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Latest On Eric Bledsoe

October 26th, 2017 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Eric Bledsoe continues to sit out games for the Suns and, after a disastrous start to the season, the club has actually looked better with a new starting point guard — and a new head coach. Since Jay Triano replaced Earl Watson on the bench and Mike James replaced Bledsoe in the starting lineup, the Suns have won consecutive games at home, beating the Kings and Jazz.

As the Suns look to build on their recent success, here’s the latest on Bledsoe, from Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times:

NBA sources tell Woelfel that if the Bucks and Suns were to make a deal involving Bledsoe, Phoenix would likely ask for Malcolm Brogdon, plus either John Henson or Mirza Teletovic. Milwaukee has had interest in Bledsoe over the last few years, but is reluctant to part with Brogdon, the reigning Rookie of the Year, per Woelfel.
According to Woelfel, the Bucks are – for now – dangling Matthew Dellavedova, but he’s not of much interest to the Suns — Phoenix remains focused on Brogdon.
The Suns are eyeing young guards, and are also intrigued by Denver’s Emmanuel Mudiay. According to two NBA officials, the Nuggets and Bucks are viewed as “the leaders in the Bledsoe sweepstakes,” writes Woelfel.
Those same two sources tell Woelfel that a number of other teams have internally discussed the idea of making a play for Bledsoe, including the Clippers, Celtics, and Heat.

Juan Hernangomez Will Miss ‘A Couple Of Weeks’

October 25th, 2017 at 1:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nuggets forward Juan Hernangomez could be out “a couple of weeks” with mononucleosis, according to Christopher Dempsey of NBA.com.

The second-year player out of Spain had a productive rookie season, averaging 4.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 62 games. However, he has managed just seven minutes in two games this year.

“We were talking as coaches and as a staff that Juancho hadn’t looked like Juancho from last year,” said coach Mike Malone. “The first reaction was: Well, he had a very busy summer. He played summer league with us, then he goes right back to Spain and plays a very long and demanding schedule with the national team. But we were waiting for Juancho to come back – the activity, the energy, and he just wasn’t looking like himself.”

The team did blood work when Hernangomez contracted a cold, and the results showed mononucleosis. He will be held out to give him a chance to recover and to keep the contagious disease away from the rest of the team.

“Hopefully when he is healthy, we’ll see that Juancho that we all came to love last year, who was just boundless energy,” Malone added. “We haven’t seen that guy yet because of this disease and how hard he worked the whole summer.”

Juan Hernangomez Out With Mononucleosis

October 24th, 2017 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets forward Juan Hernangomez has been diagnosed with mononucleosis, the team confirmed on Tuesday in a press release. There’s no specific timeline for Hernangomez’ return yet, but according to the Nuggets, he didn’t travel with the club on its current four-game road trip.

Suns Notes: Bledsoe, Chandler, Watson, Okur

October 24th, 2017 at 1:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Suns have been exploring trade options involving disgruntled point guard Eric Bledsoe, the team will likely have to lower its asking price if it hopes to get anything done, one general manager tells Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net. While the Bucks, Nuggets, Knicks, and Clippers have all expressed interest in Bledsoe, according to Amico’s sources, that general manager believes Phoenix’s asking price is unrealistic.

“Right now, it’s borderline preposterous,” the GM tells Amico. “It should come down eventually. It has to.”

Bledsoe and his agent Rich Paul expressed a desire for a trade during the offseason, but the Suns have ramped up their efforts this week, with the Nuggets and Bucks among the most viable potential landing spots, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. Trade scenarios are still evolving, and it’s not clear how long it will take for Phoenix to find a satisfactory deal, according to Kyler, who adds that the club appears to be looking into moving Tyson Chandler too, perhaps in the same trade.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN chimes in on Bledsoe as well, tweeting that the Suns’ goal of landing a high-upside young player in any deal has been an impediment, since Bledsoe’s value isn’t exactly at its peak.

Here’s more on the Suns:

In the wake of the Suns’ horrible start to the season and Earl Watson‘s dismissal, Greg Moore of AZCentral.com wonders why owner Robert Sarver hasn’t made any public comments about the team’s situation.
In a separate piece for Basketball Insiders, Kyler wonders whether Watson was essentially set up to fail in Phoenix as the club struggles through a rebuilding process.
Shortly after Watson was fired, Dan Majerle became the subject of speculation as a possible target for the Suns, but the team hasn’t contacted the Grand Canyon University coach, writes Richard Obert of AZCentral.com. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, according to Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic, who tweets that the Suns haven’t contacted anyone, with Jay Triano expected to run the show for the rest of the season.
Ken Berger of Bleacher Report takes a deep dive into the Suns’ situation and passes along a few interesting tidbits. Among them: James Jones, who joined the franchise this offseason as an executive, figures to have “significant input” when Phoenix decides on a permanent head coach.
Former NBA big man Mehmet Okur, who was one of multiple assistants let go along with Watson, became the second member of the organization to direct a less-than-flattering social media post at the Suns this week. Chris Cole of AZCentral.com has the details, along with a screenshot of Okur’s since-deleted Instagram post.
Speaking of assistants, the Suns have called up multiple coaches from their G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns, to fill out their NBA coaching staff, per Chris Reichert of 2 Ways & 10 Days (Twitter link). Northern Arizona head coach Ty Ellis is among the coaches headed to Phoenix.

Nuggets G League Notes: Morris, Craig, Lydon

October 23rd, 2017 at 8:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets are one of those teams without an affiliate for 2017/18, which means their two-way players are headed to two different G League clubs. Denver announced today in a press release that Monte Morris will join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets‘ affiliate, while Torrey Craig will play for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat‘s affiliate.

The Nuggets have assigned first-round pick Tyler Lydon to the G League too, according to the team. Lydon will head to the Rockets‘ affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, along with Morris.

Latest On Eric Bledsoe

October 23rd, 2017 at 6:32pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s been a busy day on the Eric Bledsoe front. After the point guard posted a tweet expressing his displeasure with his situation on Sunday, the Suns indicated that Bledsoe wouldn’t play in Monday night’s game against Sacramento, and it sounds like he may not suit up at all for Phoenix going forward, as the club looks to trade him.

Bledsoe has been linked to the Bucks and Knicks, among other teams, with the Suns reportedly seeking Frank Ntilikina and Willy Hernangomez from New York. However, the Knicks aren’t eager to move either player. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are also said to have interest in Bledsoe, with Denver and Phoenix discussing a deal that would involve Emmanuel Mudiay.

While we wait to see if anything comes of any of those rumors, here’s the latest on Bledsoe:

According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), Bledsoe actually had multiple meeting with the Suns before the season to discuss the possibility of a trade, so it’s not as if his dissatisfaction just developed within the last few days.
Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders provides an update on the Suns‘ talks with the Nuggets, reporting that Kenneth Faried has emerged as part of a hypothetical package. That’s not a real surprise, since Faried doesn’t seem completely happy in Denver, and his contract would be useful for salary-matching purposes.
A Faried/Mudiay package is the first idea proposed by ESPN’s Kevin Pelton in his Insider-only article examining trade possibilities. Although Pelton also puts forth trade ideas involving the Magic, Cavaliers, and a few other teams, he suggests that the Nuggets are the most logical landing spot for Bledsoe “by a wide margin.”
Charles Curtis of USA Today makes a case for the Sixers as the best trade partner for the Suns, while Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News explains why the Mavericks aren’t a fit.

Suns, Nuggets Discussed Bledsoe Deal

October 23rd, 2017 at 1:43pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Suns and Nuggets have discussed a deal that would send Emmanuel Mudiay along with other pieces to Phoenix in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). It’s unclear if the talks are ongoing or whether the idea of swapping point guards was merely discussed by the two franchises.

It seems clear that the Suns will at some point find a trade partner for their disgruntled point guard. Over the weekend, Bledsoe expressed his desire to no longer be part of the team via social media, tweeting “I don’t want to be here” right before the Suns fired coach Earl Watson. The point guard apparently tried to walk his comments back by telling GM Ryan McDonough that he meant his physical location at the time. The executive wasn’t amused.

“He said he was at a hair salon… I didn’t believe that to be true. He won’t be with us going forward, “ the GM said via ABC15 Sports out of Arizona (Twitter link).

Sam Amico of Amico Hoops hears confirms that Bledsoe is being shopped around the league with a rival executive telling the scribe that “[Bledsoe] will not play another game for [Phoenix].”

Bledsoe appears to be unhappy with the franchise’s rebuilding phase and Denver may be a good fit for him should the team deal him. The Nuggets made several offseason moves with an eye on competing this season, though point guard remains a problem area for the team. Denver recently waived Jameer Nelson—their staring point guard for parts of last season—and inserted Jamal Murray into the first unit. In two games this season, the 2016 No. 7 overall pick has been inconsistent, recording four turnovers while accounting for four assists in 40 minutes of action.

Several other teams have also expressed interest in Bledsoe. In addition to the Nuggets, the Knicks, Bucks, Clippers, and Blazers have been linked to the point guard.

Nuggets Receive Set-Off For Nelson

October 22nd, 2017 at 6:59pm CST by clarkcrum

Jameer Nelson tweeted out a thank you to the City of Denver and the Nuggets early Friday morning after being released by the team on Wednesday. The Nuggets would have been on the hook for the entirety of Nelson’s $4.74MM salary if he had remained on the free agent market. However, as noted by Bobby Marks of ESPN, Denver will have the right to set-off approximately $470K at season’s end as a result of Nelson signing a pro-rated minimum salary contract with the Pelicans on Saturday.

Gary Harris Talks Extension, Millsap, Nuggets

October 19th, 2017 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on Altitude AM950 in Denver, Nuggets guard Gary Harris discussed his contract extension, his role for the coming season, and the team’s offseason addition of Paul Millsap.

Nuggets Sign Richard Jefferson To One-Year Deal

October 19th, 2017 at 8:32am CST by Dana Gauruder

OCTOBER 19: Jefferson’s deal with the Nuggets is now official, per RealGM’s log of NBA transactions. Denver waived Nelson on Wednesday to open up a roster spot for the veteran forward.

OCTOBER 16: Veteran forward Richard Jefferson has agreed to a one-year, $2.3MM contract with the Nuggets, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.

Jefferson cleared waivers on Monday. He was traded by the Cavaliers to the Hawks on Saturday in a cost-cutting and roster-trimming move by Cleveland. Atlanta immediately waived him.

Denver will likely waive veteran point guard Jameer Nelson to make room for Jefferson, according to Wojnarowski.

Jefferson fortifies the small forward spot behind Wilson Chandler. His primary backup, Will Barton, suffered an ankle injury in practice on Monday.

It’s somewhat surprising that Denver would let Nelson go, as he was considered a potential starter during camp. The Nuggets have apparently decided to go with the much younger duo of Emmanuel Mudiay and Jamal Murray at point guard.

The Bucks were considered contenders for Jefferson’s services but wound up claiming another ex-Cavalier, DeAndre Liggins, on Monday. Jefferson, 37, averaged 5.7 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 79 regular-season contests last year.

Contractually, Jefferson will collect two paybacks. He’ll also receive $2MM from the Hawks, who will get a $500K set-off at the end of the season, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.