Denver Nuggets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nuggets Shop Danilo Gallinari, Grizzlies Interested

June 25th, 2015 at 10:05am CST by Eddie Scarito

THURSDAY, 10:05am: The Grizzlies are among the teams pursuing Gallinari via trade as they look to add shooting, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.

WEDNESDAY, 10:14pm: The Nuggets are shopping forward Danilo Gallinari, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). This news contradicts a report made back in May by Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post, who relayed that Denver intended to build around the Italian forward and big man Jusuf Nurkic. However, a more recent posting by Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post noted that GM Tim Connelly indicated anyone might be moved if the right deal comes along. “The variables come when you get one phone call and the best-laid plans go out of the window,” Connelly said. “But we’re pretty active and aggressive. We’ve got a lot of calls out there and a lot of scenarios in play. I can’t say for certain that where we stand today is where we’re going to stand on draft night.” Denver, which already holds the seventh overall choice, is rumored to be seeking another lottery pick.

Gallinari, who was the centerpiece for the Nuggets in the trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks back in 2011, signed a four-year, $42MM extension in 2012 which runs through the 2015/16 campaign. He is scheduled to earn a salary of $11,559,225 this coming season.

The 26-year-old has been productive for the Nuggets when he has been able to remain on the court. But injuries have limited Gallinari to just 43 contests in 2011/12, 71 for the 2012/13 campaign, zero appearances in 2013/14, and finally, 59 games this past season. His career numbers are 14.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and a slash line of .416/.367/.851.

Western Notes: Barton, Buycks, Blazers

June 23rd, 2015 at 10:49pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nuggets have tendered Will Barton a qualifying offer worth $1,181,348, making the guard a restricted free agent this offseason, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The move was expected since both sides have previously expressed a desire for the player to return to Denver next season. The 24-year-old saw sparse playing time with the Blazers over his first two and a half seasons in the league, but the deadline trade that sent him to Denver this February provided him with more opportunities to get on the court. He averaged 11.0 points in 24.4 minutes per game over 28 appearances for the Nuggets.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Warriors are exploring options regarding trading up from the No. 30 overall pick in the draft, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com tweets. Which player the team could be targeting with such a move is unknown, Howard-Cooper adds.
The chances that the Lakers will select Duke big man Jahlil Okafor with the No. 2 overall pick have increased since last week, Chad Ford of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter). Ford pegged the odds at 70% last Friday, and now has them at 80% that Los Angeles nabs Okafor on Thursday night.
The Lakers have informed free agent guard Dwight Buycks that they are interested in re-signing him for next season, David Pick of Eurobasket.com tweets. Buycks, who inked a single 10-day deal with the team this past season, was reportedly set to be signed for the remainder of the 2014/15 campaign before a hand injury knocked him out for the remainder of the team’s contests.
The Blazers will work out UNLV shooting guard Rashad Vaughn on Wednesday, reports Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times.
Woelfel adds the Warriors to the list of teams that have worked out UNLV big man Christian Wood.
Working out for Portland today were Darion Atkins (Virginia), Javonte Green (Radford), Charles Jackson (Tennessee Tech), Jordan Railey (Washington State), Satnam Singh (India), and Gary Bell Jr. (Gonzaga), the Blazers announced.
Virginia swingman Justin Anderson is scheduled to work out for the Grizzlies on Wednesday, Chris Vernon of ESPN 92.9 FM relays (Twitter links). Vernon also dispels the notion that Memphis made a draft promise to LSU big man Jarell Martin, and says that Martin shut down scheduling any further workouts for other reasons.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Latest On Ty Lawson, Nuggets, Kings

June 23rd, 2015 at 2:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:22pm: Karl is “enamored” with the notion of trading for Lawson, Kenneth Faried and Wilson Chandler, Berger writes in another piece, presumably in a deal that sends out Cousins. The Nuggets are open to trading Lawson and Chandler, but the Poison Pill Provision attached to Faried’s recently extended contract would make the salary-matching cumbersome for any deal involving him before July, Berger adds.

TUESDAY, 10:45am: Karl would consider trading Rudy Gay for Lawson, a source told Chris Broussard of ESPN in a story that centers on Kings owner Vivek Ranadive’s unwillingness to allow any DeMarcus Cousins trades. That would seemingly throw Karl’s ability to engineer a Gay-Lawson trade through Kings front office chief Vlade Divac into question, though that’s just my speculation.

MONDAY, 5:24pm: The Nuggets and Kings have discussed a deal involving Ty Lawson, but the sides have found little traction, league sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Chad Ford of ESPN.com suggested as much in a recent chat. Sacramento has been pursuing Lawson from Denver with the sixth pick at the heart of would-be deals, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders wrote in his NBA AM piece earlier today. Kyler nonetheless hears that Denver’s demands for Lawson are too high for the Kings and that Sacramento isn’t on board with giving up the No. 6 choice and future draft picks for Lawson.

Still, the Kings continue to make Nik Stauskas available, Berger reports, while the Nuggets are involved in a potential trade scenario that would send their No. 7 pick to the Knicks, an executive from another team told Berger. The Nuggets would also give up the right to swap first-rounders with the Knicks next year, one that they gained via the Carmelo Anthony trade, in such a deal, Berger adds.

Kings coach George Karl would reportedly love for the team to acquire Lawson, whom he coached with the Nuggets. Still, Denver was asking for multiple first-round picks for him at the deadline, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe reported.

Stauskas, whom Sacramento took eighth overall last year, became available as early as this past January, as Berger reported then. Knicks president Phil Jackson has expressed a willingness to trade back from the No. 4 pick, and speculation has resulted in numerous such scenarios.

Nuggets Eye Sergio Rodriguez?

June 23rd, 2015 at 10:27am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nuggets are one of three NBA teams interested in signing four-year NBA veteran and current Spanish league point guard Sergio Rodriguez, reports Jesus Perez Ramos of Mundo Deportivo (translation via HoopsHype). The 29-year-old Rodriguez is seeking $6MM salaries on a deal that covers at least three fully guaranteed seasons, according to Ramos. Conflicting reports paint a confused picture of whether Rodriguez is high on a return to the NBA, where he hasn’t played since 2009/10, but Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who indicated that Rodriguez does want back in the league, wrote that NBA front offices regard him as an elite backup point guard.

Rodriguez’s deal with Real Madrid requires a buyout worth 2 million euros, Ramos writes. That’s the equivalent of more than $2.234MM at today’s exchange rate. Even though that’s much greater than the $625K that NBA teams can’t exceed in international buyouts this coming season without essentially taking the rest out of the player’s paycheck, it isn’t expected to be an obstacle to getting him to the NBA, according to Wojnarowski.

The Nuggets have more than $53MM in guaranteed salary against a projected $67.1MM cap, though the team has been heavily involved in trade rumors of late, so just how much it’ll have to throw around is unclear. Rodriguez put up 10.7 points, 5.1 assists and 1.8 turnovers in 21.9 minutes per game this season in Spain. He averaged 4.3 PPG, 2.9 APG and 1.3 TOPG in 13.2 MPG across his time in the NBA with the Trail Blazers, Kings and Knicks.

Clippers Explore Potential Jamal Crawford Trades

June 22nd, 2015 at 4:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 4:33pm: Chandler is indeed an object of the Clippers’ interest, Markazi clarifies via Twitter. He’s on a lengthy list of Clippers small forward targets that includes soon-to-be free agents Pierce, Mike Dunleavy and Al-Farouq Aminu, according to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 12:10pm: The Clippers are investigating the possibility of trading Jamal Crawford, sources tell Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who writes amid a story about the impact of Monday trade acquisition Lance Stephenson. One option would be to trade Crawford and C.J. Wilcox to the Nuggets for Wilson Chandler, according to Markazi, though it’s unclear from the report which side, if either, has interest in such a deal.

Crawford’s salary of $5.675MM is only guaranteed for $1.5MM if he’s waived by the end of June 30th, though he remains a productive player who doesn’t seem like a candidate for a purely salary-clearing move. Still, the arrival of Stephenson, who plays Crawford’s positions, would appear to give L.A. less of a need for the two-time Sixth Man of the Year award winner.

Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers told Fred Roggin of The Beat 980 this week that he’s looking for a starting small forward to replace Matt Barnes, whom the team sent out in the Stephenson trade, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times relayed via Twitter. The team is reportedly interested in Paul Pierce should he opt out from the Wizards. Chandler, who’ll make nearly $7.172MM on an expiring contract next season after the Nuggets let his partial guarantee date pass this spring, would probably fit that bill, too, though this past season was only the second in his eight-year NBA career in which he started at least 70 games.

Crawford switched agents recently, joining the Wasserman Media Group, and while his contract runs through next season, it’s perhaps a sign that he anticipated change in the nearer future. Wilcox, last year’s 28th overall pick, saw only 101 total minutes this past season, and while he has a guaranteed salary of nearly $1.16MM coming his way for 2015/16, a decision is due by October 31st on the $1.2MM-plus third-year team option attached to his rookie scale contract.

Nuggets’ Jameer Nelson Opts Out

June 22nd, 2015 at 11:43am CST by Zachary Links

JUNE 22ND, 11:50pm: Nelson has indeed opted out, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).

JUNE 4TH, 5:05pm: Nuggets guard Jameer Nelson is planning to opt out of his $2.85MM player option for the upcoming season, league sources told Shams Charania of RealGM. Nelson has not yet informed Nuggets officials of his final decision, however.

The two sides have been talking recently, but the general understanding has been that the veteran will test the free agent waters, according to Charania. Recently, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post wrote that Nelson’s decision would hinge on the Nuggets’ head coaching hire. Nelson is said to be fond of interim coach Melvin Hunt, so his chances of returning could improve if Hunt stays on the sidelines.

Nelson, 33, had an eventful campaign in 2014/15. After signing a two-year pact with the Mavericks last July, he was shipped out in December in a deal with the Celtics. His stay in Boston was short-lived as well as a January deal delivered him to Denver in exchange for Nate Robinson. Between the three teams, Nelson averaged 8.3 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 22.2 minutes per contest. Nelson played a healthy 20.6 minutes per game in the second half with Denver and has said that he wants to continue getting significant burn.

For his career, Nelson has averaged 12.2 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 3.1 RPG across eleven seasons.

Draft Notes: Lakers, Johnson, Berzins, Payne

June 21st, 2015 at 9:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers would prefer Karl-Anthony Towns to Jahlil Okafor, but Towns appears to be the player that the Timberwolves are targeting with the top pick, as Chris Mannix of SI.com hears (Twitter link). L.A. has swung and missed on attempts to have Towns in for a workout, while Mark Heisler of Forbes.com heard recently that Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders has become enamored with the Kentucky big man. The Lakers have zeroed in on Okafor if Towns is off the board, as Mannix reported earlier. Here’s more on the rapidly approaching draft:

Stanley Johnson is refusing to work out with the Hornets, who pick ninth, in hopes that either the Pistons, at No. 8, or the Heat, with the 10th pick, will draft him, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
Latvian small forward Janis Berzins is working out for the Spurs and Celtics in addition to his audition with the Jazz this past Friday, as VEF Riga, his Latvian team, revealed via Twitter (translation via HoopsHype).
Cameron Payne has worked out for the Lakers, Kings, Nuggets, Pacers and Thunder, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. In addition, Payne held a meeting with the Celtics.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson said earlier this week that he has workouts left with the Jazz, Kings and Hawks, tweets Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post.
Justin Anderson recently completed his eighth workout, Castillo tweets. He has the Cavaliers and Thunder remaining.
Larry Nance Jr. tells the Associated Press he has worked out for “about a dozen” teams, including the Spurs, Sixers, Celtics, Suns, Heat, Pacers and Knicks. The last workout on his schedule will be Wednesday with the Cavaliers.
Pat Connaughton has managed to fit more than a dozen teams into his workout schedule, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. The Notre Dame product has received positive reviews at most of the workouts and has a chance to be a second round pick, Himmelsbach writes.
Kevon Looney has worked out for “nine or 10 teams,” tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. One of those sessions was with the Celtics on June 17th, writes Josh Slavin of WEEI.com.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Wade, Lakers, Nuggets

June 21st, 2015 at 4:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Dwyane Wade sees the Lakers as an possible destination if he declines his player option, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets. There is a mutual interest, league sources told Mannix, despite the Lakers being in rebuild mode. Wade reportedly would welcome $20MM salaries if he turns down his $16.125MM player option. The lure of playing in Los Angeles and the team’s ample salary cap room could be the attractions for Wade, Mannix adds in a separate tweet. The Lakers have also been linked to free agent Goran Dragic, Wade’s backcourt partner in Miami.

In other news around the Western Conference:

The Lakers are well aware of the failures of previous No. 2 overall picks, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register reports. Since 2000, only three players drafted at that spot – Tyson Chandler, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Durant – became All-Stars while several have been complete busts, including Darko Milicic, Hasheem Thabeet and Stromile Swift, Oram continues. That does not mean the Lakers are inclined to trade the pick, Oram adds. “I don’t think we’re going to end up saying, ‘15 of the last 18 No. 2 picks have not been great selections, therefore we must trade the pick,’” Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak told Oram.
Tyus Jones is expected to work out for the Nuggets on Monday, according to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post (Twitter link). That’s an interesting development, considering Denver has the No. 7 overall pick and the Duke point guard is currently rated No. 23 on ESPN Insider Chad Ford’s Top 100 Prospects list and No. 14 by DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony. That may be a signal the Nuggets are looking to trade down or acquire another pick.
Kings coach George Karl doubts that the player they draft with the No. 6 overall pick could play 30 minutes a game next season, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee tweets. That follows the thinking of many scouts who see this draft filled with role players, Jones adds in a separate tweet.

Nuggets Rumors: Draft, Hezonja, Russell, Mudiay

June 21st, 2015 at 8:50am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nuggets have no untouchable players as trade rumors swirl around draft day, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Most of the trade talk has focused on point guard Ty Lawson, but GM Tim Connelly indicated anyone might be moved if the right deal comes along. “The variables come when you get one phone call and the best-laid plans go out of the window,” Connelly said. “But we’re pretty active and aggressive. We’ve got a lot of calls out there and a lot of scenarios in play. I can’t say for certain that where we stand today is where we’re going to stand on draft night.” Denver, which already holds the seventh choice, is rumored to be seeking another lottery pick.

There’s more draft news this morning from the Mile-High City:

Croatian guard Mario Hezonja would be a tempting choice for the Nuggets, Dempsey writes in a separate story, but he may not be available with pick No 7. Hezonja, a good friend of Denver center Jusuf Nurkic, has been quickly rising on draft boards as scouts rave about his elite shooting and athleticism. “I talk to him every day,” Nurkic said. “I think he’s at this age the best shooting guard.”
Trading up to snag Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell would be the Nuggets’ dream draft scenario, contends Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post. He notes that the Knicks want to improve quickly and may be willing to deal their No. 4 choice for a package of veterans. However, Kiszla also points out that it would be surprising if Russell falls that far, and Denver has the option to exchange picks with New York in 2016, so the Nuggets may be cautious about helping the Knicks get better next season. He sees Hezonja or Emmanuel Mudiay as possibilities if the Nuggets are stuck at No. 7.
The Nuggets need to aggressively pursue Mudiay, argues Woody Paige of The Denver Post. He notes that Mudiay hasn’t worked out for Denver, but contends that he would become the best point guard the franchise has ever had. Former Nuggets coach Larry Brown, who recruited Mudiay for Southern Methodist before he decided to play in China, once called Mudiay “the best young point guard I’ve ever seen.”

Southwest Notes: Green, Villanueva, Hunt

June 19th, 2015 at 1:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jeff Green, who picked up his player option with the Grizzlies, will represent a cap hold of $9.45MM rather than $9.2MM for 2015/16 because he triggered a $250K bonus this season, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). The incentive clause kicked in when Memphis picked up its 55th win, and he was in line for an additional $200K if the Grizzlies, who finished 55-27, had won 56 games, Pincus explains. The cap hit applies for next season because the league now considers it likely that Memphis will again win 55 games, though he won’t get the money if they don’t again hit that threshold. Here’s more from around the Southwest Division.

Charlie Villanueva would like to re-sign with the Mavericks, and while the team would welcome that, Dallas isn’t willing to pay more than the minimum, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
The Mavs are close to a deal with former Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt that would make him the top assistant in Dallas to head coach Rick Carlisle, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Pelicans have also been interested in Hunt as an assistant, Stein reported earlier.
Shooting guards Norman Powell of UCLA, Josh Richardson of Tennessee and Tyler Harvey of Eastern Washington are working out for the Mavs today, reports Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (on Twitter).
The Grizzlies will work out Southeast Missouri State forward Nino Johnson on Monday, sources tell Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.