Donovan Clingan Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Filipowski, George, Collier, D. Jones, Doncic, Vezenkov, Blazers

November 18th, 2024 at 11:29am CST by Tristan Tucker

Rookie center Kyle Filipowski‘s play continues to be one of the brightest spots of the Jazz‘s season so far, Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. After claiming a starting role last week, Filipowski continues to pass test after test against some of the NBA’s best.

Filipowski is being targeted defensively in his rookie season, but he has responded admirably and recorded three steals against the Kings on Saturday.

“I guess that’s how it is for rookies, especially rookies that stand up to that sort of thing,” Filipowski said. “I gotta pull my big boy pants on, you know, and not back down from that challenge.”

The No. 32 pick in this year’s draft is averaging 7.9 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 55.2% from the field. In his past five games, including three starts, he has increased those averages to 12.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest.

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Keyonte George was benched in the second half of the Jazz‘s Sunday game against Los Angeles, Larsen writes in a separate story. Coach Will Hardy was clear about his reasoning after the game: “I wasn’t happy with Keyonte’s defense in the first half. Keyonte knows how much I believe in him, but sometimes you have to make changes in the moment to reinforce your point.” George played with the second unit and ended up playing the final 19 minutes of the game. He didn’t seem to be phased by the change after the game, Larsen writes. “Urgency levels should be at an all-time high no matter what — but we’re all humans,” George said. “I don’t know if you have a boss, but if they say you should take a break, when you come back you’re going to be on your Ps and Qs.” He’ll need to continue to improve on his decision-making, Larsen opines.
In George’s place, rookie guard Isaiah Collier started the second half and established career highs in minutes (26) and assists (8). Larsen writes in the same piece that Collier has been the Jazz‘s only true point guard and while he’s only getting to his own shot by beating the opposition in fast break situations (he’s shooting 11.1% from three), he’s helping the offense by taking care of the ball. “We know who our scorers are, we know where the ball needs to go,” Collier said. “Doing those little things, it definitely helped us int he second half.” The No. 29 overall pick in 2024 is averaging 4.3 PPG and 2.7 APG this year.
Thunder No. 26 overall pick Dillon Jones set career highs in points (12), minutes (15) and assists (3) on Sunday in a loss to Dallas. The Weber State product made all but one of his six shot attempts. Superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had nothing but praise for the first-round rookie, according to the Thunder’s Nick Gallo (Twitter link). “He’s getting his feet work, getting more comfortable… He’s doing a great job,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He’s keeping his head. He’s getting better. That’s all you can ask for.“
The Nuggets were close to trading up for Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic in the 2018 draft, former Denver Post writer Mike Singer said on Brian Windhorst’s Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to RealGM). “The Nuggets knew that Vlade Divac was not particularly high on Luka Doncic,” Singer, now an employee of the Nuggets, said. “And they had designs on pairing Nikola Jokic with Luka Doncic. On draft night in 2018, they tried. There was a call placed. There was a proposal and the Nuggets attempted to get the No. 2 pick for Gary Harris and two first round picks was what I was told. You can roll your eyes at that price tag, but look in retrospect. The Kings ended up taking Marvin Bagley with the No. 2 pick. I’m not saying this trade was imminent. All I’m saying is this trade was discussed and considered because the Nuggets knew Vlade Divac was not particularly high on Luka Doncic and they tried to exploit it.”
The Nuggets also previously tried to acquire Sasha Vezenkov in 2016, the former Kings forward said in a podcast, per a report from Eurohoops.net. “Jokic called me back in 2016, way before he became a three-time MVP,” Vezenkov said. “Back then, he wasn’t a superstar. He told me the Nuggets wanted me. They were signing European players. But I hesitated. I was an insecure 20-year-old. After playing in Europe, they lost interest. I don’t think about it a lot, but I often wonder what could have been.” Vezenkov made his NBA debut last year for Sacramento, but he was traded and then bought out in the offseason as he decided to head back overseas.
After a 45-point loss last week, the Trail Blazers restored good vibes by winning three in a row, Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report writes. Shaedon Sharpe has 65 points in his last two games, rookie Donovan Clingan is standing out, and bench players like Dalano Banton have played well during the streak.

Northwest Notes: Clingan, Sharpe, Avdija, Gobert, Kessler

November 14th, 2024 at 10:51am CST by Dana Gauruder

With Robert Williams sitting out and Deandre Ayton sidelined by a finger injury, Trail Blazers lottery pick Donovan Clingan had his best outing of the season in a win over Minnesota on Wednesday. In 31 minutes, Clingan racked up 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks.

“I love defense,” Clingan told Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. “It brings energy to the team. That’s how you win ballgames.”

Shaedon Sharpe also had a big night with 33 points in 36 minutes. Coach Chauncey Billups was thrilled with Sharpe’s assertiveness.

“Shae is such a teammate and he doesn’t want to step on anybody’s toes and wants to just kind of fit in,” Billups said. “And I’m telling him, ‘No, you need to go.’ I’ve got to force him. But he’ll get used to it. He loves that we depend on him to do some of those things. The more that happens, the more he’ll get used to it.”

Sharpe will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer.

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Deni Avdija, who is now coming off the bench for the Trail Blazers, had a notable outing against Minnesota on Tuesday. He accumulated 17 points, four rebounds and five assists in 25 minutes. In Wednesday’s win, Avdija added seven points and six rebounds in 18 minutes. Billups believes Avdija is well suited for a bench role, according to Aaron Fentress of Oregonlive.com. “Deni is tough,” Billups said. “He plays with a lot of fire. And we need that. We got a lot of kind of easy-going chill guys out there, and his mentality, we need it.”
The Timberwolves have a 6-6 record after those back-to-back losses to Portland. Rudy Gobert told Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he blames himself for the latest defeats. “Those two games are mostly on me defensively,” Gobert said. “I need to set the tone for the team, and I haven’t done it these last two games.”
Jazz center Walker Kessler hasn’t played since Saturday and he’ll miss Thursday’s game against the Mavericks, Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. The team is labeling the ailment as right hip bursitis. Kessler is averaging 9.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per contest.

Northwest Notes: Braun, R. Williams, Mitchell, K. Williams

November 10th, 2024 at 11:16am CST by Rory Maher

Third-year wing Christian Braun is learning from Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic in his first season as a full-time Nuggets starter, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Murray, whose locker is next to Braun’s, often tells the 23-year-old to stay in attack mode.

“‘Keep shooting the ball. Keep being aggressive. Get up more attempts,’” Braun told The Post. “Constantly. When he’s hurt. When he’s not playing. He’s, before the game, telling me he wants me to do this. During the game, he sees this. He’ll point it out. … It’s not just shooting. He wants to challenge me. ‘Hey, I want you to pick this guy up full court.’”

Braun has been one of the bright spots of the early portion of the season in Denver, establishing new career highs in several categories (16.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.0 SPG and 1.0 BPG on an elite .558/.500/.818 shooting line in 35.3 MPG) while being tasked with slowing down the opposing teams’ top perimeter scorer. He has also posted a positive plus/minus in each of the Nuggets’ nine games thus far.

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In his first regular season game in a little over a year, Trail Blazers big man Robert Williams made an immediate impact, per Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (subscriber link). Williams only played six games last season due to a serious knee injury, then was slowed by a hamstring strain in training camp. In Friday’s loss to Minnesota, the 27-year-old notched 13 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 17 minutes, only missing one field goal attempt and converting his first career three-pointer. “Defensively, he’s all over the place,” head coach Chauncey Billups said. “He’s vocal. He’s talking. His activity, Rebounds, blocked shots, he kind of does it all. He’s got a knack for it. And then on the other end, you never look at him as a three-point threat, but he stepped up and knocked that one down.”
Williams’ return was obviously a welcome sight, but it will also impact the Trail Blazers‘ rotation. Minnesota’s lineup features plenty of size, so Billups felt comfortable playing Williams alongside Deandre Ayton or Donovan Clingan. However, that won’t always be the case, Fentress writes. “There’ll be some nights that it doesn’t happen, that we won’t play that way based on matchups,” Billups said. “But some teams, they present opportunities for you to do so.”
Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, the No. 38 overall pick of June’s draft, continues to impress in his rookie season, according to Rylan Stiles of SI.com. Mitchell, who has played in each of the Thunder’s nine games during their 8-1 start, recorded 12 points (on 5-of-6 shooting), two rebounds, and career highs of seven assists and three steals in Friday’s victory vs. Houston.
Thunder swingman Kenrich Williams, who is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, is making progress toward a return. He was assigned to the Oklahoma City Blue — the Thunder’s G League affiliate — for a practice on Saturday before being recalled, Stiles tweets.

Northwest Notes: Bates-Diop, Banton, Clingan, Murray, Westbrook

October 19th, 2024 at 5:51pm CST by Luke Adams

As our roster count page shows, the Timberwolves are the only one of the NBA’s 30 teams whose roster is not ready for the regular season after a busy day of transactions. Minnesota is still carrying 16 players on standard contracts, whereas the other 29 clubs have 15 or fewer players on standard deals.

The Wolves don’t need to finalize their opening night roster until Monday evening, but an absence at practice on Saturday provided a pretty strong hint about which direction they’re leaning, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, who tweets that forward Keita Bates-Diop wasn’t in attendance and appears to be the odd man out.

Nothing’s official yet, but Bates-Diop was a throw-in for salary-matching purposes in the Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster, so it makes sense that he’s not in Minnesota’s plans. Removing him from the roster would allow the club to hang onto PJ Dozier, whose salary is partially guaranteed.

Still, since Bates-Diop’s $2,654,644 salary for 2024/25 is fully guaranteed, the Wolves are likely reluctant to simply waive him and eat that money, especially given how far over the luxury tax line they are. They may continue trying up until Monday’s deadline to find a taker for Bates-Diop on the trade market — they’d probably have to attach a second-round pick to make a deal.

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Trail Blazers guard Dalano Banton is expected to make the team’s opening night roster, tweets Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report. Barring a last-minute surprise, Banton will see his partial guarantee increase from $217,533 to $1,098,485 as a result of starting the season with the team. The other half of his $2,196,970 salary would become guaranteed if he remains under contract beyond January 7.
Trail Blazers lottery pick Donovan Clingan had a big night in his first start of the preseason on Friday, Highkin writes for his Rose Garden Report Substack. The rookie center, who isn’t expected to play big minutes in a crowded Blazers frontcourt, racked up 14 points, four blocks, and an eye-popping 20 rebounds (10 offensive) in just 24 minutes of action, with Portland outscoring Utah by 30 points during that time. Head coach Chauncey Billups said Clingan is still adjusting to the speed of the NBA game, but praised the big man’s rebounding and rim protection. “Those two things, he’ll be pretty elite at,” Billups said. “He’ll only get better.”
Jamal Murray‘s performance in Thursday’s preseason finale likely calmed some nerves in Denver, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. After dealing with some knee pain and shooting just 32% from the floor through three preseason appearances, the Nuggets guard poured in 25 points in 29 minutes in Thursday’s victory, showing that he’s ready for the regular season after a tough 2024 postseason and Olympic Games.
In a column for The Denver Post, Sean Keeler examines what Denver is hoping to get this season from free agent addition Russell Westbrook, suggesting that the former MVP can be an important “agitator” for the Nuggets and help them play with more of an edge.

Blazers Notes: Williams, Roster, Billups, Clingan, Ayton, Camara

October 1st, 2024 at 8:11am CST by Luke Adams

After undergoing knee surgery last fall that ended his season early and limited him to just six appearances in 2023/24, Trail Blazers center Robert Williams has been taking part in five-on-five scrimmages in recent weeks and expects to be ready for the start of the season, writes Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. While Williams may be held out of some activities during training camp and the preseason, he’s excited about nearing the end of a long recovery process.

“I’m in a great space right now,” Williams said on Monday. “Trying to stay on top of everything physically and mentally. It’s been a long seven months. A long fight back. But I’m just ready to get back on the court, man. You saw me smiling when I came in here. At one point, I couldn’t even walk, you feel what I’m saying? So I’m just ready to get back out there and show what I can do.”

Williams has been slowed by injuries over the course of his NBA career, having played more than 35 regular season games just twice in six years. However, he has made a significant on-court impact when healthy, earning a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team in Boston in 2022. The big man, who will turn 27 this month, expressed confidence in his chances of returning to that level.

“I feel like I’m there,” he told reporters, per Highkin. “I’ve been playing five-on-five a lot over the past month. But it’s been a nonstop grind since I hurt myself last year. Starting then, from the rehab process to getting back out on the court, everything I went through, it’s been a long grind. I feel like I’m ready.”

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After finishing last season with a 21-61 record, the Trail Blazers know they’re unlikely to take a major step toward contention until young cornerstones like Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Donovan Clingan are ready to contribute at a high level. “Until those guys take steps and start playing winning basketball, we’re not going to win at the level we need to,” general manager Joe Cronin said, according to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. “So, part of it’s up to them. When will you guys be ready? When will you take these next steps, and when can you really impact the game instead of just showing flashes or have a good five-game run.”
According to Highkin, Cronin likes the fact that the roster has some continuity heading into the 2024/25 season — the GM acknowledged that the team was somewhat “disjointed” after the front office made a pair of major trades just ahead of training camp last fall. The next step, per Cronin, will be to get a better sense of which players on the current roster are long-term keepers. “One thing we’re really hoping to find this year, throughout this season, and definitely by the end of it, is more clarity,” he said, per Fentress. “Last year, I don’t know how much clarity we walked away with. We saw flashes and capabilities, but we didn’t see sustained production or sustained cohesion. And I think this year, we need to build on that. We need to have a better feel and understanding of what we are, what moves we need to make, what additions we need to have, what’s going really well. We need just more focus on what our long-term outlook is going to look like.”
Head coach Chauncey Billups is entering the final guaranteed year of his current contract (the Blazers hold an option for 2025/26), but he’s not concerned about his “lame duck” status, he said on Monday. “You can be in the first year of your deal, you can be in the last year of your deal. It’s all the same,” Billups said, per Highkin. “You’ve got to go do a good job. And if not, we see it all the time. Coaches get fired and don’t even get to finish their first year. I don’t think about that, I don’t worry about that. What I’m most proud of is, I’m light-years ahead of where I was when I took this microphone three years ago.”
While Portland’s center logjam has been a popular topic of discussion leading up to training camp, there’s no tension between 2024 lottery pick Clingan and former No. 1 overall selection Deandre Ayton, who have been developing a bond ahead of their first season together, Highkin writes. “D.A. is awesome,” Clingan said. “He’s got a lot of energy. He knows the game very well. A lot of skill. To have someone to look up to like that is special. It means a lot to me.”
Second-year Blazers forward Toumani Camara said on Monday that he has fully recovered from the rib and kidney injuries that brought his rookie year to a premature end (Twitter link via Highkin). Camara fractured his left rib and sustained a small laceration in his kidney in March.

Northwest Notes: Blockbuster Trade, Clingan, Avdija, SGA, Holmgren

September 29th, 2024 at 5:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The three-team blockbuster deal that would send Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks and Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Timberwolves is still on track but has not been completed, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN tweets.

The expectation is that the deal, which also includes the Hornets, will become official early this week, Shelburne adds. Thus, the players in the deal won’t be at their respective training camps when they open on Monday.

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With the Trail Blazers about to open camp, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report explores the five biggest storylines heading into the season. That includes the learning curve for lottery pick Donovan Clingan, the backcourt rotation, and how offseason acquisition Deni Avdija will fit in.
In a similar theme, Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated takes a look at one question that each Thunder player must answer as they head into training camp as the Western Conference favorites. Some of the topics Stiles explores is whether Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can add a 3-point shot to round out his offensive game, whether Chet Holmgren will experience an offensive uptick and what role newcomer Isaiah Hartenstein will play.
In another Thunder-related story, Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman lists a number of potential starting lineups they could employ and the strengths of each of those combinations. He also looks at a number of combinations the coaching staff could use during the course of the game.

Execs, Scouts Share Feedback, Predictions For 2024 Draft Class

July 31st, 2024 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Of the 20 NBA executives and scouts polled by Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link), 15 predicted that Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, will have a more successful NBA career than No. 2 pick Alex Sarr of the Wizards.

However, only one of those 20 respondents predicted that Risacher will end up being the best pick of the 2024 draft. Seven voters chose No. 3 pick Reed Sheppard for that honor, per Givony and Woo.

“Sheppard is going to help Houston right away, and I think he has a chance to be an All-Star down the road,” one high-level Eastern Conference executive told ESPN.

Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan, who went seventh overall, was the second-leading vote-getter for the best pick of the draft, earning three votes.

“I thought [Clingan] was a steal on draft night at 7, but the things he did defensively in summer league were unreal with the impact he made,” one respondent said. “Now they have him shooting trail and pick-and-pop threes. If he starts making those consistently, that’s a game-changer with the way he can pass and protect the rim.”

Here are a few more of the most notable answers from the poll conducted by ESPN’s draft experts:

Pistons forward Ron Holland (No. 5 overall) and Bucks guard AJ Johnson (No. 23) each earned four votes for the biggest reach of the draft. “I feel bad for Cade Cunningham,” one source told ESPN. “They’ve been rebuilding for years even though they never planned on it, and this pick signals they might need to blow up the roster and start over again. I just don’t see how [Holland] plays with Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey and all their other young guys. That situation is a mess. Even when Holland was scoring in Vegas, it was so ugly to watch.”
Five of the 20 respondents picked Wizards guard Carlton Carrington (No. 14 overall) as the player who will become the biggest steal of this year’s draft, with one Western Conference executive comparing him to Tyrese Maxey.
Sheppard (seven votes), Grizzlies center Zach Edey (four), Spurs guard Stephon Castle (three), and Clingan (two) were the only players who were chosen by multiple respondents as their Rookie of the Year pick.
Feedback on this year’s two-day draft format was generally positive, according to Givony and Woo, with executives expressing appreciation for the break in between the two rounds that allowed them to do additional research ahead of day two. However, one GM criticized the decision to invite so many prospects to the green room, since it resulted in multiple players leaving Barclays Center after day one without being selected.
Here’s how one of ESPN’s 20 respondents evaluated the two-day format: “Some of the people in our front office didn’t like how much this second day helps the disorganized teams who typically wing it and can be taken advantage of from a strategy standpoint. But the pros far outweigh the cons when it comes to better drafting and decision-making. There were a ton of trades and I think next year you’ll see some real creativity now that we have a better idea for how the evening looks.”

Northwest Notes: Bediako, Westbrook, Blazers’ Centers, Jordan

July 30th, 2024 at 10:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grand Rapids Gold, the Nuggets‘ G League team, acquired the returning rights to center Charles Bediako in a deal with the Austin Spurs, according to OurSportsCentral.com. The Spurs‘ affiliate received the returning player rights of Jamorko Pickett and Reggie Kissoonlal.

Bediako went undrafted last year and had a two-way deal with San Antonio. He was waived by the Spurs in late December after suffering a left meniscus tear. Bediako played 11 games and averaged 7.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game before the injury. He most recently played for the Magic in the Summer League, where he averaged 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per contest.

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Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups believes Russell Westbrook will be a good fit with the Nuggets, adding toughness and a mentality that will make the team better, he told Sean Keeler of The Denver Post. “Russ does help that (depth),” Billups said. “He helps bring some of those things. Obviously, (he and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are) totally different players. But, yeah, losing KCP was — I’m happy and proud of him for getting to capitalize (financially) on the great years that he had here — but it’s a substantial loss.”
Deandre Ayton will be the Trail Blazers’ starting center, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report, but the distribution of minutes for the post reserves is up in the air. Lottery pick Donovan Clingan will definitely soak up some of those minutes but Duop Reath is also deserving of playing time. It’s uncertain where Robert Williams III fits in, even when he finishes rehabbing from his latest knee injury.
DeAndre Jordan‘s one-year contract with the Nuggets is worth the minimum salary, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. Jordan’s deal was originally reported to be worth $3.6MM, which would have been possible if he were re-signed using his Early Bird rights, but it’s simply a veteran’s minimum contract, which will pay the veteran center approximately $3.3MM.

Nets’ Jalen Wilson Named Summer League MVP

July 22nd, 2024 at 6:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nets forward Jalen Wilson has been named the Most Valuable Player of the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League, the league’s communications department tweets.

Wilson averaged 21.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.6 steals while shooting 47.3% from the field and 55.0% from 3-point range in five games in Vegas.

His performances should solidify his spot on the team’s roster this upcoming season. The 23-year-old has a $1.89MM minimum-salary contract for 2024/25 that is currently just partially guaranteed for $75K. It increases to a partial guarantee of $325K if he makes the opening night roster.

Oddly, Wilson was only named to the All-Summer League Second Team. The First Team included the Grizzlies‘ GG Jackson II and Scotty Pippen Jr,, the Clippers‘ Jordan Miller, the Rockets‘ Reed Sheppard and the Heat‘s Kel’el Ware.

The Grizzlies and Heat reached the Summer League championship game. Sheppard, the No. 3 pick in last month’s draft, averaged 20.0 points, 5.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals in four Las Vegas outings.

Along with Wilson, the Second Team included the Wizards‘ Carlton Carrington, the Trail Blazers‘ Donovan Clingan, the Heat‘s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and the Pacers‘ Jarace Walker (Twitter links).

Northwest Notes: Clingan, Shannon, Juzang, Braun

July 14th, 2024 at 9:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Donovan Clingan didn’t do much offensively in his Trail Blazers Summer League debut but the former UConn center showed off his defensive prowess, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report notes. Clingan had 13 rebounds and five blocks while altering numerous other San Antonio shots.

“I thought he was awesome,” Portland Summer League coach Jonah Herscu said. “I thought he protected the paint. His size really impacts the other team at the offensive end.”

The lottery pick was less impressed by his outing than his coach was.

“I feel like there were a couple shots around the rim that I could have contested better or blocked,” Clingan said. “There were some floaters they made that I’m not happy with. I wish I’d rebounded the ball a little bit better in the first half.”

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Rookie Terrence Shannon Jr. isn’t guaranteed a rotation spot with the Timberwolves but he had a solid showing in his Summer League debut. Shannon, selected with the No.27 pick, played with force and physicality while racking up 25 points. “I was just proud of how he handled the game, managed it. He took great shots; he didn’t force anything,” Summer League coach Chris Hines told The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. “But one of the things that I loved about him was he competed on defense.”
The Jazz‘s decision to offer restricted free agent Johnny Juzang a four-year contract shows that they are looking within the organization to round out the roster, Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune writes. There are better players on the free agent market than Juzang, Larsen notes, but the Jazz feel he can play a spot role. They filled Juzang’s two-way slot with Taevion Kinsey, who played last season for the G League Salt Lake City Stars.
Christian Braun is the logical successor to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — who left for Orlando as a free agent — as the Nuggets’ starting shooting guard, but he’s not taking that for granted, according to Bennett Durando of the Denver Post. “We have a lot of similarities, I think,” he said. “Defensively, kind of being pests. Offensively, we both fit alongside Nikola (Jokic). And it’s the reason we were brought in. I was brought in to play with those guys, and so was he. … I think I’m gonna do a great job the same way he did a great job. And I’m excited for that. I’m excited for the opportunity to, like I said, go out and earn it.”