Denver Nuggets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Jokic, Nuggets, Edwards, Jazz, Thunder

December 9th, 2024 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Nikola Jokic‘s 56 points on Saturday weren’t enough to get the Nuggets a win in Washington, but his 48-point, 14-rebound, eight-assist performance in Atlanta just 24 hours later did the trick, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Denver bounced back from a disappointing loss to the lowly Wizards by blowing out the Hawks 141-111, which head coach Michael Malone called “the response that was needed.”

According to Malone, Jokic – who joked after Saturday’s game that “a paycheck that is a little bit less than usual” might help motivate Nuggets players – was “vocal” with the team on Sunday morning, Durando details in a separate story.

Jokic’s comments seemed to make an impact on his team. As good as the three-time MVP was vs. the Hawks, the Nuggets got production from players up and down their lineup, including second-year guard Jalen Pickett, who was a +18 in 17 minutes in perhaps his best game as a pro. Jokic suggested that sort of effort is what the team needs from everyone.

“When I was coming off the bench, when I was like playing small minutes, my goal was: ‘When I sit on the bench, I’m going to be so tired that I cannot breathe,'” Jokic said. “So just give 100% those three, four, five, six, seven, whatever minutes you have.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was fined $25K by the NBA on Monday for using profane language during his post-game media session on Friday (Twitter video link), the league announced (via Twitter). Edwards, perhaps aware that announcement was coming, declined to talk to reporters after Sunday’s loss, citing his history of being fined for cursing, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.
The Jazz‘s bench has been ineffective since John Collins moved into the starting lineup nearly a month ago, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, who states that the team has neither a source of consistent offense or defense in its second unit right now and suggests it might make sense to move Collins back to the bench until Jordan Clarkson is healthy. Utah’s bench has a -7.5 net rating since Collins’ first start on November 12, the worst mark in the NBA during that time.
The Thunder, whose 103.3 defensive rating and 12.1 steals per game comfortably rank first in the league, have been playing historically effective defense so far this season, proving Sam Presti right, as Rylan Stiles of SI.com observes. “I think defensively we have the opportunity to have a lot of compounding talent that can make it very hard for us to play against,” the Thunder’s head of basketball operations said before the season began.

Stein’s Latest: Nuggets, Yabusele, Nance, Reath

December 9th, 2024 at 8:05am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nuggets‘ problem with lack of production off their bench could have been addressed by seeking a sign-and-trade deal for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope instead of letting him leave in free agency, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack column (subscription required). Denver improved to 12-10 by winning in Atlanta Sunday night, but that was on the heels of an embarrassing loss Saturday at Washington. Coach Michael Malone is leaning heavily on his starting lineup as he has few proven options among his reserves.

Sources tell Stein that the Mavericks were interested in obtaining Caldwell-Pope via sign-and-trade when free agency opened last summer, but those plans changed when the Nuggets exhibited a reluctance to pursue that option, which would have meant taking back contracts and increasing their luxury tax payment. Denver was also reportedly unwilling to send Caldwell-Pope to one of its chief Western Conference rivals.

Stein points out that Dallas had free agents Tim Hardaway Jr. and Josh Green, who could have been made available in a deal for Caldwell-Pope. Both players were eventually traded, with Hardaway going to Detroit in a swap for Quentin Grimes and Green heading to Charlotte in the six-team deal to acquire Klay Thompson.

Stein hears that the Nuggets eventually warmed up to the idea of a sign-and-trade for Caldwell-Pope, but it was too late in the process to find a taker. Orlando used its cap space to add him with a three-year, $66MM offer, taking away another important piece of the roster that brought a title to Denver in 2023.

Stein describes the Nuggets as “eager” to shake up their current team before the February 6 trade deadline, but they face limited options because of their financial position. He calls it an “open secret” that the team would like to unload former first-round pick Zeke Nnaji, but they would likely have to include draft assets to sweeten any deal due to the fifth-year power forward’s disappointing performance and a contract that runs through 2027/28.

There’s more from Stein:

Guerschon Yabusele‘s strong start and his minimum contract could make him a valuable trade asset, but the Sixers don’t appear to have any interest in moving him. Yabusele has been one of the few bright spots for the injury-riddled team, averaging 9.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game while shooting 39.5% from three-point range. Even with its disastrous start, Stein points out that Philadelphia is only a game-and-a-half out of the play-in tournament and four-and-a-half games away from the top six in the East. A source tells Stein that the Sixers are “thrilled” with Yabusele’s performance so far.
The Hawks have been getting offers for Larry Nance Jr. since they acquired him in an offseason trade with New Orleans, but they aren’t interested in parting with him, Stein adds. He points to Clint Capela ($22.3MM expiring contract) as the Atlanta big man who’s most likely to be on the move before the deadline, noting that the Knicks considered making an offer for Capela before landing Karl-Anthony Towns.
Stein confirms a report by Jake Fischer that Trail Blazers center Duop Reath is worth watching in trade talks. Reath is earning the veteran’s minimum and is probably expendable with three other centers on the roster.

Northwest Notes: Edwards, Timberwolves, Jokic, Malone

December 8th, 2024 at 1:41pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Anthony Edwards‘ improving ability to stay patient on the offensive end has started to pay off for the Timberwolves, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

“I’m young, I still want to get my (shot) off,” Edwards said. “It’s frustrating sometimes, but I got to understand the bigger picture.”

The All-Star shooting guard is trying to be more egalitarian in his approach as he faces even more defensive attention with Karl-Anthony Towns gone. Minnesota is currently on a four-game win streak, improving the team’s overall record to 12-10.

“We gotta do a little bit better job of providing clean spacing around some of that time that he is getting doubled,” head coach Chris Finch said. “But I thought he did a great job of getting off of it, embracing it. Getting downhill, mixing it all up.”

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

Still just 23, Edwards is beginning to establish a confident leadership style with the Timberwolves, notes Chris Hine The Minnesota Star Tribune. The All-NBA guard may be intense, but he’s also an enthusiastic supporter of his teammates. “As much as he gets on you, he’s 10 times more on your side when you’re doing the right things or something positive happens,” point guard Mike Conley said. “There’ll be games where I’ll make three threes in a row, and he’ll be like, ‘Mike, you might be the best shooter in the world. I’ve never seen anybody shoot like that. I’ve never seen that.’”
With Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon sitting, Nuggets MVP center Nikola Jokic took on more of a scoring burden than ever before, racking up a career-best 56 points – on a career-most 38 field goal tries – against Washington. But it still wasn’t enough to hold off the Wizards, who snapped a 16-game losing skid, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post.
Following the Wizards loss, Nuggets leaders Jokic and head coach Michael Malone spoke frankly about the team’s disappointing start to the season, writes David Aldridge of The Athletic. Denver is now 11-10, good for just the No. 9 seed in the West. “We have to realize that we all have to start participating in our own recovery,” Malone said. “That’s where I take blame for us to be 11-10, because obviously I’ve a done a poor job as a head coach in preparing this team, not only to win, but to go out there and execute.” For his part, Jokic pulled few punches in criticizing the club’s slippage this fall while refuting the notion that Malone is solely to be blamed. “Today, and the last couple of games, were really bad for us,” Jokic said. “We’re really going in the wrong direction. I think it’s everybody’s fault. It’s not just Coach’s fault. It’s not his fault that we cannot make shots. It’s not his fault that we don’t communicate.” Over the past two offseasons, Denver has seen three of the top seven players from its 2023 title team depart in free agency, without convincingly replacing any of them. The Nuggets may be paying the price for those exits.

Northwest Notes: Gordon, Camara, Blazers, Filipowski

December 7th, 2024 at 1:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Battling some right calf soreness last month, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon attempted to play anyway and made the injury worse, suffering a calf strain that sidelined him for 10 games. According to Gordon, the initial soreness was the sort of pain he played through “all the time” earlier in his career, but the 11th-year veteran acknowledges he’s “getting older now” and may have to rethink that approach.

“I was trying to play through something I probably shouldn’t have played through,” Gordon told Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “The whole side of my leg was bruised. I tried to play through it. My calf just took the brunt of it.”

As Durando details, Gordon has become one of the Nuggets’ most valuable players, serving not only as a crucial part of the starting lineup but as the team’s best option to back up Nikola Jokic at center. As a result, head coach Michael Malone will have to be careful not to overuse Gordon, who exceeded his minutes limit in his second game back from his calf injury on Tuesday (he played 33 minutes), then logged 34 more minutes on Thursday.

Following that heavy usage vs. Golden State and Cleveland, Gordon is back on the Nuggets’ injury report, listed as questionable to suit up on Saturday in Washington due to that same calf strain.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

After Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara exited Friday’s game vs. Utah early due to a right foot ailment, head coach Chauncey Billups said after the game that Camara will undergo imaging on that injured foot, per Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter links). Camara has started all 23 of Portland’s games so far this season, averaging 9.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game while playing solid defense.
To add insult to injury, the Trail Blazers were blown out by the lowly Jazz by a score of 141-99 in Portland on Friday, prompting Billups to tell reporters after the game, “Our spirit just wasn’t right,” according to Highkin (Substack link). As Highkin writes, starting center Deandre Ayton was benched for nearly the entire second half because Billups “didn’t like his spirit” and fans in Portland booed the home team off the court at the end of the night. “It’s tough to be booed, but sometimes you feel like you deserve it,” Blazers forward Jerami Grant said. “Losing by 40 to a team that now has five wins… We’ve got to get our s–t together.”
The Jazz assigned rookie forward/center Kyle Filipowski to the G League on Thursday, but his stint with the Salt Lake City Stars will be brief, head coach Will Hardy told reporters, including Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). While fellow rookie Cody Williams has been with the Stars since November 25, Filipowski will be back with the Jazz for Sunday’s game after registering a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) in his NBAGL debut on Friday.

And-Ones: Woj, Awards, Samanic, Van Exel

December 5th, 2024 at 4:16pm CST by Rory Maher

In mid-September, perhaps the most surprising news of the NBA offseason occurred: Adrian Wojnarowski announced that he was retiring from ESPN and the news industry as a whole. It was later reported that he would become the general manager of the basketball program at St. Bonaventure, with the school confirming the news.

Speaking to his friend and former Yahoo Sports colleague Chris Mannix, who now works for Sports Illustrated, Wojnarowski explained his decision to leave his position at ESPN to work for his alma mater. He took a major pay cut, going from $7.3MM to $75K annually, but he was “burned out” by the always-on nature of his previous job. He was already advising the school on its search for the new position, as well as doing most of the work the job entailed.

“What I was doing, it just wasn’t fulfilling anymore,” Woj said. “I was just done. This is what gets me excited. To learn something new, to be part of something like this. It’s a whole new challenge.”

Wojnarowski, 55, also revealed that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March, which he alluded to in his retirement statement (“time isn’t in endless supply”), but the prognosis is good — he told Mannix he isn’t experiencing any symptoms, having been diagnosed early, and the cancer is “pretty limited in scope.”

Wojnarowski sent out a tweet addressing the diagnosis. “Appreciate all the kind words and concern but I’m going to be fine. My goal in sharing a prostate cancer diagnosis is to encourage screening and testing among men. Early diagnosis will make all the difference for me —- and many others too.”

There are more interesting details on Woj’s decision in Mannix’s story, which is worth reading in full.

Here are some more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Josh Robbins, Eric Nehm and Kelly Iko of The Athletic weigh in on the awards races thus far for the 2024/25 season. Interestingly, there’s no consensus choice among the three for any of the major awards. For Most Improved Player, Robbins selected Magic forward Franz Wagner, Nehm picked Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, and Iko chose Nuggets wing Christian Braun.
Former NBA forward Luka Samanic, a 2019 first-round pick, has signed with Croatian club KK Cibona, according to the team (Twitter link). The 24-year-old forward, who spent last season with Utah, was born in Zagreb, where the team is based. Fenerbahce reportedly holds Samanic’s EuroLeague rights for the rest of the season, but the Turkish club doesn’t compete in any of the same leagues as his new Croatian team.
Longtime NBA point guard and veteran assistant Nick Van Exel has decided to exit coaching, having co-founded a new agency called 100x Sports, per Marc Stein (Twitter link). Van Exel worked in various player development, scouting and coaching roles for Milwaukee, Memphis, Dallas, and most recently Atlanta over the past decade-plus.

Nuggets’ Vlatko Cancar Undergoes Knee Surgery

December 4th, 2024 at 4:12pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Nuggets reserve forward Vlatko Cancar had a successful left knee scope this week, Denver announced Wednesday (Twitter link). He will be reexamined in eight weeks.

The 6’8″ vet played in just four games this fall for the 11-8 Nuggets, averaging 2.3 points on 57.1% shooting from the floor, including 50% shooting from deep. He had been serving as the third-string, small-ball center behind MVP Nikola Jokic and new free agency acquisition Dario Saric to open the season.

As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post notes, Cancar has been away from the team since injuring the knee in a 122-110 victory over Memphis on November 19. The ailment was initially referred to as a sprain, but Cancar underwent further medical consultation and ultimately landed on an arthroscopic procedure as the best path forward.

The Nuggets selected the Slovenian standout with the No. 49 pick in 2017, though he remained overseas until 2019/20.

Cancar became a full-time rotation player in 2022/23, his best NBA season to date. The 27-year-old subsequently missed the entire ’23/24 season with a torn ACL in the same knee, and has since fallen further down head coach Michael Malone‘s depth chart.

A recovery timeline of eight-plus weeks means Cancar’s comeback will likely happen after this year’s February 6 NBA trade deadline. The forward/center is currently inked to a one-year, $2.1MM veteran’s minimum deal, meaning his money owed would be an afterthought in any deal. Still, he could be added as outgoing money to match salaries as part of a larger transaction for the capped-out Nuggets.

Knockout Round Matchups Set For NBA Cup; Games Scheduled For Non-Quarterfinalists

December 4th, 2024 at 6:27am CST by Luke Adams

Following the conclusion of the group play games in the NBA Cup on Tuesday, the eight teams advancing to the knockout round have been set, and the quarterfinal games have been scheduled.

After the Warriors, Rockets, and Hawks previously clinched spots in the knockout round, the Thunder, Mavericks, Bucks, Knicks, and Magic joined them as a result of Tuesday’s outcomes. The quarterfinal matchups are as follows, per the NBA (Twitter links):

Eastern Conference:

Orlando Magic (No. 4) at Milwaukee Bucks (No. 1): Tuesday, December 10 (7 pm ET)
Atlanta Hawks (No. 3) at New York Knicks (No. 2): Wednesday, December 11 (7 pm ET)

Western Conference:

Dallas Mavericks (No. 4) at Oklahoma City Thunder (No. 1): Tuesday, December 10 (9:30 pm ET)
Golden State Warriors (No. 3) at Houston Rockets (No. 2): Wednesday, December 11 (9:30 pm ET)

While those four games will be played in the home team’s arena, the winners will advance to a neutral site for the final four. The semifinals (Dec. 14) and final (Dec. 17) will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The quarterfinal and semifinal results will count toward each team’s regular season record, whereas the final won’t. A team that loses in the quarterfinals will play the other quarterfinal loser in its conference in newly scheduled regular season games to make sure those clubs get the full 82.

Meanwhile, the 22 teams who did not advance to the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup have each had two regular season games added to their initial 80 to fill that mid-December gap on their schedules.

Here are the newly added games for those clubs, according to the league (Twitter link):

Thursday, December 12:

Detroit Pistons at Boston Celtics (7:30 pm ET)
Toronto Raptors at Miami Heat (7:30 pm ET)
Sacramento Kings at New Orleans Pelicans (8 pm ET)

Friday, December 13:

Washington Wizards at Cleveland Cavaliers (7 pm ET)
Indiana Pacers at Philadelphia 76ers (7 pm ET)
Los Angeles Lakers at Minnesota Timberwolves (8 pm ET)
Brooklyn Nets at Memphis Grizzlies (8 pm ET)
Charlotte Hornets at Chicago Bulls (8 pm ET)
Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets (9 pm ET)
Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz (9:30 pm ET)
San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers (10 pm ET)

Sunday, December 15:

New Orleans Pelicans at Indiana Pacers (5 pm ET)
Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards (6 pm ET)
Minnesota Timberwolves at San Antonio Spurs (7 pm ET)
Portland Trail Blazers at Phoenix Suns (8 pm ET)
Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Lakers (9:30 pm ET)

Monday, December 16:

Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Hornets (7 pm ET)
Miami Heat at Detroit Pistons (7 pm ET)
Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors (7:30 pm ET)
Cleveland Cavaliers at Brooklyn Nets (7:30 pm ET)
Denver Nuggets at Sacramento Kings (10 pm ET)
Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 pm ET)

Veteran NBA Forward Paul Millsap Retiring

December 3rd, 2024 at 1:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA forward Paul Millsap is retiring from basketball after spending 16 seasons in the league, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 47th overall pick in the 2006 draft out of Louisiana Tech, Millsap spent his first seven seasons with the Jazz before signing as a free agent in 2013 with Atlanta. The 6’7″ big man made four straight All-Star teams with the Hawks before leaving for Denver as a free agent in 2017. He played for the Nuggets for four seasons, then spent his final season in 2021/22 with the Nets and Sixers.

Millsap hasn’t played basketball professionally since 2022, but didn’t formally decide to retire until now, at age 39.

Despite being a late second-round pick, Millsap made the All-Rookie Second team in his first NBA season and immediately established himself as an important rotation player for the Jazz, earning Sixth Man of the Year votes in 2009 and 2010, then taking as Utah’s starting power forward when Carlos Boozer left the team in 2010.

While Millsap had several strong seasons with the Jazz, his best years came with the Hawks under head coach Mike Budenholzer, who led the team to four straight playoff seasons during Millsap’s time in Atlanta, including a 60-win season and an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2014/15.

After averaging a career-high 18.1 points per game in his final year with the Hawks, Millsap served as more of a role player than a featured option in Denver, especially after undergoing wrist surgery during his first season with the Nuggets. He started 186 of 215 games he played for the team, but saw his usage rate steadily decline during those four years.

For his career, Millsap averaged 13.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 block in 28.1 minutes per game across 1,085 regular season appearances. According to Charania, he’s one of just eight players in NBA history who accumulated at least 1,000 career steals, 1,000 blocks, and 500 three-pointers.

According to Basketball-Reference, Millsap earned over $195MM in NBA salaries during his 16 years in the league.

Northwest Notes: Timberwolves, Gordon, George, Jazz

December 3rd, 2024 at 9:25am CST by Luke Adams

The legal battle that will determine who controls the Timberwolves won’t be resolved until January at the earliest, sources tell Eben Novy-Williams and Michael McCann of Sportico.

As Sportico’s duo explains, the legal representatives for current team owner Glen Taylor and prospective owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez will answer “final questions of clarification” from the three-person arbitration panel handling the case in early January. The panel isn’t expected to make its final ruling on the matter until sometime after those questions are answered.

Even when the arbitration process concludes, it likely won’t fully close the books on the Timberwolves’ ownership fight. Novy-Williams and McCann point out that the losing side could petition a federal judge to vacate the arbitration award. Additionally, if the arbitrators rule in favor of Lore and Rodriguez, the new ownership group would still need to be approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

It has been a challenging start to the season for the Timberwolves, but there was no bad body language and there were no concerning post-game quotes after a blowout victory over the Lakers on Monday night. Chris Hine of The Star Tribune has the story on the encouraging win and the good vibes it created.
In his first game back after missing 10 games due to a calf strain, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon came off the bench on a minutes limit on Sunday and served as Nikola Jokic‘s backup, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. While Gordon has been far more effective as the second-string center than Dario Saric, Zeke Nnaji, or DeAndre Jordan have – Denver was +3 with Jokic off the court vs. the Clippers – he’s the least sustainable option to continue as the backup five over a full 82-game season, given his typical role alongside Jokic, Durando notes.
Outside of his subpar shooting percentages (.375 FG%, .336 3PT%), turnovers and defense have also been issues for Keyonte George, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, who suggests that the second-year Jazz guard hasn’t inspired confidence as a ball-handling point guard and doesn’t shoot well enough to be a full-time shooting guard. George is still just 21 years old and works hard, Larsen writes, but will have to make significant strides to become the player the Jazz hoped they were getting when he was drafted in 2023.
Jazz head coach Will Hardy conceded he made a mistake in calling a timeout on Sunday before Collin Sexton had a chance to attempt what would’ve been a go-ahead basket in the final seconds of Utah’s game vs. the Lakers (Twitter video link). After the game, Sexton said he understood why Hardy made the decision he did and didn’t blame him at all. As Tony Jones of The Athletic writes, while the one-point loss was a tough pill to swallow, the mature way the moment was handled showed there’s trust between the head coach and his players, an important sign in a challenging rebuilding year.

Northwest Notes: Hartenstein, Holmgren, Wolves, Nuggets

December 1st, 2024 at 8:15pm CST by Rory Maher

One of the prominent free agents of the 2024 offseason, Isaiah Hartenstein has been terrific for the Thunder since he returned from a left hand fracture, averaging 14.3 points, 14.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 blocks in his first four games with the team (32.0 minutes per contest).

Since he was injured to open 2024/25 and Chet Holmgren subsequently sustained a pelvic fracture that will keep him sidelined for at least a couple months, the two big men have yet to play alongside each other in the regular season.

In a lengthy interview with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Hartenstein expressed confidence that his game will complement Holmgren’s once he returns, noting that his injured teammate is in “good spirits” as he continues to recover.

“Offensively, he’s really good with handling the ball,” Hartenstein said of Holmgren. “He can play that four position. So having that versatility with two big guys, especially defensively, is the biggest thing. You have two great rim protectors. He knows how to play the game. He’s smart. I think things can be really good when he comes back. We have different games. I’m probably more physical and will probably try to get other guys more open. He’s probably playing more on the outside. It’s similar, but different in the same way.”

Here’s more from the Northwest:

All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards had some pointed words for his Timberwolves teammates after they lost their fourth straight game earlier this week (they snapped that skid with a one-point victory over the Clippers on Friday). Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid recently responded to Edwards’ comments, particularly about the team being thin-skinned, as Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes. Alexander-Walker said the team misses the leadership of veteran forward Kyle Anderson, who landed with Golden State in free agency. “It’s a different team and dynamic, when you look at the team a season ago,” Alexander-Walker said. “Different personalities. Lost Kyle, who was a very, very vocal person in the locker room. He was kind of the glue to a lot of that stuff. It put guys in a position where now Ant is more vocal than ever. This is his first year doing so.”
Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. has taken on an increased offensive role this season. Bennett Durando of The Denver Post takes a look at how Porter, who has undergone multiple major surgeries over the years, is still improving his game with the help of an unorthodox workout regimen.
Former first-round pick Peyton Watson will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next offseason. He recently discussed a number of topics with Sportskeeda contributor Grant Afseth, including his growing confidence as a member of the Nuggets‘ starting lineup — a role that will likely end soon, with Aaron Gordon officially ready to return to action on Sunday (Twitter link via the team).