Denver Nuggets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nuggets’ Darrell Arthur Exercises Player Option

June 15th, 2018 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets power forward Darrell Arthur has opted into his contract for the 2018/19 season, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Arthur will earn a salary of $7,464,912 next year after exercising his player option.

Arthur, 30, enjoyed perhaps the best year of his career in 2015/16, his first season in Denver, when he averaged 7.5 PPG and 4.2 RPG with a .452/.385/.755 shooting line in a rotation role for the team. However, he has seen his playing time cut back significantly over the last two years.

In 2017/18, Arthur appeared in just 19 games for Denver, averaging 2.8 PPG and 0.8 RPG in 7.4 minutes per contest. With Paul Millsap, Trey Lyles, Kenneth Faried, Juan Hernangomez, and Wilson Chandler all seeing time at the four while Nikola Jokic and Mason Plumlee handled the five, there simply wasn’t a role for Arthur.

Since Arthur was unlikely to command more than the minimum salary on the open market, his decision to pick up his player option comes as no surprise. It doesn’t assure of him spending the 2018/19 season in Denver though.

With the Nuggets potentially looking to lock up Jokic and Will Barton to lucrative new deals this summer, the team will probably need to cut costs elsewhere, making Arthur a candidate to be traded or released. The Nuggets could reduce Arthur’s 2018/19 cap charge by nearly $5MM by waiving and stretching him. The club is also said to be exploring trades involving Faried.

Arthur’s player-option decision continues an offseason trend that reflects the lack of league-wide cap room available this summer. After only eight total veterans picked up their player options in 2016 and 2017, Arthur becomes the 10th veteran to do so in 2018, and he won’t be the last. The full list of player option decisions can be found right here.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nuggets Looking To Move Kenneth Faried

June 14th, 2018 at 3:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets are “aggressively” looking to shed salary by trading Kenneth Faried, reports Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, citing a source with knowledge of the trade market.

Cunningham, an Atlanta-based reporter, notes that the Hawks are open to the possibility of accommodating Denver in a deal for Faried. The Hawks would want to acquire draft picks or young players for taking on Faried’s $13.76MM expiring contract, according to Cunningham, who adds that Malik Beasley and Tyler Lydon are among the Nuggets’ young players who may be expendable. I’d add Juan Hernangomez to that list too.

As I explained when I previewed the Nuggets’ offseason earlier this week, signing Nikola Jokic and Will Barton to new deals this summer would take Denver’s team salary well over the tax line unless the club can cut costs elsewhere. The best way for the Nuggets to trim salary would be by cutting or releasing players like Faried and Darrell Arthur, who are on pricey expiring deals. As such, it comes as no surprise that Faried is on the trade block.

As for the Hawks, this is the second time today that we’ve heard about their willingness to eat salary in a trade if it nets them valuable assets. Atlanta could have more than $30MM+ in cap room, depending on whether players with non-guaranteed contracts or player options return, and the club probably won’t make a splash in free agency, so it makes sense that GM Travis Schlenk would be open to taking on other teams’ unwanted contracts.

The Hawks and Nuggets both figure to have other potential trade options available, as Cunningham notes, so there’s no guarantee that the two teams will come together on a deal.

Draft Updates: Z. Smith, Huerter, Allen, Brunson

June 13th, 2018 at 6:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers are “super infatuated” with Zhaire Smith and have held several meetings with the Texas Tech guard, tweets Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype. Smith has worked out for a number of teams, but L.A. is excited about his potential fit in its backcourt.

The Lakers, who don’t pick until No. 25, will have to trade up to have a shot at Smith. The 19-year-old averaged 11.3 points per game as a freshman with the Red Raiders and is projected to go to the Suns with the 16th selection in the latest mock draft compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

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

Maryland’s Kevin Huerter, a potential first-round pick, is expected to miss two months after having surgery to fix torn ligaments in his right hand, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Projected at No. 21 in Givony’s mock draft, Huerter has been rising on draft boards since an impressive performance at the combine. He averaged 14.8 points per game for the Terrapins and shot 41.7% from 3-point range.
Duke’s Grayson Allen will work out for the Timberwolves Thursday, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Allen has already auditioned for the Sixers, Celtics, Lakers and Jazz, among others, and made a strong impression at the combine and his pro day.
Donte Ingram of Loyola-Chicago will also take part in a session Thursday with the Wolves, Wolfson adds (Twitter link). Ingram had a recent workout with the Grizzlies.
Oklahoma’s Trae Young will work out for the Bulls on Thursday, tweets ESPN’s Nick Friedell.
Villanova’s Jalen Brunson will have an individual workout for the Pacers Thursday, the team announced on its website.
Six players will work out for the Nuggets Thursday, tweets Gina Mizell of The Denver Post. Scheduled to attend are UCLA’s Thomas Welsh, Idaho’s Victor Sanders and Iowa State’s Donovan Jackson, along with Dayon Goodman of Westminster (Utah), Todd Withers of Queens (North Carolina) and Tryggvi Hlinason of Valencia Basket.
European sources are confident that Serbian center Dusan Ristic will be taken as a draft-and-stash player, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando (Twitter link).

Nuggets Work Out Robert Williams, Others

June 13th, 2018 at 11:18am CST by Luke Adams

Texas A&M center Robert Williams, who previously worked out for the Bulls, Hornets, and Knicks, continues to earn looks from teams picking in the top half of the first round. According to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News (Twitter link), Williams still has workouts on tap with the Clippers, Nuggets, Wizards, who hold the picks from 12 through 15.

Williams’ session with the Nuggets will take place today, according to a press release from the club. In addition to scheduling an individual session with Williams, Denver has also lined up a group workout which will feature Hayden Dalton (Wyoming), Jacob Evans (Cincinnati), Arnoldas Kulboka (Capo d’Orlando), Dzanan Musa (Cedevita), Ajdin Penava (Marshall), and Johnathan Williams (Gonzaga).

Connelly Talks No. 14 Pick, Team Salary

June 11th, 2018 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking last week to reporters, Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said the team will target a strong defensive player with two-way versatility with the No. 14 pick, and didn’t rule out the possibility of trading or waiving highly-paid players to maintain cap flexibility. Matt L. Stephens of The Denver Post has the story and the quotes.
Bosnian wing Dzanan Musa, a potential first-round pick who will be keeping his name in the 2018 NBA draft, has workouts on tap with the Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Spurs, and Jazz, tweets Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports.

Five Key Offseason Questions: Denver Nuggets

June 10th, 2018 at 7:14pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing the playoffs for four straight seasons, the Nuggets were a popular choice to climb back into the top eight in the Western Conference this year. Denver improved to 46-36, but a loss to the Timberwolves on the final day of the regular season prevented the team from earning a postseason berth in an extremely competitive conference.

There’s reason to believe that the Nuggets are still on the rise — many of their key contributors are still less than 25 years old, and the team will count on top 2017 free agent addition Paul Millsap to be healthier next year. However, the franchise no longer has substantial cap room available. In fact, certain moves could push Denver’s team salary beyond the luxury-tax line, which may not appeal to club ownership.

Here are five key questions facing the franchise this summer:

1. What will the Nuggets do with Nikola Jokic?

The most fascinating question the Nuggets will have to answer involves the future of Jokic, who looks like a franchise center. Denver’s leader last season in PPG (18.5), RPG (10.7), APG (6.1), and 3PT% (.396), Jokic is an offensive force, and one who is playing on a very team-friendly salary. The Nuggets hold a team option for 2018/19 worth just $1.6MM.

So what’s the problem? Well, if Denver exercises that team option, it would put the 23-year-old on track for unrestricted free agency in 2019. At that point, the Nuggets would be able to offer him more years and money than any other team, but they wouldn’t have the right of first refusal, and would risk losing him for nothing. Plus, delaying his payday by another year wouldn’t endear the Nuggets to Jokic’s representatives, who have strongly suggested that declining the option would be in the club’s best interests.

As such, the most likely outcome is the Nuggets turning down that option in order to make Jokic a restricted free agent, at which point the two sides could work out a new long-term agreement and Denver wouldn’t have to worry about potentially losing their rising star on the open market.

2. How can the Nuggets trim salary?

The problem with giving Jokic a lucrative new deal this summer is that it would create some financial issues for the Nuggets. If we assume Jokic gets a max contract or something close to it, that could add another $25MM to Denver’s team salary for 2018/19. The team already has about $85.6MM in guaranteed money on its books, with player options for Wilson Chandler ($12.8MM) and Darrell Arthur ($7.5MM) likely to follow. The cost of the Nuggets’ roster would increase to approximately $131MM if we count all those deals, and that’s without accounting for free-agent-to-be Will Barton.

In other words, the Nuggets will probably need to find a way to cut costs.

Fortunately, Denver should have a handful of players in contract years. In addition to Chandler and Arthur, Kenneth Faried ($13.8MM) will be entering the final season of his deal. The team hasn’t been able to find a taker for Faried in the past, but with just one year left, more potential trade partners may surface.

Still, Faried and Arthur won’t be easy to move, so Chandler is probably the most logical trade chip for the Nuggets. The 31-year-old is a solid three-point shooter (.358 3PT% in ’17/18) and defender capable of playing either forward position, and the Nuggets were better with him on the court than off it last season, so he should appeal to contending teams.

Of course, those are all reasons why Denver might prefer to keep Chandler on the roster, particularly since the club doesn’t have a ton of reliable small forward depth. If they keep Chandler, the Nuggets would probably have to pair Faried, Arthur, or Mason Plumlee with a more valuable asset in order to find a taker. Waiving and stretching a player or two is also an option if absolutely necessary. Arthur’s 2018/19 cap charge could be reduced by about $5MM if he’s stretched, for instance.

Draft Updates: Porter, Young, Simons, Sexton

June 9th, 2018 at 6:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

Michael Porter Jr. was impressive at Friday’s pro day in Chicago, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. Although there’s no question about his talent, several teams are concerned about Porter’s physical condition in the wake of back surgery that cost him nearly his entire freshman season at Missouri. Porter’s representatives will decide over the next few days which teams they plan to hold meetings with and who will receive his medical records.

Kyler adds that most scouts view Porter as a top three to five talent in the draft (Twitter link), but the back problems may scare some teams away. Even so, Kyler speculates that he won’t fall lower than the Bulls at No. 7 (Twitter link).

There’s more news as the draft draws closer:

The Knicks are among several lottery teams that will travel to Chicago next week to meet with Porter, a league source tells Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog (Twitter link).
The Suns are trying to arrange a workout with Oklahoma’s Trae Young, tweets Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. Team officials are expected to meet with Young before the draft, but scheduling conflicts may prevent the Suns from working him out. Because Phoenix holds the No. 1 pick and Young is unlikely to be taken that high, Wasserman cites the report as evidence that the team is trying to acquire a second top 10 selection.
Anfernee Simons, who worked out today for the Magic, has been among the most active pre-draft prospects, tweets Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Simons has already been to sessions with the Bulls, Suns, Trail Blazers, Lakers and Jazz and has upcoming workouts scheduled with the Knicks, Cavaliers, Grizzlies and Bucks.
The Cavaliers brought in Alabama’s Collin Sexton for a workout today, tweets ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
The Nuggets have six players scheduled for a session on Monday, according to a story on the team’s website. Expected to attend are Idaho’s Brayon Blake, Georgetown’s Marcus Derrickson, UNLV’s Brandon McCoy, USC’s Jordan McLaughlin, Wake Forest’s Doral Moore and Northern Colorado’s Andre Spight.
Seton Hall’s Desi Rodriguez will work out tomorrow for the Spurs, Zagoria writes. The Mavericks will see him Tuesday, followed by the Raptors, then then Lakers on June 20. Rodriguez has also worked out for the Knicks, Nets, Suns, Thunder, Celtics, Bucks and Kings.
The Nets have already held sessions with about 60 players, roughly the same amount the team saw through the entire pre-draft process last year, according to a story on NetsDaily.

Draft Notes: Okogie, Bagley, Bulls, Hawks

June 8th, 2018 at 8:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Georgia Tech’s Josh Okogie is drawing plenty of interest from teams with middle or late first-round picks, according to Adam Zagoria of the New York Times. Okogie has already worked out for the Grizzlies, Nets, Celtics, Hawks, Lakers, Nuggets, Bulls and Spurs. He’s got a second workout scheduled with the Spurs, along with visits to the Warriors and Trail Blazers, Zagoria adds (Twitter links). The 6’4” shooting guard is currently ranked No. 26 overall by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

In other draft-related news with the big day less than two weeks away:

Duke big man Marvin Bagley III believes Deandre Ayton is being disrespectful by stating that he knows he’ll be the top pick, Bob Baum of the Associated Press reports. Bagley feels the Suns, who own the top pick, should bestow him that status. “I definitely believe I’m the No. 1 pick and if the Suns take me I’ll definitely show them why,” Bagley said after working out for Phoenix on Friday.
The Bulls not only worked out Okogie on Friday but also Aaron Holiday (UCLA), Chimezie Metu (USC), Kameron Chatman (Detroit), Giddy Potts (Middle Tennessee) and Scottie Lindsey (Northwestern), according to a team release. Holiday was the headliner, as he’s rated No. 17 by Givony.
The Hawks were among the teams at Michael Porter Jr.‘s workout in Chicago on Friday, Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Atlanta owns the No. 3 overall pick.

Nets, Clippers, Sixers Exploring Draft Trades?

June 8th, 2018 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets, who currently hold the 29th, 40th, and 45th overall picks in the 2018 NBA draft, would like to move up into the teens if possible, league sources tell Michael Scotto of The Athletic.

Scotto identifies the Nuggets (No. 14), Wizards (No. 15), and Bucks (No. 17) as three teams picking in the middle of the first round who are currently in win-now mode, making them potential trade partners for Brooklyn. The Nets could dangle modestly-priced point guard Spencer Dinwiddie in trade talks, according to Scotto, who notes that veteran forward DeMarre Carroll may appeal to some teams too. Carroll played for new Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta.

Scotto suggests that the Nets would rather not compromise their 2019 cap flexibility, so if they take on any salary in a trade, they’d prefer expiring contracts. That could make them a match with the Denver or Washington — both teams will probably be looking to shed some salary this offseason and are carrying pricey veterans entering contract years.

According to Scotto, the Nets aren’t the only team mulling the possibility of a move up. As Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported earlier this week, the Clippers have weighed trading up in the lottery too.

Per Scotto, the Clips have made calls to multiple teams in the top 10 to inquire on how much it would cost to make a deal. In addition to holding the 12th and 13th overall picks, Los Angeles has some veterans entering contract years. Tobias Harris would be a particularly appealing trade chip if the team is willing to move him.

The Sixers are one more team to keep an eye on when it comes to draft-related trades, Scotto observes, pointing out that Philadelphia currently owns two first-round picks and four second-rounders. The club figures to move at least one or two of those selections, and may target draft-and-stash prospects with some others, says Scotto.

Heat Rumors: Whiteside, Dragic, Winslow

June 8th, 2018 at 9:50am CST by Luke Adams

While the Heat will explore trade scenarios involving Hassan Whiteside this offseason, a source in touch with the club’s front office said the odds of a deal are “considered 50-50 at best,” and are perhaps lower than that, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. As such, Miami is preparing for the possibility of bringing back Whiteside next season.

According to Jackson, the Heat are committed to ensuring that Whiteside and head coach Erik Spoelstra are on the same page in the vent that no trade can be made. That process has already gotten underway, Jackson says, though he acknowledges that Whiteside, Spolestra, and team president Pat Riley haven’t met for a “collective summit” yet.

For his part, Whiteside hasn’t requested a trade and is open to making things work in Miami, one NBA friend of Whiteside tells Jackson. Per the Herald’s report, the veteran center does want a larger role, but any disagreement with Spoelstra is professional rather than personal.

Here’s more on the Heat from Jackson:

Jackson offers up one hypothetical trade scenario involving Whiteside and the Bucks, suggesting that the inclusion of John Henson and Matthew Dellavedova could make it work. However, he cautions that there are no indications the two teams have discussed such a deal or that they’d both be interested — the Heat don’t want to move Whiteside simply for bad contracts.
While no one on the Heat’s roster is untouchable, the team has “no appetite” to move Goran Dragic, says Jackson. Miami would also like to hang onto Justise Winslow, but recognizes that he may need to be included in a potential package for a high-end player.
Which “high-end” player might the Heat make a run at this summer? Jackson names Kawhi Leonard, DeMarcus Cousins, and even DeMar DeRozan as possibilities.
Briefly circling back to the 2017 free agent period, Jackson writes that the Heat committed four years and $60MM to James Johnson due to concerns that the Nuggets or Jazz would swoop in to sign him.