Denver Nuggets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

COVID-19 Updates: Murphy, J. Green, Wigginton

January 25th, 2022 at 7:31am CST by Luke Adams

Pelicans rookie wing Trey Murphy III entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Monday prior to New Orleans’ win over Indiana, according to the team (via Twitter).

The 17th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Murphy has played a minor role for the Pelicans this season, averaging 3.8 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 36 games (12.8 MPG). The 21-year-old hasn’t logged more than three minutes in a game since December 28, so his absence didn’t affect the club’s rotation on Monday. He’ll remain in the protocols until at least this weekend unless he can exit early by registering two consecutive negative tests 24 hours apart.

Here are a few more protocol-related updates from around the league:

Nuggets forward JaMychal Green is no longer on the team’s injury report, indicating that he has exited the COVID-19 protocols, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post tweets. Jamal Murray is the only Nugget still in the protocols, and he’s not ready to return from his ACL surgery yet anyway.
Bucks two-way player Lindell Wigginton entered the protocols over the weekend, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Wigginton is the only Milwaukee player currently in the protocols.
As our health and safety protocols tracker shows, there are currently 12 players in the protocols. Only the Grizzlies (three players) and Pistons (two players) have more than a single player affected at the moment. We’ll continue to update that tracker going forward, but since the number of players entering and exiting has declined significantly in the last couple weeks, it will likely be updated just once or twice per day, rather than several times.

Nikola Jokic, Trae Young Named Players Of The Week

January 24th, 2022 at 2:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been named the Western Conference’s Player of the Week, while Hawks guard Trae Young has earned the honor in the Eastern Conference, the league announced today (via Twitter).

It’s the first time this season that Jokic has won the award, which is a little surprising, given his MVP-caliber numbers. During the week of January 17-23, the big man averaged a triple-double in three games, putting up 36.3 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 10.0 APG, and 2.3 SPG on .650/.400/.862 shooting in 39.2 MPG. The Nuggets went 2-1 in those games, with a loss to Memphis on Friday.

Young, meanwhile, led the Hawks to a 4-0 week, pulling the team within 1.5 games of a play-in spot in the East. The 23-year-old averaged 31.3 PPG, 9.0 APG, and 4.0 RPG with a .476 3PT% in 36.6 MPG, earning Player of the Week honors for a second time this season. He poured in eight 3-pointers in Atlanta’s win over Charlotte on Sunday.

Jokic won the West’s Player of the Week award over fellow nominees Luka Doncic, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Dejounte Murray, and Jusuf Nurkic. The other nominees in the East were Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, Miles Bridges, Darius Garland, and Khris Middleton (Twitter link).

Nuggets Notes: Rivers, Forbes, Cousins, Bench

January 24th, 2022 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets guard Austin Rivers, a DNP-CD on Friday, returned to the team’s starting lineup on Sunday with several players sidelined and logged 34 minutes in a six-point win over Detroit.

After the game, head coach Michael Malone said he met with Rivers on Saturday to talk to him about the ever-changing rotation, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post tweets. Malone, stressing that his focus is winning games rather than making sure 17 players are happy about their minutes, said that Rivers is “a pro” who can deal with adjustments to his role.

For his part, Rivers said he’s willing to do what the team asks of him, though he believes he’s capable of providing more than he has.

“I know I can help this team win games,” Rivers said when asked what he discussed with Malone (Twitter link via Singer). “… I’m 29, I’m young, I feel great, I’m in my prime. I know I can be better than what I have played, too. You just have an honest conversation.”

Here’s more on the Nuggets:

Newly-acquired guard Bryn Forbes could eat into Rivers’ playing time, but Rivers said he “didn’t take it personally” when the Nuggets traded for Forbes, pointing out that they do different things on the court (Twitter link via Singer). Rivers is the more natural ball-handler of the two, while Forbes is the stronger shooter.
Malone was surprised that the Nuggets were able to sign big man DeMarcus Cousins in free agency after the way he performed for the Bucks earlier in the season, writes Sean Keeler of The Denver Post. “This guy, after playing really well in Milwaukee, was sitting at home waiting for his phone to ring,” Malone said following Cousins’ Denver debut on Sunday. “That’s crazy to me. I don’t know if people are scared of him or what. But I’m not scared of him. I love him.”
Rivers said Cousins brings the Nuggets’ second unit a “grit” they need, according to Keeler. “Everybody knows he’s an enforcer,” Rivers said. “… He’s still got to get his legs back, but he’s going to be big for this team. Especially with that second unit. He’s going to be a problem.” Malone agreed that Denver’s bench will benefit from Cousins’ grit: “That’s the mentality that group needs. They’ve got to have toughness. You’re not just going to come out and run your offense and be all pretty. We’ve got to disrupt that, be physical. And if they can do that, (that unit) can help our team a lot.”

Forbes, Cousins Will Bolster Nuggets' Bench

January 23rd, 2022 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The additions of Bryn Forbes and DeMarcus Cousins may solve the Nuggets‘ problem of inconsistent play from their reserves, notes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Forbes, who made his debut on Friday, is already impressed by the passing skills of Nikola Jokic. Cousins, who might play today after missing Friday’s game with a minor injury, will add an extra dimension to the offense, according to coach Michael Malone. “When you’re a four-time All-Star, and you’re a guy that can put 28 points a night up, he has talent,” Malone said. “So many times this year we’ve seen second units just switch everything. I think DeMarcus is a guy that it makes it hard for other teams to just say we’re going to switch one through five and live with it.”

Nuggets Notes: Cousins, Trade Deadline, Hyland, Nnaji, Reed, Porter Jr.

January 22nd, 2022 at 12:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

After the Nuggets signed veteran center DeMarcus Cousins to a 10-day contract on Friday, head coach Michael Malone hinted that Cousins might stick beyond those 10 days, Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets. “I anticipate it going well,” Malone said. Cousins didn’t play in the loss to the Grizzlies on Friday.

We have more on the Nuggets:

The Nuggets are looking for a bigger wing on the trade market, according to Mike Singer of the Denver Post. Ideally, they’d like to find a 3-and-D player who won’t cost an exorbitant amount. To that aim, Orlando, Indiana, Portland and Sacramento are potential trade partners, Singer adds.
Bones Hyland, Zeke Nnaji and Davon Reed have received significant playing time recently due to injuries but only Hyland is likely to remain in the rotation when the team gets healthier, Singer opines in the same mailbag post. That’s due to his ability to ignite and create offense on the second unit.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said this week there’s growing optimism Michael Porter Jr. will play again this season. Wind posted a video on Twitter showing the forward, who underwent back surgery in early December, warming up prior to Friday’s game. Wind noted that the warmup looked similar to the one Porter typically does before actually playing.

COVID/Injury Notes: Batum, Hawks, J. Murray, Celtics, More

January 21st, 2022 at 5:43pm CST by Rory Maher

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters, including Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), that forward Nicolas Batum will be available Friday night at Philadelphia. Batum had been placed in the health and safety protocols as a result of an inconclusive test, missing Wednesday’s 130-128 overtime loss at Denver, but obviously has been cleared by testing negative twice since.

Here are more COVID-19 and injury-related updates from around the NBA:

Hawks head coach Nate McMillan told reporters, including Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter), that starting center Clint Capela will return to action Friday night against Miami, but will be on a minutes restriction. Capela had missed Atlanta’s last six games with an ankle injury and the team went 2-4 in his absence. Spencer also tweets that the Hawks will be without Bogdan Bogdanovic (knee) and Danilo Gallinari (sore Achilles), while Gorgui Dieng will be available (non-COVID illness).
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, who’s still rehabbing from a torn ACL suffered last April, has entered the health and safety protocols, Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets.
Celtics head coach Ime Udoka told reporters that Marcus Smart and Aaron Nesmith will miss Friday’s game vs. Portland, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps (Twitter link). Smart is still ramping up his conditioning after battling COVID-19, while Nesmith is dealing with a sprained ankle.
Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma is out Friday vs. Toronto with a sprained neck, per Marc J. Spears of the Undefeated (via Twitter). Kuzma is having a solid first season with Washington, averaging 15.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 43 games, all starts.
Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley and top assistant coach Nate Tibbetts have both cleared the protocols and will be coaching Friday’s game against the Lakers, Orlando’s PR department tweets.
Grizzlies forward Killian Tillie has been upgraded from questionable to available for Friday’s game at Denver, so he has cleared the health and safety protocols, Memphis’ PR department tweets.

Nuggets Sign DeMarcus Cousins To 10-Day Contract

January 21st, 2022 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

12:32pm: Cousins’ 10-day contract is now official, the Nuggets announced in a press release. The veteran will earn $151,821 on the deal, which will run through January 30.

8:21am: Nearly two weeks after reports first indicated that the Nuggets were expected to sign DeMarcus Cousins to a 10-day contract, the two sides will finally complete a deal on Friday, says Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

While it took a while for Cousins and the Nuggets to make things official, reports throughout last week confirmed that they still had mutual interest and that a deal would likely get done at some point. When Denver made a two-for-one trade for Bryn Forbes earlier this week, it opened up a spot on the team’s 15-man roster, creating a path for Cousins to join the team without requiring a hardship exception.

Cousins, 31, spent a little over five weeks with the Bucks from late November to early January, averaging 9.1 PPG and 5.8 RPG in 17 games (16.9 MPG) for the defending champs. Milwaukee opted to waive the veteran center before his salary for 2021/22 could become fully guaranteed, making him a free agent. Word of Denver’s interest broke shortly thereafter.

A report around the time of Cousins’ release suggested the Nuggets were in the market for help on the wing and at center. Trading for Forbes gave Denver another option on the wing, and now the team will get a chance to audition Cousins at center for at least 10 days.

As Wojnarowski points out, signing Cousins today will maximize his 10-day stint in Denver, since the club has six games on its schedule between now and January 30. The last of those six games will be in Milwaukee against Cousins’ former team.

Western Notes: Porter Jr., Bane, Jazz, Rockets

January 20th, 2022 at 9:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Despite undergoing back surgery at the beginning of last month, Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. reportedly could return this season.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski expanded on that possibility (video link), saying that in conversations with team president Tim Connelly and Porter’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, they “love the way he’s coming along.”

“There’s optimism we’re going to see him again this season,” Wojnarowski said.

That would be a huge boost to the Nuggets’ chances during the postseason. Porter signed a five-year max extension in September.

We have more from the Western Conference:

Desmond Bane says he deserves serious consideration for the Most Improved Player award, as he told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “A lot of times, they don’t want to give it to guys like myself or Jerami Grant,” the Grizzlies guard said on Haynes’ podcast. “But your role changes as you get better. As you improve and as you get better, you get more leeway, you get more opportunities. That’s just how the game goes. They’re not going to give an opportunity to a guy that isn’t ready for it. … So I think that I should definitely be in the conversation.” Bane also believes he could take down the 3-point shooting contest on All-Star weekend if he gets the chance. “If I get invited, I plan to do it and I plan to win it,” he said.
Amid reports that the Jazz are looking for a wing upgrade, head coach Quin Snyder hinted that the team needs to do something about its defensive slippage. Utah was defeated by Houston 116-111 on Wednesday and Snyder lamented the team’s performance on that end of the court, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News writes. “We just had multiple breakdowns over the course of the game, in different capacities, defensively,” he said. “We were helping when we shouldn’t have been helping, not recognizing personnel situations, not focused on the details of what we’re trying to do on the defensive end.”
Speaking of the Rockets, they could be very active before the trade deadline as they continue their rebuild. The Athletic’s John Hollinger and Kelly Iko explore which players are most likely to be moved and their trade value. Hollinger sees a potential avenue for moving Eric Gordon to the Lakers and outlines what they could get in return.

Cornelie Signs G League Contract, Rejoins Nuggets' Affiliate

January 20th, 2022 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite some rumors that he was being eyed by a team in Spain, former Nuggets forward Petr Cornelie has signed a G League contract and joined the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s affiliate, according to the league’s transactions log. Cornelie was waived last week so the Nuggets could sign Davon Reed to a two-way contract.

Northwest Notes: Forbes, Towns, Wolves, Gasol

January 19th, 2022 at 10:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nuggets‘ first attempt to trade Bol Bol didn’t work out, but they’re happy with the return they got on the second try, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Denver officially completed a three-team deal today that sends out Bol and PJ Dozier in exchange for Bryn Forbes, a dangerous outside shooter who will have a clearly defined role on the team.

“Really for me, it comes down to Bryn Forbes is a career 42% three-point shooter,” coach Michael Malone said. “You go back to last year in their run in winning a world championship in Milwaukee, that first-round series they swept Miami, and Bryn Forbes averaged 15 points a game.”

Currently ranked 18th in three-point shooting percentage, the Nuggets have a need for Forbes, who is expected to make his debut either Friday or Sunday. Malone was disappointed to part with Dozier, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Malone offered to give Dozier a role on his staff if he ever goes into coaching.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns has been working on personal growth to set a better example for his teammates, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Part of that process included making peace with Tom Thibodeau after their uneasy relationship when they were together in Minnesota. “I remember after we played the Knicks (last season) pulling Thibs to the side,” Towns said. “I said, ‘I just want to let you know I forgive you.’ There’s not bad blood. One day let’s just go get dinner. Let’s just chill. We don’t have to worry about the business side, let’s just work on our relationship.”
Timberwolves head of basketball operations Sachin Gupta will work closely with coach Chris Finch heading into the trade deadline, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. They have a working relationship that dates back to their days with the Rockets, and their goal is to make moves that will benefit the team over the next five years.
Jazz guard Mike Conley recently reached out to Marc Gasol, his long-time teammate with Grizzlies, tweets Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Gasol is playing in Spain this season, but has indicated that he may have interest in returning to the NBA. “I texted him when we had no bigs. I said, ‘If you wanna come back, now’s the time,’” Conley said. “… He’s happy. I don’t know if he’ll return. But I told him the invitation is out there.”