away with Tyler Lydon at No. 24.

During his two years in Denver, Lyles played 137 games, starting four contests. His showcased solid three-point shooting to begin his career, though he hasn’t matched or surpassed his career-high 38.3% from behind the arc since his rookie season.

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Nuggets Exercise Paul Millsap’s Team Option

June 29th, 2019 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

12:48pm: The Nuggets have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve picked up Millsap’s option.

11:54am: The Nuggets are picking up their team option for 2019/20 on big man Paul Millsap, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The option will pay Millsap $30.35MM for next season, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

[RELATED: NBA Team Option Decisions For 2019/20]

Millsap, 34, played a slightly reduced role for Denver in 2018/19. His 12.6 PPG and 27.1 MPG were his lowest marks since the 2009/10 campaign. However, his interior presence helped stabilize the Nuggets’ defense, and he also chipped in as a rebounder (7.2 RPG) and outside threat (.365 3PT%).

There was some uncertainty over whether the Nuggets would exercise Millsap’s option, given its cost. The team was believed to be exploring whether turning down that option and bringing back Millsap on a more favorable multiyear contract was possible. However, as Marks points out (via Twitter), a deal along those lines would have cut into Denver’s projected cap space for 2020, which may represent the club’s best chance to spend.

If Denver had decided to move on from Millsap altogether, the team could have opened up about $17MM in cap room to pursue an outside free agent. Instead, as Wojnarowski tweets, the Nuggets are in position to potentially use their full mid-level exception ($9.25MM) and still sneak under the projected tax line.

Millsap, meanwhile, is now on track to reach the unrestricted free agent market in 2020 at age 35.

Today represents the last day for clubs to exercise team options or for veterans to pick up player options, so the Nuggets took their decision on Millsap down to the wire.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Nuggets Prepared To Pay $30MM For Millsap?

June 26th, 2019 at 1:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets are prepared to potentially account for Paul Millsap‘s $30MM team option on their 2019/20 cap if they don’t believe they’ll be able to negotiate a new, more favorable deal with the big man in free agency, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski suggested as part of the network’s free agency special on Tuesday night (video link).

While the Nuggets would have limited cap flexibility this summer with Millsap’s $30MM on their books, the club values him and wants to bring him back, according to both Woj and ESPN’s Zach Lowe.

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Details On Bol Bol Trade

June 25th, 2019 at 9:10am CST by Luke Adams
  • In the deal that saw them send the draft rights to Bol Bol (No. 44 pick) to the Nuggets, the Heat received $1.2MM in cash and will get either the Nuggets’ or Sixers’ 2022 second-round pick (whichever is lower), Pincus reports (via Twitter).
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Budenholzer Named Coach Of Year

June 24th, 2019 at 9:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks’ Mike Budenholzer was named Coach of the Year at NBA’s annual awards show on Monday.

The former Hawks coach was hired last summer and guided Milwaukee to the league’s best record. The Bucks became an offensive juggernaut under his watch, scoring a league-best 118.1 points per game.

The Nuggets’ Michael Malone and Clippers’ Doc Rivers were the other finalists.

Budenholzer was also named Coach of the Year in 2015 with Atlanta. He was also Hoops Rumors’ consensus choice this year.

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Nuggets Won't Back Away From Western Conference Arms Race

June 23rd, 2019 at 7:13pm CST by JD Shaw
  • The Nuggets aren’t scared of the ongoing arms race in the Western Conference, Mike Singer of the Denver Post writes. Denver has an intriguing young group headlined by star center Nikola Jokic going into the summer. “I think we focus on internal growth, focus on ourselves,” president Tim Connelly said of his team’s offseason focus. “I love our group, I love our core, love our coaching staff, so we’re pretty excited about whoever we’re competing against next season.”
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Nuggets, Tyler Cook Agree To Deal

June 23rd, 2019 at 1:55pm CST by clarkcrum

The Nuggets have reached a deal with undrafted Iowa forward Tyler Cook, reports Mike Hlas of The Gazette. Per Hlas, the contract will contain a partial guarantee, but the value of that guarantee is unknown at this time.

Cook, a early entry for the 2019 NBA Draft, averaged 14.5 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 2.4 APG in his junior year, while shooting 51.9% from the field. Unfortunately, Cook also posted a disappointing .143 three-point shooting percentage while in college, going 3-for-21 over three seasons in Iowa City.

Cook will not be joining the Nuggets for the 2019 NBA Summer League due to a high ankle sprain he suffered in a workout with the Pistons leading up to the draft, but he presumably expects to be ready for training camp. He worked out for the Nuggets back on May 22.

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