Denver Nuggets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Scotto’s Latest: Bucks, Vucevic, Ball, Martin, Sims, Hunter

February 4th, 2025 at 4:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks‘ conversations on the trade market leading up to the February 6 deadline have centered around Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton, and MarJon Beauchamp, along with their 2031 first-round pick, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Middleton, Portis, and Connaughton hold player options for the 2025/26 season worth $34MM, $13.4MM, and $9.4MM, respectively. The expectation, Scotto writes, is that Middleton and Connaughton will pick up their options, locking in those cap hits for next season. Portis’ intentions aren’t known, per Scotto, but if he opts out, he’d presumably do so in search of a raise.

With Middleton having battled injuries, Portis potentially a free agent this summer, Connaughton having a down year, and Beauchamp not in the rotation, the value of the Bucks’ top trade candidates is limited, but that 2031 first-rounder would certainly be coveted on the trade market.

According to Scotto, in the two weeks since the Suns traded their 2031 first-round pick for three less valuable first-rounders, a handful of NBA executives have expressed interest in trying to work out a similar deal with the Bucks.

Here are a few more rumors of interest from Scotto:

Scotto checks in on Bulls trade candidates Nikola Vucevic and Lonzo Ball, writing that there’s a “growing sense” that Vucevic could be on the move this week, with the Warriors and Lakers among his rumored suitors.
As for Ball, the Grizzlies, Pistons, and Timberwolves are among the teams with interest, Scotto writes. Minnesota, a second-apron team, likely doesn’t have a realistic path to acquiring Ball in a trade, and Scotto does note that some clubs are monitoring the situation to see whether the Bulls guard could end up on the buyout market. Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported earlier today that Chicago is resistant to the idea of buying out Ball.
In general, Scotto says, the Bulls want to avoid taking on long-term salary in trades as they look to create more cap flexibility in the coming years.
Besides Milwaukee, whose interest was reported earlier today, the Lakers and the Nuggets are among the teams with some trade interest in Hornets wing Cody Martin, league sources tell Scotto.
Meanwhile, the Lakers, Clippers, and Bucks are among the teams to register some level of interest in Knicks center Jericho Sims, while Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter has drawn interest from the Cavaliers, Scotto reports.

Begley’s Latest: Knicks, Theis, Sims, Nets, Brogdon, Cavs, Raptors

February 4th, 2025 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Confirming that the Knicks have inquired on Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas and Sixers big man Guerschon Yabusele, Ian Begley of SNY.tv adds Pelicans veteran Daniel Theis to the list of bigs New York has checked in on.

As Begley writes, the Knicks may turn out not to need another center if Mitchell Robinson is able to return in February and stays healthy. But Robinson was only just cleared for contact and will need some time to get into game shape, so the team won’t know by Thursday’s trade deadline what it can realistically expect from him for the rest of the season.

With that in mind, the Knicks will continue to browse the market for possible frontcourt reinforcements, though they’ll face competition, according to Begley, who notes that the Lakers are also seeking a center and the Nuggets are on the lookout for a backup big man of their own.

Begley believes that Knicks center Jericho Sims will end up being traded by the deadline. Sims is on an expiring contract and hasn’t established himself as a reliable rotation option for head coach Tom Thibodeau, so it’s possible he could be sent out in a deal for a more trustworthy veteran. He could legally be traded straight up for Yabusele, Begley notes, though the Sixers would certainly want more than just Sims in return for the Frenchman.

Here’s more from Begley:

While the Nets‘ biggest trade chip is Cameron Johnson, teams monitoring the situation are skeptical that any suitor will make a strong enough offer this week to pry him out of Brooklyn, Begley writes. Elsewhere on the Nets’ front, center Day’Ron Sharpe is generating some interest, Begley adds, with the Clippers among the teams who have done background work on Sharpe.
Begley reports that the Lakers and Clippers are among the teams that had Wizards guard Malcolm Brogdon on their radar earlier this season. However, after their recent deals, neither Los Angeles team is particularly well positioned to match Brogdon’s $22.5MM cap hit, so it’s unclear whether that interest persists. The Clippers, operating below the tax aprons, would be eligible to sign Brogdon in the event he reaches the buyout market. but the Lakers wouldn’t be since they’re over the first apron.
There has been some speculation that the Cavaliers may make a trade to get out of luxury tax territory, but they’ve signaled to teams that they’re not looking to move forward Georges Niang in a salary dump, says Begley.
According to Begley, the Raptors have a deal lined up to trade one of their players into cap space “if the need arises.” It’s impossible to know exactly what that sort of move would look like without more details, but I’d speculate it would only be necessary if Toronto gets involved in a bigger multi-team deal and needs to send out salary for matching purposes that none of their other trade partners wants to take on. Although Begley’s reference to “cap space” suggests Detroit – the only team with actual cap space – may be involved, there are a number of teams with exceptions available to take on smaller contracts, like Utah did with Jalen Hood-Schifino in the Luka Doncic mega-deal.

Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo Earn Player Of The Month Honors

February 4th, 2025 at 2:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Two superstars with five Most Valuable Player awards between them have been named the NBA’s Players of the Month for January. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic earned the honor for the Western Conference, while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo won it in the East (Twitter links).

Jokic came out on top of a group of nominees that included Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, Jalen Green, James Harden, Norman Powell, Jaren Jackson Jr., Domantas Sabonis, and Victor Wembanyama, as well as Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who won the award for both Oct./Nov. and Dec.

Jokic comfortably averaged a triple-double in January, with 27.0 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 11.4 assists in 34.8 minutes per game across 14 outings. He also had red-hot .585/.440/.857 shooting line and added 1.9 steals per night as Denver went 10-4 in games he played. The team was 1-2 without him.

Over in the East, Antetokounmpo was selected over fellow nominees Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, Darius Garland, Tyrese Maxey, Tyrese Haliburton, and Pascal Siakam.

The Bucks star led his team to a 9-6 record for the month, scoring 30.5 points per game on 60.0% shooting from the floor. He also registered averages of 13.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks per contest.

Antetokounmpo is the third different Eastern Conference Player of the Month so far this season, joining Tatum (Oct./Nov.) and Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns (Dec.).

Nuggets’ Malone: “We’re Not Trading Michael Porter”

February 4th, 2025 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

Michael Porter Jr. enjoyed his best game of the season on Monday, pouring in 36 points in 40 minutes en route to a 12-point victory over New Orleans. After the win, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was asked if he’s touched base with Porter more frequently ahead of the February 6 deadline, given that the veteran forward has been the subject of trade rumors this season.

According to Malone, there has been no need to do so, since Porter isn’t going anywhere (story via Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette).

“No, because we’re not trading Michael Porter,” Malone said (Twitter video link via DNVR Sports). “So, I’m not touching base with anybody on that. I’m touching base with guys on better defense, better spacing, taking care of the ball. If there’s something coming, obviously (general manager) Calvin (Booth) will talk with me and I’m sure we’ll communicate with whatever players.

“But Michael is a really important piece. Michael helped us win a championship. We’ll see what happens going into this coming Thursday, but to my knowledge, there have been no conversations. I don’t feel the need to converse with somebody when there’s nothing there.”

Porter, who spoke to the media after Malone, said that his coach’s message is the same one he’s heard from the organization ahead of the deadline and told reporters, “From what I’ve heard, they’re not interested in moving me” (Twitter video link).

Pointing to the unpredictability of the NBA, he acknowledged that could change, but said he’s not stressing out about the possibility.

“As long as I’m here, I’m gonna be here, and I’m gonna be happy,” Porter said. “I’m gonna play hard and try to be available and try to help win games. If the day came where they wanted to trade me and they they wanted to go a different direction, then I’ll be excited for the new opportunity, but it’s not something I think about at all.”

After battling back issues earlier in his NBA career, Porter has been an iron man for Denver over the past two seasons, missing just one game since the start of the 2023/24 campaign. He’s having one of his best seasons a pro in ’24/25, putting up 18.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and a career-high 2.2 assists in 33.3 minutes per night, with a strong shooting line of .513/.408/.744.

Porter has been mentioned as a possible trade candidate because he’s the most expendable player of the four Nuggets earning more than $8.9MM this season (Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon are the others). His $36MM cap hit would likely be required for salary-matching purposes for any sizable deal Denver wanted to make.

If Porter isn’t going anywhere, the Nuggets will likely explore smaller deals, possibly involving Zeke Nnaji ($8.9MM) and/or Dario Saric ($5.2MM), though both players are thought to have negative trade value due to their limited roles and multiyear contracts.

Nuggets’ Watson Out At Least Four Weeks With Sprained Knee

February 3rd, 2025 at 12:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets will be without Peyton Watson for at least the rest of February, announcing today (via Twitter) that the reserve forward has been diagnosed with a right knee sprain.

Watson, who sustained the injury on Friday in the fourth quarter of Denver’s win over Philadelphia (video link), will be reevaluated in four weeks, according to the team.

A 2022 first-round pick, Watson has further solidified his place in the rotation in his third year with the Nuggets after averaging 18.6 minutes per game across 80 appearances in 2023/24. Through 48 games this season, he has averaged 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 24.1 minutes per night, with a .471/.340/.752 shooting line.

Watson has been one of Denver’s more effective wing defenders, so his absence will have an adverse impact on the team on that end of the floor.

Julian Strawther, Jalen Pickett, and Zeke Nnaji are among the candidates to play increased roles during Watson’s absence. All three players saw more action than usual in Saturday’s win in Charlotte, with Nnaji logging a season-high 22 minutes.

Denver is also currently missing guard Russell Westbrook, who will be out for a second straight game on Monday vs. New Orleans due to a strained left hamstring.

Northwest Notes: Strawther, Westbrook, Thunder, Garza, Henderson

February 1st, 2025 at 8:16am CST by Tristan Tucker

Nuggets guard Julian Strawther is establishing himself as a reliable part of Denver’s rotation and an outside scoring threat, Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes. The second-year Gonzaga product is averaging 9.4 points per game while shooting 37.9% from deep, giving the Nuggets a clear-cut eighth option for their rotation.

For Strawther to maintain his role in coach Michael Malone‘s rotation heading into the playoffs, Denver will need to ensure his development continues at a steady pace, Durando writes.

“What I love about that kid is his work ethic,” Malone said. “He was in our gym every day this summer. And I’m not making that up. Sometimes you hear these stories. They’re inflated. Julian Strawther was in our gym every day this summer.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Russell Westbrook exited Denver’s game against the Sixers on Friday night due to hamstring tightness and did not return, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reports. Westbrook didn’t appear to have a limp and it’s unclear if he’ll miss any additional time due to the injury. If he does, Christian Braun would reenter the starting lineup in his place.
If the Thunder make a trade at the deadline, it should be a move on the margins and not one that impacts the team chemistry of a squad that has a real shot at winning a title, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman opines. Mussatto comes up with three potential trades, including one for Nets forward Cameron Johnson. Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado and Hawks guard Garrison Mathews are two lower-cost targets suggested by Mussatto.
Timberwolves backup big Luka Garza has a history of big performances against Utah, Chris Hine of The Star Tribune observes. In five career games against the Jazz, Garza holds career averages of 12.2 points per game on 58.8% shooting from three, his most against any team. On Thursday, Garza stepped up with Donte DiVincenzo, Mike Conley and Julius Randle dealing with injuries, scoring 16 points.
Trail Blazers second-year guard Scoot Henderson is putting together more and more good-to-great games and he’s growing as a leader for Portland, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian writes. In 16 games in January, Henderson averaged 14.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and 43.8% from three. “His energy has been crazy,” teammate Deandre Ayton said. “He’s becoming a true point guard, being very vocal, talking to everybody.”

Celtics, Knicks, Nuggets Among Teams Registering Interest In Yabusele

January 30th, 2025 at 7:39pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Celtics, Knicks, Nuggets and others have called the Sixers to express interest in trading for forward Guerschon Yabusele, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto writes.

As we relayed earlier this week, the Sixers reportedly “love” the French forward, but his impending unrestricted free agent status gives the team plenty to think about at this deadline.

Yabusele is averaging 10.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game so far this season while shooting 50.2% from the field and 39.3% from three. He’s been a crucial part of a Sixers team that has been ravaged by injuries. Yabusele entered Thursday with 22 starts under his belt.

After Yabusele’s $2.09MM salary expires this offseason, he’ll have no shortage of suitors in free agency. The Sixers only hold his Non-Bird rights, so they’re limited in what they can offer him unless they use their mid-level exception — they’ll likely only have the taxpayer form of the MLE.

As Scotto writes, given that the Sixers are 19-27 and currently on the outside looking in for the play-in tournament (though they’re tied with the Bulls), contending teams are calling about Philadelphia’s veterans. Not only would Yabusele bolster any playoff rotation, but his team-friendly contract this year could offer savings for contenders looking to cut costs.

Yabusele isn’t the only player generating interest on the trade market. As we wrote on Monday, Eric Gordon is also receiving interest. Scotto reports that rivals have checked in on Andre Drummond, Kelly Oubre and, notably, Caleb Martin as well. Martin signed a four-year, $35MM deal with Philadelphia this summer — if the Sixers decide to sell their veterans, he would be one of the more coveted players on the block.

Drummond has a player option worth $5MM next year while Oubre has one worth about $8.38MM.

Despite what sounds like healthy interest in players who would make sense to sell for a team interested in draft position, I’m somewhat skeptical the Sixers would proceed with a full-blown fire sale. For starters, as mentioned, Philadelphia is tied with the Bulls for 10th in the East. They’re also just four games out of the sixth seed, entering Thursday. While nothing has gone according to plan for Philadelphia this year, the team remains in position to claim a postseason appearance with better health luck moving forward. The Sixers are on a four-game winning streak, for what it’s worth.

The Sixers’ draft pick in this class is also protected, but only if it lands in the top six. While it’s not unheard of for teams with low odds to win big and move into the top four, the Sixers have likely already won too many games to truly bottom out and end up as one of the league’s worst six teams record-wise. And even if the Sixers did end up with one of the six worst records, there’s still a chance that pick falls out of their hands and into the Thunder’s if they’re leap-frogged by a team with lower odds on lottery night.

If the Sixers envision themselves as contenders next year, it would make sense to keep players like Martin, Oubre and Yabusele who can contribute to winning with a healthier roster.

Northwest Notes: Braun, Gordon, SGA, Jazz, Avdija, Camara

January 30th, 2025 at 8:08am CST by Luke Adams

After bringing forward Aaron Gordon off the bench in his first eight games back from a calf strain, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone reinserted Gordon into the starting lineup on Wednesday vs. New York.

Rather than replacing Russell Westbrook, who was a reserve for the first couple months of the season, Gordon supplanted third-year guard Christian Braun, who had started each of his first 45 games of 2024/25 and just set a personal career high with 28 points on Monday.

“Never an easy decision. Christian Braun has been great for us this year. Not good. He’s been great,” Malone said after the game, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “And he’s done everything that’s been asked of him.

“But I just like keeping Russell out there. I think the Russ-and-Nikola (Jokic) dynamic is the best two-man combination in the NBA right now, and I didn’t want to disrupt their rhythm. Knowing that CB, whether he comes off the bench and plays 29 minutes like he did tonight, or he starts, he’s going to give us the same thing every night. We need that. … I applaud CB’s understanding of what we’re trying to do.”

Braun had 13 points of 4-of-8 shooting in his first game as a reserve. He was a team-worst minus-18, though that could be at least partially attributed to the fact that the Nuggets’ rotation were thrown for a loop early in the game when Jokic picked up two quick fouls and was replaced by Braun. The 23-year-old told reporters, including Durando, that he’s willing to do “whatever I’m called to do” by the team and earned praise from Malone for how he handled the move.

“Was he celebrating? Was he shaking his pom-poms? No, of course,” Malone said. “He’s a competitor. He wants to be out there. He wants to start. But what you love about Christian Braun is he’s going to do whatever you ask him to do, and whatever is best for the team.”

Malone added that the lineup change isn’t necessarily permanent.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

After not reaching the 50-point mark in any of his first 427 NBA regular season games, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has done it twice in his past four outings. One week after he scored 54 points in a win over Utah, the star guard poured in 52 against Golden State on Wednesday, but it wasn’t enough to get the Thunder a victory, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes. “It sucks. Me personally, I play to win,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Winning comes first and foremost, and if I don’t win, I am not satisfied. So maybe my 52 points tonight wasn’t in the best interest of the team.”
The Jazz‘s decision to elevate Isaiah Collier to the starting lineup and move Keyonte George to the bench was less about rewarding Collier for his play so far this season and more about sending a “wake-up call” to George, writes Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. George has continued to play a significant role as part of Utah’s second unit, averaging 32.0 minutes per game in his first three appearances as a reserve.
Forwards Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara have been the Trail Blazers‘ two best players for much of the season and have established themselves as long-term building blocks, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Substack link), who says the duo’s strong play has been one of the brightest spots in another lottery-bound season in Portland.
While Camara has improved his scoring numbers this season (10.0 points per game with a .349 3PT%), his defense is his calling card. Jason Quick of The Athletic takes a closer look at Camara’s impact on that side of the ball, speaking to several of his opponents about what they see in the young Trail Blazers forward. “He’s a dog, for real!” Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan said of Camara. “I just love the way he picks up full court. He doesn’t give a f–k who he is guarding. He just wants to play defense, and you don’t really see that often here in the NBA anymore.”

Scotto’s Latest: Clippers, Boucher, Brown, Nurkic

January 28th, 2025 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers are currently operating about $2.5MM above the luxury tax threshold and would like to duck below that line at the trade deadline, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

That’s not surprising, given that the Clippers were a taxpayer in each of the previous four seasons and are now subject to repeater taxpayer penalties. Getting out of tax territory wouldn’t just save them from paying repeater rates in 2024/25 — it would also be the first step toward resetting the repeater clock for future seasons.

Clippers forward P.J. Tucker and guard Bones Hyland are the team’s two most obvious trade chips in any cost-cutting deal. Both players are on expiring contracts, with Tucker – who has been away from the team – earning $11.5MM, while Hyland – who has had a very limited role – making $4.2MM. Scotto classifies both players as “available,” which feels like an understatement. i don’t expect either player could be moved without a sweetener.

According to Scotto, a best-case scenario for the Clippers would be to duck the tax while also adding a backup big man to fortify their depth chart. If they’re able to create an open spot on their 15-man roster and have enough room below the tax, second-year forward Jordan Miller remains a candidate to be promoted from his two-way deal, as Scotto previously reported.

Scotto adds that the Clippers are looking to avoid taking on any contracts that run beyond 2025/26, since they’re prioritizing cap flexibility for the summer of ’26.

Here’s more from Scotto:

The Nuggets, Clippers, and Knicks are among the teams to register some level of interest in Raptors big man Chris Boucher, Scotto reports. Boucher is on an expiring $10.8MM contract.
Scotto confirms that Raptors wing Bruce Brown, who has a $23MM expiring contract, is a candidate to be included in a multi-team Jimmy Butler trade, as has been previously reported. There are a number of playoff-caliber teams hoping that Brown ends up being bought out after the deadline instead, Scotto adds.
The Suns are exploring the possibility of attaching one of their newly acquired first-round picks to center Jusuf Nurkic in order to land a quality rotation player via trade, sources tell HoopsHype. Scotto says Phoenix doesn’t view Nurkic as a salary dump and believes he’ll have more value on the trade market in the summer as he enters the final year of his contract. While I agree he may be easier to move in the summer, it’s hard to imagine Nurkic having positive or even neutral trade value at that point due to his $19.4MM cap hit for 2025/26.

Nuggets Notes: Gordon, Starters, Trade Needs

January 27th, 2025 at 7:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon claims his lingering calf injury doesn’t bother him anymore, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. The veteran big man has been playing under a minutes restriction, but it sounds like he’s eager to change that.

“I’m ready,” Gordon said. “I don’t feel my calf anymore. Yeah. I’m ready. So it’s on the training staff and the coaching staff now.”

Gordon has yet to play more than 25 minutes in a contest since returning from the calf injury on January 12. Durando notes that staggering the minutes of Gordon and Jokic has had an intriguing benefit for Denver — the Nuggets sport a +9.5 net rating when Gordon plays without Jokic. Denver has historically suffered when its three-time MVP, who generally plays alongside Gordon, sits. The 6’8″ forward is the 2023 champs’ top defender, as well as a savvy and efficient post scorer.

“We just need to continue to stay with it,” head coach Michael Malone said of the team’s current strategy. “Bring him off the bench for the time being, and utilize him in any way we can to help us get wins.”

There’s more out of Denver:

As Gordon’s health continues to improve, it begs the question of just when — or if — he should be returned to the Nuggets’ starting five. The Denver Post’s Troy Renck and Bennett Durando consider whether or not such a move should happen, and how it would impact the way in which Denver approaches this year’s trade deadline. Russell Westbrook has been starting ahead of Gordon lately, with forward Michael Porter Jr. playing up a position to accommodate the extra guard.
After a middling 11-10 start to the season, with Jokic averaging 37.7 minutes a night, the Nuggets hardly looked like they’d have much left in the tank for the playoffs. But something has shifted lately. Now, Denver is 28-17, currently good for the Western Conference’s No. 4 seed. In another story for The Denver Post, Durando assesses the team’s needs at the trade deadline, suggesting that a frontcourt upgrade or some long-range bench sniping could help improve the team for the 2024/25 home stretch.
In case you missed it, Jokic continues to make a case for earning his second consecutive MVP award this spring — and his fourth in five years.