- Nuggets swingman Will Barton had a strong 2015/16 campaign that saw him notch career-highs in scoring (14.4 points), field-goal percentage (43.2%), 3-point percentage (34.5%) and rebounds per game (5.8), but the 25-year-old needs to improve his defense and reduce his turnovers if he hopes to continue to progress as a player, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. Barton is signed for only about $3.5MM each of the next two seasons.
- The Nuggets are in favorable position to contend for a playoff spot next season, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical opines in his Summer Agenda series. The franchise has hit the mark on building its roster and finding a long-term head coach but shouldn’t get impatient with the process, Marks continues. The team has three of the top 19 picks in the draft but must exercise caution in parlaying those picks for an immediate impact player, Marks adds.
Point guard D.J. Augustin, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent, appreciates the opportunity he was given in Denver, but he isn’t sure if he will re-sign with the Nuggets this summer, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “This is my fourth summer being a free agent,” Augustin told Dempsey. “You never know what can happen. I’ve been promised things in the past, and it didn’t come true. I’ve had my hopes up in the past [and things] didn’t happen. It’s just all about putting things in God’s hands and my agent’s hands and I’m going to just relax. My wife is having our third child. So I’m going to just see what happens. Anything can happen. I love it here, and hopefully things work out.”
Jameer Nelson would prefer to remain with the Nuggets, but if it appears he won’t see more playing time than he received down the stretch this season, he won’t hesitate to have agent Steve Mountain ask Denver to trade him, reports Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Nelson signed a three-year, $13.622MM contract with the Nuggets just this past summer and began the season as the primary backup to Emmanuel Mudiay, averaging 27.6 minutes per game through January 15th. Nelson appeared for only one seven-minute stint after January 30th, though that was initially because of a wrist injury that at one point threatened to prematurely end his season.
The 34-year-old Nelson returned to the active list after the wrist caused an eight-game absence in February, but while he was out, Denver traded for D.J. Augustin, who played well enough to convince coach Michael Malone to drop Nelson to third on the depth chart, as Dempsey details. Malone is clearly fond of Augustin, calling him the team’s “security blanket,” and Augustin has said he’d love to re-sign with the Nuggets when he hits free agency this summer.
“Like I said we’ll figure it out and see what’s going on,” Nelson said, according to Dempsey. “I would love to come back here. That’s the reason why I signed a three-year deal. But it’s just one of those things that, it’s a business. It’s a business, and we have to figure it out.”
Nelson had sincere doubts about Denver when the Nuggets acquired him via trade during the 2014/15 season, but he praised the organization this past fall, saying the team delivered on its promise that it had a role in mind for him, and he organized a summertime bonding session with teammates. He was a fan, like most Nuggets, of Melvin Hunt, the team’s interim coach for the spring of 2015, and while he opted out last summer and said the team’s choice of a new coach would be a determining factor as he thought about whether to re-sign, he followed through and signed his new contract with the Nuggets after they hired Malone.
Orlando, where Nelson spent the majority of his career, maintains a place in his heart, Nelson said this season, and Magic GM Rob Hennigan has spoken openly of his desire to have more veterans on the team. The Magic will have plenty of cap room available to absorb Nelson’s salary of close to $4.541MM for next season without sending salary in return, if necessary.
Anyone can have a blog about an NBA team, but some set themselves apart from the rest with the dedication and valuable insight they bring to their craft. We’ll be sharing some knowledge from these dialed-in writers on Hoops Rumors with a feature called Top Bloggers. As with The Beat, our ongoing series of interviews with NBA beat writers, it’s part of an effort to bring Hoops Rumors readers ever closer to the pulse of the teams they follow. Last time, we spoke about the Hawks with Kris Willis, managing editor of SB Nation’s Peachtree Hoops. Click here to see the entire Top Bloggers series.
Next up is Adam Mares, site manager of SB Nation’s Denver Stiffs, a Nuggets blog. He’s also a contributor to Nylon Calculus and Hardwood Paroxysm. You can follow Adam on Twitter at @Adam_Mares. Check out his stories here, here and here.
Hoops Rumors: Kenneth Faried‘s production has been steady but unspectacular the past few seasons. Is it time for the team to move on from Faried, or will the remaining three years on his deal be a bargain given the financial feeding frenzy that the increase in the salary cap will likely bring this offseason?
Adam Mares: I think both things are true. $13MM per year for three years doesn’t seem nearly as bad as it did in 2014 when he signed the extension, and by next year’s trade deadline, there will probably be a handful of teams interested in picking him up at that price. Especially since he had something of a bounce-back season this year despite playing the 2nd lowest MPG of his career.
That being said, I’m not sure he fits Denver’s timeline, and he might be a bad fit alongside Emmanuel Mudiay. Neither player has a consistent jump shot, which means the team has to find spacing at the other three spots on the court. I don’t think the Nuggets HAVE to trade Faried right away, but I don’t think he’ll be in Denver for the entirety of his contract. My guess is that he’ll be moved sometime between now and the 2017 NBA draft.
Hoops Rumors: From an outsider’s perspective, there appears to be a noticeable and pronounced difference in the culture of the organization this season. How much of that can be attributed to the presence of coach Michael Malone, and how would you grade his first season in Denver?
Adam Mares: The culture inside the locker room couldn’t be any more different from what it was last season. Some of that has to do with getting rid of players that didn’t want to be here (JaVale McGee, Nate Robinson, Ty Lawson, J.J. Hickson) but most of it has to do with Malone. He earned the respect of the roster, and he had the Nuggets playing hard night in and night out. That alone is enough to earn him the A. He’ll be graded on a much steeper curve next season — especially if the team continues to rank in the bottom third of the league in defensive efficiency — but he’s established a hard-working, no-nonsense culture that the team desperately needed, all while helping all the young players on the roster make big strides throughout the season.
Hoops Rumors: Gary Harris had a solid sophomore campaign, averaging 12.3 points on 46.9% shooting for the season. Has he solidified himself as Denver’s shooting guard moving forward, or does the team need an upgrade at the two spot for 2016/17?
Adam Mares: Harris was one of the big surprises for the Nuggets this season. After hardly getting court time in his rookie season, he led all Nuggets in total minutes played this season and was second on the team in minutes per game. He’s an excellent defender, shooter, and cutter, and he rarely makes mistakes on either end. His biggest issue is that he is a bit too small to defend larger guards and wings. He’d routinely get posted up or out-muscled by tall guards like Kobe Bryant, Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson. His size will probably limit his upside and for that, he might be best suited as a backup shooting guard. He can help his cause by becoming a much better ballhandler and playmaker off the dribble.
Hoops Rumors: Darrell Arthur has said he wants to remain with the Nuggets, adding that he would like to do so with a new three- or four-year deal. If Arthur declines his player option for 2016/17, should the team look to re-sign him to a long-term pact? If so, what terms would be fair for both parties?
Adam Mares: I love Darrell and to be perfectly honest, I’m surprised he wants to stay in Denver seeing as how the Nuggets are at least two or three years away from being a serious contender. Darrell would fit nicely on almost any team since he is a tough, hard-nosed defender and rebounder and has a reliable jump shot. He’s a coaches dream in that he is incredibly consistent and brings it every night. So I’d love him in Denver as a backup power forward, but for his sake, I’d be surprised if he didn’t leave for greener pastures.
Hoops Rumors: Point guard D.J. Augustin played well after having been acquired from the Thunder, and he is set to go into free agency this offseason. Should the team look to re-sign him? Would doing so hinder the growth of Mudiay?
Adam Mares: He won’t hinder Mudiay’s development because the team is content to allow Mudiay to play through his ups and downs. However, I don’t think the Nuggets should re-sign Augustin because his game is very limited. He’s a tough shotmaker, an average distributor and an undersized defender. He’ll be 29 years old by the time next season begins, and the Nuggets already have one veteran point guard capable of playing the backup role in Jameer Nelson.
Hoops Rumors: Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post speculated recently that Denver would be a good landing spot for Kevin Love, should the Cavs decide to part ways with him this offseason. Would landing Love, whose numbers never translated to wins in Minnesota, be a wise move for the Nuggets? What package would the team need to give up to snag Love?
Adam Mares: It’s such a fascinating question because I don’t see the Nuggets front office pushing all of their chips forward this offseason … unless it’s for Love. The front office seems content to let this young core of players develop for another year before they decide which way to go, but Love might be the perfect piece to complement Nikola Jokic, Jusuf Nurkic and Mudiay. The Nuggets desperately lack shooting and Mudiay thrived this season in the rare instances that he was surrounded by 3-point shooters. Mudiay, Harris, Will Barton and Wilson Chandler are all excellent cutters with high basketball IQs and would thrive cutting off of Love in the post or spacing the floor. The same goes for Jokic, who is already one of the best passing big men in the NBA. Nurkic could be the rim protector that hides some of Love’s defensive deficiencies.
Danilo Gallinari and Barton would both fit nicely in Cleveland. Throw in one of Denver’s three first-round draft picks and Cleveland might be willing to make that deal. But Denver would lose a lot of depth, especially if Chandler continues to miss games with injuries. They’d also have to find a home for Faried, since he probably wouldn’t accept a bench role. There are lots of pros and cons to such a deal, but ultimately I think Love would be a good fit in Denver. The young Nuggets roster complements Love’s skill set much better than Love’s teams in Minnesota, and the Nuggets have enough assets, youth and draft picks to add even more pieces around him in the years to come. It’s not a slam dunk, but it’s intriguing.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this interview.
- There are four difficult issues to resolve before the Nuggets can get the “championship results” that coach Michael Malone desires, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. He identifies them as the future of Danilo Gallinari and Jusuf Nurkic, whether to offer a max contract to anyone in free agency and whether to keep three first-rounders and two second-rounders in June’s draft.
- The Nuggets announced a number of title changes for their front office personnel on Friday. Denver named Jared Jeffries as the team’s Director of Pro Personnel, Tommy Balcetis was named Director of Analytics, Scott Howard was named Director of College Scouting and Steve Hess will now hold the title of Director of Performance/Assistant Coach and Head Strength and Conditioning Coach.
- Nuggets GM Tim Connelly said his team lacks a true star and if the opportunity to land an impact player presents itself, Denver would have to strongly consider making a move, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. “At this point, you can’t say we have anyone on the team that is a star. We have guys who are trending that way,” Connelly said. “I think Danilo Gallinari, with more team success, would have been an All-Star this year. I’m so proud of how he bounced back from a major injury. He’s fully back, back better than ever. You’d be hard-pressed to find 10 tougher offensive matchups in the NBA. So I think internal improvement is always the first and most preferable course of action. Certainly we’re always looking for ways to better our roster. If during the course of conversations we can get a guy we deem a superstar, a top 15-20 player, we’ll be aggressive in doing so.”
- Darrell Arthur wants to remain with the Nuggets, and he would like to do so with a new three or four-year deal, as he tells Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Still, the 28-year-old power forward is undecided about whether to turn down a player option worth more than $2.94MM for next season, as he also said to Dempsey. He’d have to opt out to get that long-term deal he wants, since he’s ineligible to sign an extension on the two-year deal he signed with the team last summer. In any case, he fielded strong interest from other teams at the trade deadline, according to Dempsey.
Kay Felder has decided to hire Mike Silverman and Brandon Grier of the Athlete Management Group and remain in the draft, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The junior out of Oakland is the 47th best prospect, according to ESPN’s Chad Ford. Jonathan Givony of Draft Express ranks him as the 70th best prospect.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Hornets coach Steve Clifford believes Tom Thibodeau will return to the league next season, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets. “I know he misses [it],” Clifford said.
- Gary Neal is on track to start resuming basketball activities in June after undergoing surgery this week to repair a torn hip labrum suffered in December while he was a member of the Wizards, Marc Stein of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). Neal, 31, was waived by Washington in March in order to clear a roster spot for the signing of Marcus Thornton. The point guard played well for the Wizards prior to his injury, knocking down 41.0% of his 3-point attempts as he averaged 9.8 points in 20.2 minutes per game across 40 appearances.
- JaKarr Sampson has played well since signing with the Nuggets and he is focusing on improving in different areas of his game, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. “My first year in the league I was just focused on defense,” Sampson said. “Now, my offensive side is coming out and I’m making progress. It’s showing.”
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.