Denver Nuggets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.”

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.

And-Ones: Josh Smith, Draft, Free Agency, Ayon

June 23rd, 2019 at 11:43am CST by Arthur Hill

Josh Smith had an ugly debut in the Big3 last night, writes J.L. Kirven of The Detroit Free Press. Smith was loudly booed by a Detroit crowd that hasn’t forgiven him for his short stay with the Pistons, then got tossed from the game after a skirmish with Royce White.

Smith, 33, is part of a fresh influx of talent in the league, playing his last NBA games during the 2017/18 season. However, Detroit was probably the worst city for him to start on the BIG3’s revolving tour. He lasted just a season and a half there after signing a four-year, $54MM deal in 2013. The Pistons used the stretch provision to unload him, and he won’t come off their payroll until collecting another $5,331,729 next season.

“I enjoyed the intensity and the passion,” Reggie Theus, his BIG3 coach, said after the game. “Obviously he’s got to contain himself …”

There’s more NBA-related news to pass along:

Fewer than half of the underclassmen who entered this year’s NBA draft were selected, prompting Michael Rand and Marcus Fuller of The Minneapolis Star-Tribune to examine whether players are benefiting from the current system. Rand contends an expanded G League and the addition of two-way contracts have created more opportunities for undrafted players. Fuller defends the rights of underclassmen to pursue their dreams of playing professionally even if they turn out to be bad decisions.
Bobby Marks of ESPN takes a look at the 13 teams with cap space, including nine with $20MM or more, that are positioned to make big moves as the free agency sweepstakes kicks off next Sunday. The Nuggets, Magic and Sixers could join that list, but only if they renounce significant free agents.
Mexican center Gustavo Ayon is leaving Real Madrid and wants another shot at the NBA, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Ayon, 34, spent time with the Hornets, Magic, Bucks and Hawks, but hasn’t played in the league since the 2013/14 season. “I don’t know if it is a farewell. Today I don’t have any offer,” Ayon said. “I want to go back to the NBA. It is a personal desire.” Jordan Mickey, who played for the Celtics and Heat, may replace Ayon if he leaves, writes Alessandro Maggi of Sportando.
Former Bucks, Pelicans and Jazz guard Nate Wolters has signed with Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, Carchia reports. He spent this season with Zalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania.

Porter Continues To Look Good Heading Into Summer League

June 22nd, 2019 at 10:40am CST by Dana Gauruder

Forward Michael Porter Jr. will make his Nuggets debut in the Las Vegas Summer League next month and he’s ready to go, Parth Upadhyaya of Denver Post relays. After being selected at the end of the lottery last season, Porter sat out last season to rehab from back surgery. “He’s been in the gym twice a day for a long time,” president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said. “He’s been fully cleared for several months.”
The Nuggets did not retain assistants Mark Price and Bob Weiss, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets.

Nuggets Acquire No. 44 Pick Bol Bol From Heat

June 20th, 2019 at 11:28pm CST by Luke Adams

11:28pm: The trade is now official, per an announcement from the Nuggets. The draft pick the Heat received in the trade is a 2022 second-rounder, according to a press release from Miami.

10:51pm: The Nuggets have reached an agreement to trade for No. 44 pick Bol Bol, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The Heat officially selected the Oregon center, but will send his draft right rights to Denver.

Miami will receive a future second-rounder and cash from Denver, Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated tweets.

The freshman big man, who only played nine games for the Ducks due to a foot injury, took the biggest slide in the draft. The son of former NBA center Manute Bol projected as a mid-first round selection and was one of 20 players invited to the Green Room.

Bol could miss a sizable chunk of next season, so the Nuggets are essentially bringing in another rehab project for the second straight draft. They acquired the rights to forward Michael Porter Jr. in the first round last summer and Porter sat out the entire season.

Draft-Night Notes: Bazley, Thunder, Bulls, Suns

June 20th, 2019 at 8:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Some teams holding mid-first-round picks have expressed interest in forward Darius Bazley and he could go earlier than projected, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. A McDonald’s All-American, Bazley didn’t go to college and instead spent the year preparing for the draft.

We have more draft nuggets:

The Thunder are engaged in trade talk with teams to move back in first round from the No. 21 pick, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
The Bulls didn’t shop shooting guard Zach LaVine when they explored ways to move up in the lottery, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Chicago wound up holding onto the No. 7 pick and selecting North Carolina point guard Coby White. LaVine has three years and $58.5MM remaining on his contract.
The Suns’ selection of North Carolina power forward Cameron Johnson at No. 11 after trading down from the No. 6 pick earlier in the day was the surprise of the lottery. According to SInow’s Jake Fischer, it was an even bigger surprise due to injury concerns. Several teams red-flagged Johnson out of the first round due to his history of ailments on both hips (Twitter link).
The Sixers are trying to move up from the No. 24 pick, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. They’re hoping to snag either UNC small forward Nassir Little or USC shooting guard Kevin Porter Jr. and could wind up with one of them even if they don’t make a deal, Pompey adds.