JaVale McGee

Nuggets Have Mulled Trading McGee, Chandler

The Nuggets have considered trading JaVale McGee and/or Wilson Chandler, league sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter).

McGee, everyone’s favorite freakishly talented but sometimes absent-minded center, saw just five games of action this season.  McGee fractured his left tibia in November and while Denver hoped to have him back on the floor at some point, a February surgery brought an end to his 2013/14 campaign.  The big man averaged 9.1 PPG and 4.8 RPG in 2012/13 for Denver.

Chandler found himself mentioned on Hoops Rumors when things appeared to be getting hot and heavy on the Kevin Love front, but nothing came from those June talks.  Today’s report from Kennedy would infer that Chandler can be had in deals that don’t involve the Wolves’ top talent.

Western Notes: Saunders, Meeks, Nuggets

Flip Saunders would make himself the Timberwolves next coach if it was up to him, writes Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune. Team owner Glen Taylor wants Saunders to focus on one job because he believes a coach lives in the present and a good manager must think for the future, writes Zgoda. He still could change Taylor’s mind, particularly if he convinces Taylor that his coaching system and style will help keep Kevin Love in Minnesota, opines Zgoda.

More from out west:

JaVale McGee Out For Season

The Nuggets just can’t catch a break.  JaVale McGee had surgery this morning to repair his fractured left tibia, the team announced.  Nuggets GM Tim Connelly indicated in the release that the procedure is season-ending.

It’s just yet another difficult blow to the Nuggets, who also saw Danilo Gallinari and Nate Robinson go down with season-ending injuries.  Ty Lawson has also struggled to stay healthy this season and Andre Miller‘s situation has been a further complication for the hard-luck 2013/14 Nuggets.

McGee, 26, has been out of action since November and saw just five games of action this season.  The athletic big man averaged 9.1 PPG and 4.8 RPG last season for Denver.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: McGee, Westbrook, McDonough

Nuggets center JaVale McGee has been out of action since November with a stress fracture in his left tibia. The team’s original plan was to allow McGee to take time to let his injury heal without having surgery. But now, with little progress having been made, the 7-footer has to decide whether or not to undergo season-ending surgery. A resolution on whether he will play again this season is expected by March 1st, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. His mother, Pamela McGee stated, By March 1, we’ll know exactly what strategy to use and when he’ll be definitely be back, or not back.McGee has been able to start doing lower-body activity such as light work on the elliptical machine, but the leg has not healed enough for McGee, or the Nuggets, to be confident the efforts will work to get him back on the court this season. McGee only appeared in five games this season and had averages of 7.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG.

More from the west:

  • The Thunder might be getting Russell Westbrook back this week, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The team had announced back on December 27th that Westbrook had surgery on his right knee for the second time since late October. He was projected to be out until after the All-Star break without a specific return date. According to the article, Westbrook will be re-evaluated on Tuesday in Oklahoma City, which could open the door for a return against the visiting Heat this Thursday. Before his injury Westbrook averaged 21.3 PPG, 7.0 APG, and 6 RPG in 25 appearances. The Thunder are 22-8 without Westbrook, mainly due to the stellar play of Kevin Durant and his 31.5 PPG.
  • Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald takes a look at the job GM Ryan McDonough has done in his first year with the Suns. He has the team in the enviable position of having the assets and picks for long-range planning, as well as fielding a team that can compete in the short term, writes Murphy.

Northwest Notes: Miller, McGee, Love

The Nuggets have been actively seeking a trade partner that would take on Andre Miller but haven’t been able to garner much interest. The team seems to be starting to accept there isn’t a market for the veteran guard and might consider retaining him, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Miller worked out for Denver this week after sitting since December 30th. The Kings and Timberwolves were said to have interest in Miller, but apparently not enough to get a deal done. Here’s more on Denver and the Northwest Division:

  • JaVale McGee will decide by March 1st if he’ll be healthy enough to play for the Nuggets this season, reports Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post. McGee has been inactive since November, and Denver’s frontcourt could definitely benefit from his return. Offseason signee J.J. Hickson has been playing major minutes at center but is a bit undersized at 6’9.
  • Kevin Love is affecting the way teams approach the trade deadline this year, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Teams that think they can pry Love away from the Timberwolves in the summer of 2015 are trying to leave themselves the cap flexibility that will be required to make such a move.
  • Another tweet from Mannix pegs Love as the “crown jewel” of his expected free agency class, even among players such as the Blazers’ LaMarcus Aldridge.

Western Notes: Kings, McGee, Mavs, Harris

Adam Silver traveled to Sacramento on Wednesday in his first trip as commissioner to check in on the Kings and their efforts to construct a new arena. Silver was effusive in expressing confidence that owner Vivek Ranadive and Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson will overcome arena opponents and have the arena ready in advance of a league-imposed 2017 deadline, notes USA Today’s Sam Amick. Here’s more from the West:

  • There’s a chance JaVale McGee will miss the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his left leg that’s been slow to heal properly, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Nuggets have already lost Danilo Gallinari and Nate Robinson for the year.
  • The Mavericks are taking a patient approach and aren’t keen on making a splash at the deadline, and any trade they make will be small-scale, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. Their priority in any deal appears to be finding a big man or someone who can score, and Kyler mentions Spencer Hawes and Jordan Hill as possibilities. Hawes, for whom the Sixers are demanding a first-round pick, would represent a fairly significant acquisition, though Kyler may merely be speculating about any interest Dallas has in either of those players.
  • The Lakers didn’t re-sign Manny Harris when his second 10-day contract expired this week, but they expect him to re-sign with their D-League affiliate if he doesn’t wind up with another NBA deal, according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. The shooting guard made quite an impression with 19 points in his final game before the Lakers let him go, and Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside examines his worth.

Western Rumors: Evans, Jazz, Nuggets

New Pelicans wing Tyreke Evans landed hard on his left ankle tonight during their preseason game against the Rockets. John Reid of Times-Picayune reports that he was helped off the court. 

Fellow Times-Picayune beat reporter Jimmy Smith tweets that X-Rays were negative on Evans' left ankle. But the team will do an MRI later tonight to be sure there's no structural damage. Evans signed with the Pelicans after a three-team trade involving the Blazers and Kings in July.

Here's more from around the West as preseason games started today…

  • Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets that Jazz guard Ian Clark has been underwhelming in training camp. The undrafted rookie performed spectacularly for the Heat and Warriors in summer league, winning the summer league championship MVP in Vegas.
  • The Jazz signed Clark to a partially guaranteed two-year minimum deal with the Jazz. Still, he's been pressing, Oram adds in a tweet. Though the Salt Lake Tribune scribe doesn't believe he'll be waived (Twitter).
  • Oram continued to update on the Jazz training camp roster tonight, tweeting that with Marvin Williams and Brandon Rush hurt, many believe the Jazz will keep 15 on their roster with Scott Machado or Lester Hudson likely to claim one of the remaining spots for opening night.
  • JaVale McGee and Kenneth Faried must improve their one-on-one defense as stressed by new Nuggets coach Brian Shaw, writes Benjamin Hochman in his mailbag column for the Denver Post.

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Western Notes: Carter, Dwight, Trail Blazers

While we heard earlier today that Shawn Marion may not be entirely sure of what the future holds beyond this season, his Mavericks teammate Vince Carter feels eager to continue his NBA career as long as his body allows him to: "I don’t want to limit myself. I think doing that, you start thinking about it as the season goes on. I just go. I just let the body pretty much dictate how I feel at the end" (Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas). The 36-year-old guard/forward is entering the final year of his three-year contract this season, though MacMahon notes that team owner Mark Cuban has already gone on record saying he'd like to re-sign Carter this summer.  

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Northwest Notes: Olshey, Wolves, McGee, Jazz

The latest news and notes from around the Northwest Division on Sunday afternoon:

Odds & Ends: Roy, Jones, Nene, PEDs

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Friday evening: