Denver Nuggets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sixers, McGee To Work Buyout?

February 19th, 2015 at 8:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

8:07pm: Philadelphia has no intention of discussing a buyout arrangement with McGee, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports.

5:15pm: The Sixers and JaVale McGee are headed for a buyout, as Tom Moore of Calkins Media believes (Twitter link). McGee was acquired by Philadelphia from the Nuggets earlier today along with the Thunder’s 2015 first-round pick and the rights to Nigerian forward Chu Chu Maduabum in exchange for the rights to draft-and-stash prospect Cenk Akyol.

The 27-year-old center out of Nevada is earning $11.25MM this season, and is scheduled to make $12MM for the 2015/16 campaign. It’s unclear how much of next year’s fully guaranteed salary Philadelphia would be willing to absorb if the team decided to waive McGee as part of a buyout agreement. With McGee’s injury history it would be a bit surprising to see him give up a major chunk of next year’s salary, though that is just my speculation.

McGee missed most of the 2013/14 campaign due to a stress fracture in his leg and has also missed time this year because of an injury in the same area. The big man has only appeared in a grand total of 22 games for the Nuggets over the last two seasons. The athletic 7-footer has career averages of 8.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks. McGee’s career slash line is .541/.200/.587.

Nuggets Sign Joffrey Lauvergne

February 19th, 2015 at 4:02pm CST by Eddie Scarito

4:02pm: Denver has once more announced the signing and restored the press release to the team website.

2:59pm: The Nuggets sent out a press release recalling the announcement of the signing, and the page about the pact that was on their website has been replaced by an error message.

FEBRUARY 19TH, 2:37pm: The deal is official, the Nuggets announced.

FEBRUARY 11TH, 4:27pm: The Nuggets and Lauvergne are finalizing a two-year, fully guaranteed deal worth more than the minimum salary, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). The pact will also contain a team option for a third season, Charania notes.

6:02pm: The Nuggets and Lauvergne should reach an agreement on a multi-year contract by next week, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reports (Twitter links).

FEBRUARY 5TH, 8:16am: Khimki Moscow and Lauvergne have officially parted ways, the team announced (hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The Nuggets face “logistical hurdles” before they can formally bring him stateside, a league source told Wojnarowski for his full story, but ostensibly, Khimki Moscow’s announcement clears one of them.

FEBRUARY 4TH, 8:55pm: The Nuggets are working on a deal to sign 6’11” forward Joffrey Lauvergne, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Lauvergne was set to cut ties earlier today with Khimki Moscow, his Russian team, a source told David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). The Nuggets currently have 14 players on their roster, so no corresponding roster move would be required in order to ink Lauvergne.

The 23-year-old Frenchman was originally selected by the Grizzlies with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. Lauvergne was subsequently dealt to the Nuggets, along with Darrell Arthur, for Kosta Koufos.

Lauvergne was averaging 7.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 18.1 minutes per game for Khimki Moscow this season. His career European professional numbers are 6.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 0.6 APG. His career slash line is .476/.269/.694.

Sixers Acquire JaVale McGee, First-Rounder

February 19th, 2015 at 2:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:41pm: The deal is official, the Nuggets announced. It’s McGee, the rights to Maduabum, and the first-rounder that Oklahoma City owed the Nuggets heading to Philly in exchange for the rights to Akyol.

1:07pm: The Sixers also received the rights to Nigerian forward Chu Chu Maduabum from Denver in the trade, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).

11:29am: The rights to draft-and-stash prospect Cenk Akyol are headed from the Sixers to the Nuggets, tweets Orazio Cauchi of Sportando.

11:17am: Denver will get the rights to one of the foreign players stashed overseas by the Sixers, a source tells Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter). Mannix also notes that the Nuggets will create a sizable trade exception in the deal.

10:58am: The Nuggets and Sixers have agreed to send JaVale McGee to Philly, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link) Wojnarowski had just reported that the sides were deep in talks (Twitter link). Philadelphia gets the Thunder’s 2015 first-round pick, which Denver picked up in the Timofey Mozgov trade last month, according to Wojnarowski. Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reported moments earlier that the Nuggets were closing in on a trade involving McGee.

McGee missed most of 2013/14 thanks to stress fracture in his leg and has also missed time this year because of an injury in the same area. Across the last two seasons, McGee has played in a grand total of 22 games for the Nuggets. The high-flying 7-footer has career averages of 8.5 PPG and 5.6 RPG. His best season arguably came in 2011/12, split between the Wizards and Nuggets, where he averaged 11.3 PPG and 7.8 RPG in 25.2 minutes per night.

Denver reportedly wanted to move McGee more than any other player on the roster. They tried repeatedly to swing a deal for Brook Lopez with the Nets involving McGee, but that never came to fruition.

Blazers Acquire Arron Afflalo

February 19th, 2015 at 1:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:17pm: Denver has followed with a press release announcing the deal, too. There’s no mention of a separate second-rounder changing hands, apart from the two second-rounders that would go to the Nuggets if the protected first-rounder doesn’t convey.

1:05pm: The Blazers announced that the deal is now official.

“Arron is a proven winner with playoff experience who will be easily integrated into our culture,” Blazers GM Neil Olshey said. “He possesses a skill set that compliments our style of play on both ends of the floor and will make an immediate impact as we continue our playoff push. Alonzo is an elite athlete and defender who adds a unique element to our perimeter. We thank Thomas, Will and Victor for their contributions to the team and wish them all the best for the future.”

10:33am: The Nuggets and Blazers have struck a deal that will send Arron Afflalo to Portland, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Will Barton, Victor Claver, Thomas Robinson, a future lottery-protected first-round pick and a second-round pick go to the Nuggets, who also give up Alonzo Gee, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The first-rounder headed Denver’s way is for 2016, and is again lottery protected in 2017 if it doesn’t convey that year, Wojnarowski tweets, adding that if it doesn’t get to Denver in 2017, it becomes two future second-round picks.

Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported this week that the Blazers appeared the front-runners for Afflalo and that the Nuggets appeared poised to receive the first-rounder they sought for him. It appeared some other teams tried to make a late run at him but fell short.

Afflalo, 29, has been averaging 14.5 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 33 minutes per contest this season. Meanwhile, the guard’s below average 11.7 PER rating is his worst in several years. However, Afflalo is only a year and change removed from his time in Orlando where he was regarded as one of the league’s brighter two guards under the age of 30. For his career, Afflalo has averaged 11.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 2.0 APG for the Pistons, Magic, and Nuggets. In total, he has shot 38.4% from downtown.

The Blazers, at 36-17, are currently tied for third place in the Western Conference with the Rockets.

Nuggets Notes: Chandler, Clippers, Kings

February 19th, 2015 at 12:53pm CST by Zachary Links

The Nuggets are creating some $18MM in trade exceptions from their pair of deals today, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes, so it appears they’re using some of their existing trade exceptions to accommodate Thomas Robinson, Will Barton and Victor Claver in the Arron Afflalo deal. That would allow Denver to create a $7.5MM exception for Afflalo. With JaVale McGee headed out to the Sixers with apparently no players coming back, the Nuggets stand to be able to make another exception worth $11.25MM, the equivalent of McGee’s salary. Trade exceptions can’t be combined, but those would nonetheless be powerful weapons. Of course, neither of the trades are official yet, so details could change. In the meantime, here’s more on the busy Nuggets:

The Celtics took the Nuggets’ temperature on a few deals this week, but Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (on Twitter) hears that the inquiries were more “probing” than anything. Needless to say, those talks didn’t get far.
Now that Barton is officially with the Nuggets, the feeling is that he could last with Denver as both he and GM Tim Connelly are Baltimore guys, Jabari Young of Comcast SportsNet Northwest tweets.
The Nuggets are unlikely to move Wilson Chandler today, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). The Blazers and Clippers were the main teams in the mix for him but they’re both out of the running for different reasons. The Blazers already got Arron Afflalo and the Clippers don’t have the assets necessary to pull something off.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) heard that the Nuggets were seeking two first-round choices for Chandler.
Chandler made a change in representation and he will now be represented by Roc Nation NBA agents Rich Kleiman & Joe Branch, according to Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal (on Twitter). To keep up on everyone’s representation, check out Hoops Rumors’ Agency Database.
Several teams, including the Kings, are waiting to see if Denver’s asking price for players drops, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets. Mannix also identified the Blazers as a team waiting to see if the sticker price would drop, but that was before the Afflalo deal.
The Kings were interested in Afflalo, but Denver’s asking price of a first-round pick and a good young player kept them at a distance, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

Latest On Ty Lawson

February 19th, 2015 at 10:31am CST by Eddie Scarito

10:31am: There’s tension between Lawson and the Nuggets, and both parties are frustrated with each other, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders hears (Twitter link). A trade remains “very possible,” Kennedy adds.

8:42am: The Nuggets were never interested in a Lawson-for-Hill swap, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Lawson remains unlikely to be traded, Dempsey also tweets.

THURSDAY, 7:21am: Denver has listened to pitches for Lawson, but the front office has yet to seriously consider a deal, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 8:02pm: The Nuggets are trying to trade point guard Ty Lawson, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). If Denver is indeed able to move Lawson, coach Brian Shaw wants his team to acquire George Hill from the Pacers as Lawson’s replacement, Broussard adds. The Lakers have expressed interest in Lawson in addition to Goran Dragic of the Suns, the ESPN scribe notes. The Bucks, Kings, and Celtics are all reportedly interested in the veteran point guard as well.

Lawson, 27, has two more years left on his contract after this season. He is earning $11,595,506 this year, and will make $12,404,595 in 2015/16 and $13,213,482 during the 2016/17 campaign, the final year of his current deal. In 51 appearances this season, all as a starter, Lawson is averaging 16.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, and a career-high 10.1 assists. His career numbers over five and a half seasons are 14.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 6.5 APG. His career slash line is .470/.373/.773.

The Pacers are reportedly willing to move one of their high-salaried veterans to create cap space to pursue free agents with this summer, according to Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report . Indiana is believed to be willing to trade anyone aside from Paul George to accomplish that, Bucher writes.

Hill is making $8MM this season, and is on the books for two more years beyond this one at the same rate. In 15 appearances for the Pacers this season Hill is averaging 14.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 23.9 minutes per contest. His career numbers through 448 games are 10.8 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 3.1 APG. Hill’s career shooting percentages are .448/.373/.806.

Bucks Dangle Henson, Mayo, Ilyasova

February 19th, 2015 at 7:31am CST by Eddie Scarito

THURSDAY, 7:31am: Henson is available only for deals in which the Bucks would acquire a top-notch point guard in return, rival executives tell Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Milwaukee appears to be targeting a “splashy addition” for Henson, as sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, who suggests that Jackson and Lawson would fit that bill.

WEDNESDAY, 5:07pm: The Bucks are anxious to make a trade in the wake of reportedly reaching a buyout arrangement with Larry Sanders, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reports. Milwaukee has been dangling Ersan Ilyasova, O.J. Mayo and John Henson in offers to other teams, Kyler notes. With Sanders’ cap hit beginning with next season being pared down significantly with the team poised to use the stretch provision to waive him, the Bucks will have some breathing room under the salary cap they can use to nab a player who is set to command big money as a free agent this summer, Kyler adds.

Milwaukee is in the market for a point guard, and has been mentioned in connection with Ty Lawson (Nuggets), Reggie Jackson (Thunder), and the Bucks have also been linked to big man Enes Kanter (Jazz), Kyler notes. The Bucks have maintained the stance that they would not mortgage their future for a quick fix, but they seem to be open to making a move that would bolster the roster for 2015/16 as well as improve the team’s shot at a playoff spot, the Basketball Insiders scribe relays.

Mayo, 27, is making $8MM this season, and is on the books for an identical amount for 2015/16. He has appeared in 53 contests this season, including 15 as a starter. Mayo’s numbers on the year are 11.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. His career stats are 14.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 3.0 APG. His slash line is .432/.378/.823.

Ilyasova has two more years remaining on his deal, which carries a cap hit of $7.9MM for this season and next, and his $8.4MM salary for 2016/17 is partially guaranteed for just $400K. In 30 appearances this season, Ilyasova is notching 8.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per night. His career numbers are 10.4 PPG and 6.0 RPG.

Henson, the 24-year-old big man out of North Carolina, also has a season remaining on his contract. He is earning $1,987,320 for the season and is set to make $2,943,221 next season. Henson’s numbers on the year are 7.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 17.9 minutes per game.

And-Ones: Holiday, Hibbert, Lawson

February 18th, 2015 at 11:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday could be sidelined for more than another month after reaggravating the stress reaction injury in his lower right leg on Monday, John Reid of NOLA.com reports. The Pelicans announced on Wednesday that he will be re-evaluated in three weeks by the team’s medical staff but New Orleans offered no timetable for his return. Holiday, who suffered the setback while doing light drills, has been sidelined since January 14th. He was averaging 15.2 points and 7.1 assists prior to the injury.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Pacers are open to trading Roy Hibbert, rival executives told Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). There is nothing imminent regarding a potential trade of Indiana’s starting center, Kennedy adds.
Gal Mekel is being hotly pursued by Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israel Premier League, David Pick of Eurobasket.com tweets. Mekel, a point guard, appeared in four games with the Pelicans in December this season.
Trade chatter around the Raptors is unusually low, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun tweets. The Raptors are looking toward the offseason to make any big moves, Wolstat adds.
Jermaine O’Neal, who has opted not to play this season, hinted that the Warriors and Trail Blazers as well as the Mavs were interested in his services, according to quotes posted by Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com from a Dallas radio interview. The Mavs were expected to sign O’Neal but the veteran delayed his comeback because he felt that the timing wasn’t right, O’Neal explained in the interview on 103.3 FM’s “Friedo and Fitzsimmons” show.
The Nuggets are still considering offers for Arron Afflalo, and some “late charging” teams have expressed interest in the guard, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The Blazers are still strongly in the mix to acquire Afflalo, Wojnarowski adds.
Ty Lawson‘s no-show at Nuggets practice on Wednesday might be a ploy on Lawson’s part to force a trade, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders opines. Lawson’s absence was unexcused by Nuggets coach Brian Shaw, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post.
The Timberwolves had checked in on free agent Jamaal Tinsley but never offered him a 10-day contract, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets. It was reported earlier that Minnesota and two other teams had offered Tinsley 10-day deals that he had declined.

Northwest Notes: Kanter, Durant, Afflalo

February 18th, 2015 at 8:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz have not received any serious offers for Enes Kanter, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets. The team is seeking a quality young player and a first-round pick for Kanter, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported on Tuesday. The team would be happy to retain Kanter past the trade deadline, a league source told Scotto. Kanter is set to become a restricted free agent this summer.

In other news around the Northwest Division:

Kevin Durant said he feels no resentment toward the Thunder for the James Harden trade and added that it will have no bearing on his free agency in 2016, as he told reporters, including Darnell Mayberry and Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. Durant also said that he loves having Reggie Jackson as a teammate, which counters an earlier report.
Teams around the league are convinced that the Nuggets will obtain the first-round draft pick they seek in return for Arron Afflalo, and that the Trail Blazers are the current favorites to land the guard, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).
Afflalo’s representative may not be thrilled at the prospect of the Nuggets guard being dealt to Portland because it could stunt the growth of C.J. McCollum, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com writes. Both players are represented by Excel Sports Management and McCollum’s playing time and bargaining power would likely shrink if Afflalo lands with Portland, Young adds. McCollum’s contract calls for him to make approximately $2.5MM next season and the club holds a team option of just over $3.2MM for 2016/17.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Southeast Notes: Korver, Wizards, Heat

February 18th, 2015 at 6:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kyle Korver passed up opportunities to sign with a contender before he re-signed with the Hawks in 2013, Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press reports. Korver was unhappy when the Bulls traded him to Atlanta in 2012, but by the following summer, he had changed his opinion of the organization, according to Mahoney. “I just really believed in what Atlanta was building and what they were doing, I could see my role in it,” Korver told Mahoney. “I just wanted to be a part of that.”

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Wizards have turned their attention from trying to acquire Jameer Nelson from the Nuggets to focusing on a deal involving the Kings’ Ramon Sessions, David Aldridge of NBA.com reports (Twitter link).
Washington may look to sign Bobby Brown, who has recently returned from playing in China, if the team is unable to bolster its backcourt via a trade, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).
The Wizards have spoken to the Nuggets about Wilson Chandler, but Washington considers Denver’s demands too steep, according to Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. Grantland’s Zach Lowe indicated that the Nuggets were looking for multiple first-rounders for Chandler when Lowe hinted earlier this week that conversations between Denver and the Wizards had taken place.
The Heat “badly” want to end up in the postseason and aren’t looking to swap veterans for prospects, a GM told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, but that GM and one other said to Jackson that Miami’s lack of assets is holding the team back in trade talks.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said that he does not anticipate Atlanta making another roster move, but he added that the team is always listening to offers, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. “I think we feel great about our group,” Budenholzer said. “We like a lot of things that have been improving and getting better. Like we’ve said a few times over the last few days, the organization has a mindset every day of trying to get better and improve. So you have to be open and listen but I would not say we are anticipating anything.”