- Collin Gillespie is eager to show the Nuggets what he can do after suffering a lower left leg fracture last summer, writes Ryan McFadden of The Denver Post. Gillespie received a two-way contract and remained on Denver’s roster even though he wasn’t able to play. “When I got injured, I was like ‘Man, this is not good,’” he said. “But it just tells you about the organization (and) what kind of people they are. It’s a special organization. I was extremely grateful that they stuck with me.”
The Nuggets are signing rookie second-round pick Hunter Tyson to a four-year, $7.7MM contract, reports Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link). The first three seasons are guaranteed, according to Singer, with a fourth-year team option.
As with Jalen Pickett, a fellow rookie second-rounder, the Nuggets are using the new second-round pick exception to complete the signing. That enables them to offer a four-year deal.
Tyson spent five college seasons with Clemson before Denver selected him 37th overall in last month’s draft. The 23-year-old had by far his best season in 2022/23 as a “super senior,” averaging 15.3 points and 9.6 rebounds on .479/.405/.835 shooting in 34 games (34.7 minutes) for the Tigers.
The Nuggets will have 15 players on standard deals once their third draft pick, first-rounder Julian Strawther, signs his rookie scale deal, Singer notes (via Twitter). Collin Gillespie, who missed his entire rookie season following a leg fracture last summer, is expected to return on a two-way deal and play regularly, per Singer. Gillespie is a restricted free agent after he was given a qualifying offer.
The Nuggets have reached an agreement with second-round pick Jalen Pickett on a four-year contract that will be worth $8.4MM and will be guaranteed for the first three seasons, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
A 6’4″ guard, Pickett played three college seasons at Siena, then transferred to Penn State for two years. As a “super-senior” in 2022/23, he filled up the box score with 17.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game with a .508/.381/.763 shooting line in 37 contests (36.6 MPG). He was a consensus second-team All-American and made the All-Big Ten first team.
Denver put itself in position to draft Pickett by reaching a deal with the Pacers to acquire the No. 29 and No. 32 picks in the draft in exchange for No. 40 and a 2024 first-rounder. The Nuggets used the 32nd overall pick on Pickett, whose extensive college experience should put him in position to compete for a spot in the second unit as a rookie.
The Nuggets are using their taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Reggie Jackson, but are able to sign Pickett to a deal worth more than the minimum – and covering four seasons – thanks to the NBA’s new second-round pick exception. The final year on his contract will be a team option.
Free agent guard Darren Collison didn’t play in the NBA at all last season and has appeared in just three games since 2019, but he hasn’t given up on earning a spot on an opening-night roster this fall. According to Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link), Collison worked out last week for the Suns and had a “great showing.”
The Suns, who entered free agency with eight players under contract, have reached deals with seven free agents, so they project to have a full 15-man roster. However, Haynes says the club continues to be “aggressive” in seeking role players.
One way Phoenix could open up a roster spot is by waiving or trading Isaiah Todd, whose inclusion in the Bradley Beal trade seemed to be more about Washington moving off his guaranteed 2023/24 salary than the Suns specifically targeting him. Still, any form of salary dump will be costly for a Suns team that projects to be well over the tax line and doesn’t have any future draft picks left to trade.
Here are a few more notes related to free agency:
- The Warriors withdrew their qualifying offer to Ty Jerome, while the Nuggets did the same with Jack White, per RealGM’s transactions log. Reports on Saturday indicated that Jerome had reached a contract agreement with the Cavaliers and that White is poised to sign with the Thunder. With those qualifying offers no longer on the table, the two players are no longer restricted free agents, clearing the path for them to freely join their new teams as unrestricted FAs.
- Once coveted for its power to attract a top free agent, maximum-salary cap room no longer has the cachet it once did, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who notes that the Rockets were the only team this summer to use a significant chunk of cap space to sign a marquee free agent (Fred VanVleet) to a huge, multiyear deal. Most other teams with room have used it for trades, renegotiations, or smaller (and/or shorter-term) signings. As Hollinger observes, the new contract extension rules in the 2017 CBA have resulted in fewer stars reaching the open market, with 2019 standing out as the last big summer of free agent movement.
- Warriors guards Chris Paul and Stephen Curry are 38 and 35 years old, respectively, and have each dealt with injuries over the years. The addition of Cory Joseph, who agreed to a one-year deal with Golden State on Sunday, will help ensure that those veteran stars get the rest they need during the regular season, according to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area, who takes a closer look at what Joseph will bring to the team.
JULY 6: The Nuggets have officially signed Holiday, according to the transaction log at NBA.com.
JULY 2: Veteran swingman Justin Holiday has found a new home in free agency, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), who reports that Holiday has agreed to sign a one-year contract with the defending champion Nuggets.
A 10-year NBA veteran, Holiday will be joining the 10th team of his career. The 34-year-old has 622 regular season games under his belt, including 46 last season for the Hawks and Mavericks. He averaged 4.5 points and 1.2 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per game in limited roles for the two teams.
Holiday isn’t a big-time scorer, but can make an outside shot (.363 career 3PT%) and is a solid, versatile wing defender with good size (6’6″). He should be a good fit in the Nuggets’ locker room as another veteran leader, even if he may not play a whole lot, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post tweets.
Because they’ve committed their $5MM taxpayer mid-level exception to Reggie Jackson, the Nuggets are limited to offering minimum-salary contracts to outside free agents. Singer confirms that’s what Holiday will receive (Twitter link).
Holiday will earn just shy of $3.2MM on a veteran’s minimum contract, while Denver will take on a cap hit of about $2.02MM.
- After losing Bruce Brown in free agency to Indiana, the Nuggets have a huge hole to fill in their rotation. Jones explores how Denver will fill up those available minutes. Reggie Jackson, who is re-signing with the club on a two-year deal, is slated to be the backup point guard. Christian Braun will see his minutes expand, presumably as a combo guard. Denver could also add another piece via free agency to improve its depth.
JULY 6: Brown has officially signed with the Pacers, the team announced today (via Twitter).
JUNE 30: Fresh off a championship run with the Nuggets, Bruce Brown is leaving Denver for Indiana, per Alex Golden of Setting The Pace (Twitter link).
Brown is getting a significant pay raise from the Pacers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link). He’ll sign a two-year contract worth $45MM, agents Ty Sullivan and Steven Heumann tell ESPN’s duo.
According to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link), Brown’s new deal will include a second-year team option, so it sounds like only the first year will be guaranteed. Still, it’s a huge pay bump for Brown, who had only earned a total of $15MM across his first five NBA seasons.
Having signed with the Nuggets last summer following a two-year stint in Brooklyn, Brown averaged a career-best 11.5 points per night on .483/.358/.758 shooting in 80 games (28.5 MPG) this past season.
The 26-year-old also contributed 4.1 RPG and 3.4 APG while handling a variety of defensive assignments. In the postseason, he played the most minutes of any Denver reserve, bumping his scoring average to 12.0 PPG while shooting 51.1% from the floor.
Because Brown signed with the Nuggets just one year ago, the team only held his Non-Bird rights, which limited their maximum offer to about $7.8MM, a 20% raise on his previous $6.5MM salary. The club reportedly made that offer, but it didn’t come close to the deal the Pacers put on the table.
Brown was the No. 14 free agent on our top-50 list. His deal will come out of Indiana’s cap room. The team still projects to have nearly $15MM in space after accounting for Brown’s contract, tweets Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype.
The Pacers may be prepared to offer Nuggets free agent Bruce Brown a contract worth more than $20MM per season, sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
Brown has become one of the hottest names on the free agent market, and several teams are hoping to land him with the $12.4MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Brown has reportedly scheduled meetings with five teams — the Knicks, Rockets, Mavericks and Lakers as well as Indiana. The Cavaliers and Timberwolves also consider Brown their top target, according to Fischer.
The Pacers have roughly $30MM in cap room, so signing Brown would account for most of that and would take them out of the running for other free agents, such as Heat shooting guard Max Strus.
Returning to Denver is also in play for Brown, according to Fischer, although the Nuggets can only pay him $7.8MM next season. Brown would be eligible to earn more than $50MM over four years from Denver next summer, which is still well short of the Pacers’ reported offer.
Nuggets free agent Bruce Brown will meet with the Knicks, Rockets, Pacers, Mavericks and Lakers when free agency begins later today, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
Indiana was identified Thursday as a team to watch in the race for Brown. The Pacers have upwards of $30MM in cap room and can offer Brown more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Houston is the only other team among those five that can exceed the MLE for the versatile guard, but the Rockets reportedly are focused on other targets.
The Lakers remain confident about their chances to land Brown with the MLE, but there are also indications that he may be open to a return to Denver, even though the Nuggets are limited to a $7.8MM offer with his non-Bird rights.
Unrestricted free agent Nuggets forward Bruce Brown plans to meet with the Mavericks at the start of free agency on Friday, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).
Many teams appear primed to pursue Brown, according to MacMahon (Twitter link), who anticipates his market to be around the $12.4MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception, if not higher. The Lakers are one suitor said to be confident about their chances. MacMahon adds that Brown may be open to taking a discount to return to the champs, who only have his Non-Bird rights available, which would cap them at a $7.8MM offer for next season.
The 6’4″ vet proved invaluable as a versatile, defense-first sixth man during Denver’s 16-4 run to the title this spring. Across 20 playoff games off the bench, he averaged 12.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.1 SPG and 0.5 BPG.
Here are more of the latest free agent rumors from around the league:
- After opting not to retain shooting guard Malik Beasley and center Mohamed Bamba, the Lakers now project to remain well below the $172MM tax apron for 2023/24, which will enable them to use the full $12.4MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN, suggesting that Brown and Brook Lopez will be among Los Angeles’ targets. According to McMenamin (via Twitter), the Lakers may also consider adding more than one player with its mid-level exception money. In that scenario, point guard Dennis Schröder and shooting guard Eric Gordon could be targets, sources tell McMemamin.
- Gordon is looking to land with a contender that will have a defined rotation gig for his services, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Beyond the Lakers, sources tell The Athletic that the Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Bucks, Suns, and Trail Blazers have some interest.
- After declining to tender a qualifying offer to center Omer Yurtseven, the Heat don’t appear to be focused on trying to re-sign him to a minimum-salary deal, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). “We’re grateful we got a chance to be there,” agent Keith Glass said, per Jackson. “We’ll try to find a place that values him and helps him reach his potential.”
- Free agent power forward Kyle Kuzma appears more likely to end up with the Rockets than the Kings, but Sacramento shouldn’t be ruled out entirely as a Kuzma landing spot, per James Ham of Kings Beat. Sources inform Ham that the Kings’ own incumbent free agent starting power forward, Harrison Barnes, is hoping to earn a deal that pays him $20MM annually.