Denver Nuggets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Clippers Notes: Westbrook, George, Zubac, Hyland

February 24th, 2023 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The day after the trade deadline, star forward Paul George told reporters that he wanted Russell Westbrook to end up with the Clippers. Two weeks later, with Westbrook on the verge of making his Clippers debut, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suggested on his Hoop Collective podcast that George’s advocacy for the former MVP was the driving force behind the team’s decision to sign him.

“From what I understand, they were internally against (signing Westbrook) at the start,” Windhorst said, per RealGM. “Paul pushed for it publicly and privately. Kawhi (Leonard) supported it. And they looked more into it and they were like ‘Well, you know, there are some things he can potentially help us with. One of the things that’s a factor for us is we tend to kind of get a little loaf-y.’ They talked themselves into it, is the long story short.”

Windhorst’s reporting doesn’t come as a real surprise — comments made by president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank after the trade deadline indicated he wasn’t initially targeting a player like Westbrook. Frank spoke about wanting a point guard who wouldn’t be very ball dominant and who has “got to be able to shoot.” Westbrook, a 29.6% three-point shooter this season, is at his best with the ball in his hands.

Still, as Windhorst alluded to, and as ESPN’s Zach Lowe writes in an Insider-only story, the Clippers only rank 20th in the NBA in drives this season and are tied for 23rd in shots at the rim. Plus, they have more shooting around Westbrook than the Lakers did, so there are reasons to believe the veteran’s fit could be better with L.A. other’s team.

Here’s more on the Clippers:

Ahead of Westbrook’s debut with the Clippers, Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, and Jovan Buha and Law Murray of The Athletic all evaluated the 34-year-old’s potential fit and discussed whether or not they think the match will be a good one.
The Westbrook signing should be viewed as an endorsement for head coach Tyronn Lue and the Clippers’ stars, Murray writes for The Athletic. As Murray explains, the move signals that the front office is willing to listen to its players and trusts Lue to make the best decisions for the team.
The Clippers will be without starting center Ivica Zubac in their first game after the All-Star break on Friday due to a right calf strain, tweets Greif. The injury should open the door for recently acquired big man Mason Plumlee, who played 17 and 18 minutes in his first two games with the Clippers, to take on a bigger role.
Former Nuggets and current Clippers guard Bones Hyland repeatedly cited “miscommunication” as an issue that led to his exit from Denver, where he felt “kicked to the curb,” according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. So far though, communication hasn’t been a problem for Hyland with the Clippers, even though his playing time may take a hit following the addition of Westbrook. “I understand (Lue) has a good plan for me,” Hyland said. “I know he’s not just going to leave me in a desert, man, just by myself. … The first thing he did (after the Westbrook signing) was call me over and talk to me one-on-one. That’s something I respect about Ty Lue.”

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Wolves, Hyland, Jackson, Sexton

February 24th, 2023 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers continued to deal with a number of injury absences as the second half of their season got underway on Thursday night. As Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian writes, Jusuf Nurkic (calf), Justise Winslow (ankle), and Anfernee Simons (ankle) are still on the shelf for Portland.

Nurkic hasn’t returned to practice yet, though Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups said the veteran center is “getting better.” Winslow, meanwhile, has begun taking part in non-contact drills, while Simons is doing weight-bearing activities but no on-court work.

The Trail Blazers opted to give Damian Lillard and Jerami Grant the night off on Thursday following a series of weather-related travel days that saw Portland players spend several hours on the team plane on both Wednesday and Thursday. The club’s resulting starting lineup in Sacramento was an odd one that featured three trade-deadline additions (Cam Reddish, Matisse Thybulle, and Ryan Arcidiacono) along with two reserves (Drew Eubanks and Nassir Little).

While the Blazers lost in Sacramento, Billups liked what he saw from Little, whose 26 points were easily a season high (story via Fentress). Reddish also continued his solid play following the trade that sent him from New York to Portland, scoring 24 points of his own.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

The Timberwolves came close to acquiring Bones Hyland from the Nuggets at this month’s trade deadline, Darren Wolfson of SKOR North said in his podcast The Scoop (hat tip to HoopsHype). According to Wolfson, Minnesota “would have done what the Clippers did” (given up two second-round picks) or even more than that. However, Wolfson believes Denver’s ownership group was reluctant to do any favors for former Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, who now runs Minnesota’s front office.
Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports spoke to Ish Smith, who previously played with Reggie Jackson in Oklahoma City and Detroit, about what the Nuggets‘ newest point guard can bring to the team. Jackson played 18 minutes in his Denver debut on Thursday, scoring seven points to go along with four rebounds and a pair of assists.
Jazz guard Collin Sexton, who strained his left hamstring in the team’s final game before the All-Star break, remains sidelined as a result of that injury. The expectation it that Sexton will be reevaluated on Monday, says Sarah Todd of The Deseret News.

Murray Back; Gordon Still Out With Rib Injury

February 23rd, 2023 at 6:54pm CST by Rory Maher

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray returned to action on Thursday in Cleveland after dealing with knee soreness leading into the break, tweets Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports Radio. Murray had missed the previous six games. Unfortunately, Aaron Gordon remains sidelined with a rib injury, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Head coach Michael Malone said Gordon’s rib issue is “not where I would wish it would be,” according to Singer, who hears from a source (via Twitter) that the rib isn’t fractured, but it’s still limiting Gordon’s effectiveness.

Southwest Notes: Green, Doncic, McCombs, Morant

February 20th, 2023 at 9:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jalen Green has improved his focus in his second season in the league, Rockets assistant coach Rick Higgins told Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

“From year one to year two, he’s a lot more locked in,” Higgins said. “The importance of it, the value of it, what he’s trying to accomplish with it. But he was always very intentional about trying to watch game film to get better, so that was always constant. The main difference is that he’s been more locked in on how it could help him play better each game.”

Green is averaging 21.8 points per game, up from 17.3 during his rookie campaign, though Houston reached the All-Star break with only 13 victories.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Luka Doncic enters the second half of the season as the league’s scoring leader and a top candidate for the Most Valuable Player. However, he’s much more concerned about the ultimate team goal, Jonathan Abrams of the New York Times writes. “I’d rather have the championship than MVP,” the Mavericks superstar said, “but if you win an MVP, it’s amazing, too.”
Former Spurs and Nuggets owner Red McCombs has died at the age of 95, Carmini Danini and Peggy O’Hare of the San Antonio Express-News report. McCombs owned the San Antonio franchise on two separate occasions, selling his stake the second time in 1993. In a league statement, commissioner Adam Silver said “Red McCombs brought the Spurs to San Antonio and was a driving force in creating the modern NBA. He was an innovator and savvy entrepreneur who never shied away from taking risks. We mourn Red’s passing and send our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends and the Spurs organization.”
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant can always deliver a dazzling dunk, but he doesn’t want to do them on All-Star weekend. Morant reiterated over the weekend he’s not interested in participating in the annual dunk contest, Evan Barnes of the Memphis Commercial Appeal relays.

Nikola Jokic Gets MVP Endorsement From Donovan Mitchell

February 18th, 2023 at 8:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

During Saturday’s All-Star media session, Mitchell offered a strong endorsement of Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in the MVP race (video link from Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype). “It’s f—ing outrageous, to be honest,” Mitchell said. “I don’t know how many people have won it three times in a row, but he’s otherworldly right now.”

Northwest Notes: Westbrook, Williams, Hyland, Nuggets Bench

February 17th, 2023 at 10:19pm CST by Rory Maher

Tony Jones of The Athletic believes it’s “very, very unlikely” that Russell Westbrook will ever play a game for the Jazz, noting that the veteran guard wouldn’t receive much playing time as the team prioritizes its younger players (Twitter links).

According to Jones, the two most likely scenarios for Westbrook are securing a buyout if he finds a situation he likes, or remaining on Utah’s roster but away from the team.

While that’s hardly surprising news, it’s still noteworthy that Westbrook might finish the season not actively playing. On the other hand, if he joins another team and things go awry, that could hurt his value ahead of free agency.

The 2016/17 MVP has made over $300MM in his career, so it’s not like he needs more money, but it’s a lot easier for a team to move on from a player who isn’t making much money than one who is. It’s a tricky balance to strike for a decorated player who was often criticized (sometimes unfairly) on his last team.

Here’s more from the Northwest:

Thunder swingman Jalen Williams has flown under the radar a bit in ’22/23, but he’s having an outstanding rookie season, averaging 12.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.9 APG and 1.2 SPG on .508/.324/.759 shooting. He recently spoke to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype about a number of topics, sharing an amusing story about how he first met head coach Mark Daigneault.
Bones Hyland was traded to the Clippers last week after a rocky end to his Nuggets tenure. The second-year guard explained that he had “great communication” with Denver’s front office, but not so much with the coaching staff. “Yeah, I feel like it could’ve been done better on both ends,” Hyland said, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscriber link). “Just more communication. I’ve got so much love for Denver, but I just feel like the communication was just so low. I had a lot of mixed emotions, and we didn’t come together and just make it better.”
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone suggested he’s going to run a five-man bench lineup of Reggie Jackson, Bruce Brown, Christian Braun, Vlatko Cancar and Thomas Bryant once Jackson is activated after the All-Star break, tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. A notable omission from that group is veteran forward Jeff Green, who has consistently been in the rotation when healthy and scored a season-high 24 points in Wednesday’s victory over Dallas. Malone has tweaked the bench rotation multiple times this season, however, so it wouldn’t be surprising if that five-man group changes over time.

And-Ones: World Cup Qualifiers, Nike Summit, MVP Race, Rising Stars, Draft

February 17th, 2023 at 8:52am CST by Luke Adams

With two more qualifying matches for the 2023 World Cup right around the corner, USA Basketball has officially announced the 12-man roster that will compete in February’s games. Team USA’s squad is made up primarily of G Leaguers, but features a number of players with NBA experience.

The 12 players who will represent the U.S. on February 23 vs. Uruguay and Feb. 26 vs. Brazil are Deonte Burton, Will Davis II, Abdul Gaddy, Langston Galloway, Treveon Graham, Dusty Hannahs, Nate Hinton, Jay Huff, Xavier Moon, Elijah Pemberton, Reggie Perry, and Craig Sword.

So far, Canada is the only team in the Americas field to qualify for the 2023 World Cup, having won all of its first 10 qualifying contests. However, Team USA – which has an 8-2 record so far – will clinch a World Cup berth by winning either one of its two games this month, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

Meanwhile, USA Basketball also announced the rosters for the 2023 Nike Hoop Summit, an annual showcase of U.S. high school prospects that will take place on April 8. The most notable name on the men’s roster is Bronny James, but Bronny isn’t the only son of a former Cavaliers lottery pick to be named to the event — the 13-player roster also includes Dajuan Wagner Jr.

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

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is building a strong case for his third consecutive MVP award and leads the way in the latest straw poll conducted by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. Bontemps’ survey asks 100 media members for their current MVP ballots — Jokic received 77 first-place votes, easily besting runners-up Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks (11 first-place votes) and Joel Embiid of the Sixers (6).
Rockets guard Jalen Green (left groin strain) and Pistons center Jalen Duren (right ankle sprain) have been forced to withdraw from Friday night’s Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend due to injuries, according to the NBA (Twitter link). They’re being replaced by Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu and Rockets forward Tari Eason.
In his latest mock draft for The Athletic, Sam Vecenie moves Alabama wing Brandon Miller up to No. 3, writing that Miller is considered the safest bet in the 2023 draft class – outside of Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson – to be a “really good player” at the NBA level. Vecenie’s top five is rounded out by Overtime Elite guard Amen Thompson at No. 4 and Houston forward Jarace Walker at No. 5.

Nuggets Notes: KCP, Jackson, Murray

February 16th, 2023 at 4:09pm CST by Rory Maher

Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was disappointed that he wasn’t selected for the three-point contest at All-Star weekend, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscriber link).

“I really tried to get out there and show them, it’s a lot of great shooters in this league, and if we’re going to put in the work to be the best, we should be at least rewarded or have an opportunity to showcase it,” Caldwell-Pope said. “That didn’t happen. It’s all good. I’m gonna come back and bring home another trophy.”

Caldwell-Pope is shooting a career-high 45% from deep, which ranks third in the NBA. He said he thought he may have been passed over due to his lack of attempts (he averages 4.3 per game), per Singer.

Head coach Michael Malone raved about Caldwell-Pope’s professionalism and defense, Singer adds.

“The reality is, honestly, KCP could get (the Defensive Player of the Game chain) every night,” Malone said. “No, really. We should actually name it the KCP-DPOG and give it to everybody else.”

Here’s more on the Nuggets:

Malone believes Reggie Jackson‘s playoff experience will be big for the Nuggets, according to Sean Keeler of The Denver Post. “When I think about Reggie, what gives me confidence is, this guy has been there and done that,” Malone said. “(The) 2021 Western Conference finals, where he was phenomenal — just go back and look at the game logs and the productivity and the efficiency. So you’re getting a veteran who understands he’s coming to a really good team. (There’s) role acceptance, role definition.” The veteran guard, who played high school ball in Colorado Springs, was recently signed by Denver after being traded by the Clippers and bought out by the Hornets.
At his introductory press conference, Jackson explained why he chose the Nuggets over other suitors. “Great team at the right age right now. They’re playing really good ball. The backup point guard role was kind of open. I figured that, and coming home, was definitely appealing,” Jackson said, per Vinny Benedetto of Gazette.com. “It just all matched up once I sat down and thought about it. I’m just very blessed to be able to go from the sixth team in the West to the best team in the West.”
Jamal Murray missed his sixth straight game Wednesday against Dallas due to right knee inflammation, notes Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (via Twitter). The team is being cautious with Murray, Malone said, adding that the guard isn’t confident enough in the knee to play yet. Malone didn’t sound overly concerned about it, but the Nuggets aren’t taking it lightly either, according to Wind. “You’re always concerned when a guy misses five-to-six games in a row,” Malone said. The Nuggets don’t play again until next Thursday, so we’ll see if another week of rest will aid Murray’s recovery. The 25-year-old missed all of last season with a torn ACL in his left knee.

Booth Has Case For Executive Of The Year; Cancar Enjoying Breakout Season

February 15th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Harrison Wind of TheDNVR.com argues that Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth has a strong case for this year’s Executive of the Year award after drafting Christian Braun, trading for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and signing Bruce Brown as a free agent last summer. More recently, Booth addressed a pair of roster holes by acquiring Thomas Bryant at the trade deadline and signing Reggie Jackson on the buyout market.
One under-the-radar Nuggets move last offseason was the decision to sign little-used forward Vlatko Cancar to a new three-year deal. As Wind writes in another TheDNVR.story, Cancar has enjoyed a breakout season in the first year of his new contract, posting a shooting line of .506/.442/.958, making high-IQ plays, and holding his own against most assignments on the defensive end.

Reggie Jackson Signs With Nuggets

February 14th, 2023 at 11:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 14: Jackson has signed with the Nuggets, the team tweets.

FEBRUARY 11: Former Clippers guard Reggie Jackson is finalizing a buyout agreement with the Hornets and intends to sign with the Nuggets after clearing waivers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Denver had been hoping to land the 32-year-old guard, who was traded to Charlotte on Thursday, but wasn’t required to report to the team. The Nuggets have an opening in their backcourt after sending Bones Hyland to the Clippers in a four-team deal. The Suns also were reported to be heavily interested in Jackson as a buyout candidate.

Denver has an open roster spot, so Jackson can be added without making another move.

Jackson has strong ties to Colorado, notes Harrison Wind of DNVR (Twitter link). He was named Mr. Colorado Basketball as a high school player in 2008 and always has a large cheering section of family and friends whenever he plays in Denver.

Jackson spent the past four years with the Clippers and was the team’s starter at point guard last season. He was taken out of that role this year and saw his playing time cut to 25.7 minutes per night in 52 games.

Assuming Jackson winds up in Denver, other teams in need of a point guard will have to look elsewhere. Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley and John Wall are among the players traded this week who are considered strong candidates to become free agents soon.

Those players – and any other buyout candidates – must be waived by March 1 to be eligible for the playoffs with their new teams.