Denver Nuggets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nuggets Likely To Re-Sign Will Barton

June 30th, 2018 at 6:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent Will Barton should have a new contract with the Nuggets shortly after free agency begins, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who cites “strong momentum” toward getting a deal done.

The 28-year-old guard is coming off his best NBA season, averaging career highs in points (15.7), rebounds (5.0) and assists (4.1). He appeared in 81 games, starting 40, and helped Denver stay in the playoff race until the final night of the season.

The Nuggets are set to take on a lot of money with Wilson Chandler opting into the final year of his contract and Nikola Jokic due for a significant raise. Even so, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly insisted that keeping Barton “was still a priority” for the organization.

All these moves could leave Denver with a team salary in excess of $140MM, which would result in a massive luxury tax bill.

Wilson Chandler Available In Trade Talks

June 30th, 2018 at 2:03pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Wilson Chandler, who officially opted into his 2018/19 contract with the Nuggets last week, is available in trade talks, David Aldridge of NBA.com reports (Twitter link). Chandler will make slightly over $12.8MM this upcoming year.

Nuggets May Show Interest In Jamal Crawford

June 29th, 2018 at 12:37pm CST by Luke Adams

We heard on Thursday that multiple Warriors players are lobbying for the front office to go after Jamal Crawford in free agency, but Golden State isn’t the only team that will kick the tires on the veteran scorer. According to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, the Pelicans, Sixers, Cavaliers, and Nuggets are also expected to show interest in Crawford, who is focusing on finding the right fit.

Trade Rumors: Clippers, Mavs, Richardson, Lakers

June 29th, 2018 at 7:37am CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers aren’t overly interested in taking back Wesley Matthews in a trade sending DeAndre Jordan to the Mavericks, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter). Los Angeles’ reluctance to accept Matthews makes some sense — while his salary is a little more affordable than Jordan’s, his contract expires at the same time, and the veteran swingman doesn’t really fill a major need for the Clips.

In order to work out a deal with the Clippers, the Mavericks will have to come up with an alternative trade scenario for Jordan, Stein notes. However, if the two sides can’t reach an agreement, that doesn’t necessarily mean Dallas is out of the running for Jordan, since the standout center could always decline his player option and sign with the Mavs as a free agent. If Dallas can work out a trade for Jordan, the team could theoretically preserve a good chunk of its cap room for another signing.

Here are a few more trade-related rumors from around the NBA:

Several teams called the Heat to inquire about Josh Richardson during the draft, but Miami showed no interest in moving him, sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe. If the Heat hope to re-sign Wayne Ellington or use their mid-level exception, they’ll almost certainly have to shed salary, but Richardson isn’t a player the club is willing to lose.
The Suns made Marquese Chriss available in trade talks on draft night, according to Lowe. The ESPN.com scribe adds that the Suns, who are in the market for a point guard this summer, have yet to show any interest in trading for Dennis Schroder of the Hawks.
Multiple sources tell Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post that the Lakers and Nuggets have discussed a trade that would send unwanted salary and a draft pick to Los Angeles. Reports earlier this week indicated that the Lakers were exploring ways to acquire another first-round pick to sweeten a potential offer for Kawhi Leonard.
In a piece for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks examines some of the more intriguing expiring contracts and trade chips around the NBA.

Lowe’s Latest: James, Thunder, RFAs

June 28th, 2018 at 7:56pm CST by Austin Kent

The Lakers may not necessarily need a star in place to lure LeBron James, Zach Lowe of ESPN writes in a massive round-up of free agency notes. If James were to sign in Los Angeles alongside the team’s existing young stars and plethora of cap space they’d immediately become one of the league’s most appealing destinations for the next 12 months.

The comment comes in response to the notion that the Lakers are growing desperate to acquire Kawhi Leonard from the Spurs prior to James’ opt-in deadline tomorrow at 10:59pm CST. As things stand, both the Celtics and Sixers appear poised to offer better packages than what Lowe speculates L.A. might.

The King’s decision will have a ripple effect on the rest of the league, especially the Eastern Conference. If the Raptors, for example, were to watch James head to the West, it would make keeping their current core in place more appealing considering that their path to the Finals would be hypothetically easier.

Here’s a taste of the rest of Lowe’s findings:

If the Thunder can convince Paul George to return to Oklahoma City, it will be a monumental victory for general manager Sam Presti. If he leaves, the club would be forced to at least think about blowing the current squad up and trading Russell Westbrook.
Only six teams have notable amounts of potential cap space and half of those – the Hawks, Bulls and Kings – are telling teams that they’re interested in using that space to absorb bad contracts and pick up assets.
It’s unclear that there will be much of a market for Derrick Favors beyond, potentially the Mavs. It may make more sense for the big man to stay with the Jazz after finally starting to click alongside Rudy Gobert in Quin Snyder‘s offense last season.
The two best candidates to sign a qualifying offer this summer and approach next summer as unrestricted free agents are Celtics guard Marcus Smart and Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic. Lowe writes that Nurkic turned down a “rich” four-year extension last fall but might have a hard time finding a team willing to offer more than the mid-level exception this summer.
It stands to reason that Aaron Gordon, Zach LaVine and Jabari Parker will yield significant offers from the Magic, Bulls and Bucks respectively but none of those teams have reason to offer a max contract right away.
The Pacers could make life harder for the Magic by putting together an offer in the $20MM range for Gordon. Lowe writes that there has been “mild discontent for years” about Gordon’s role in Orlando’s offense.
The Nuggets tried “feverishly” to trade for a second first-round pick last Thursday in the hopes of nabbing Zhaire Smith. Denver’s 2019 first-rounder was on the table in those talks.

For more free agency notes, including some potential contract extension candidates and the reasoning behind Nikola Jokic not getting a player option in the fifth year of his new deal with the Nuggets, check out the full feature at ESPN.

Nuggets Issue Qualifying Offer To Torrey Craig

June 28th, 2018 at 8:02am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets made a qualifying offer to Torrey Craig, ensuring he’ll be a restricted free agent, Gina Mizell of the Denver Post writes. The 6’6” Craig saw quite a bit of action with Denver last season, averaging 4.2 PP and 3.3 RPG in 16.1 MPG while making 39 appearances. The 27-year-old went undrafted in 2014, then played in Australia and New Zealand before the Nuggets signed him.

Nuggets Decline Nikola Jokic’s Option, Extend QO

June 25th, 2018 at 10:20pm CST by clarkcrum

JUNE 25, 10:20pm: The Nuggets filed the paperwork to decline their team option late Monday night, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. That clears the way for Jokic to sign what will likely be a five-year max contract next month, Wojnarowski adds.

JUNE 25, 2:19pm: The Nuggets have officially extended a qualifying offer to Jokic, per RealGM’s transactions log. That’s a signal that the club has formally turned down his option.

As we heard earlier today, Jokic and the Nuggets are expected to finalize a five-year, maximum-salary contract once free agency begins.

JUNE 24, 1:50pm: In a story primarily regarding the decision of Wilson Chandler to exercise his player option with the Nuggets for the 2018/19 season, Gina Mizell of The Denver Post is reporting that a league source says Denver will decline the $1.6MM team option for franchise big man Nikola Jokic.

By declining the option, the Nuggets will make Jokic a restricted free agent eligible to sign a maximum-salary contract with Denver this summer – something that Jokic’s camp has been jockeying for since early-May (link).

The reported declination, while substantial, really comes as no surprise, with Jokic’s agent telling the Nuggets earlier this year that picking up his client’s 2018/19 option would hinder Denver’s chances of locking Jokic up long-term.

Moreover, if Denver does exercise the option, Jokic would become an unrestricted free agent next summer, leaving the Nuggets without a right of first refusal during free agency

“Nikola’s going to be here for a long, long time,” president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said following Thursday night’s 2018 NBA draft. “I think whatever we do, we’re going to ensure he’s here as long as possible. When that moment happens, we’re going to talk to Nikola and his brothers and his representation. He’ll be in Denver for a long, long time. He’ll be buying (a home) here.”

Assuming the report is accurate and the Nuggets decline his option, Jokic, 23, will be eligible to sign a five-year contract worth approximately $146.45MM this summer.

Re-Signing Barton Remains A Priority For Nuggets

June 25th, 2018 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Now that Wilson Chandler has opted into the final year of his contract and Nikola Jokic is on track to sign a massive new deal of his own, Will Barton may be odd man out in Denver. However, speaking after the draft to reporters, including Michael Kelly of The Associated Press, Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said that retaining Barton “is still a priority.”

While Connelly says the Nuggets will be “aggressive” trying to keep the free agents they want back, re-signing Barton to a fair deal could push team salary north of $140MM, which would lead to a huge luxury tax bill.

Details On Draft-Night Trade With Magic

June 23rd, 2018 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams

RealGM’s log of traded draft picks provides specific details on a couple more draft-night trades, indicating that the Sixers received 2021 and 2023 second-round picks in their deal with the Pistons, while the Magic will receive the less favorable of the Nuggets’ and Wizards’ 2019 second-round picks as a result of their swap with the Nuggets.

Wilson Chandler Opts In With Nuggets

June 23rd, 2018 at 9:07am CST by Dana Gauruder

JUNE 23rd, 9:07 am: Chandler has officially opted in, according to RealGM’s Transactions log.

JUNE 22nd, 5:11 pm: Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler will opt in for the final year of his contract, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets. Chandler will make $12.8MM rather than test the free agent market.

Chandler had until Sunday to make a decision on his option. With Gary Harris‘ extension kicking in next season, the Nuggets now have a handful of players making between $12.8MM-$29.7MM.

Chandler started 71 of the 74 games in which he played last season but his role diminished. He averaged just 8.5 shots per game, his lowest total since his rookie year with the Knicks in 2007/08. His 10 PPG were his lowest since 2011/12, when he played just eight games.

That was a stark contrast to the previous season, when Chandler averaged 15.7 PPG – second-most in his career – and a career-high 6.5 RPG.

The 6’9” Chandler could see an even bigger dip in playing time if the team’s draft pick, Michael Porter Jr., is healthy enough to play regularly. Porter slipped to the No. 14 overall spot because of long-term health concerns after he underwent back surgery in his lone college campaign at Missouri.