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Northwest Notes: Murray, Hyland, Wolves, Thunder

February 5th, 2023 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

Asked after Thursday’s win over Golden State about Nuggets players being willing to sacrifice individual opportunities for the sake of team success, Jamal Murray suggested that’s an important reason why the 37-16 Nuggets are tied for the NBA’s best record, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post.

“We’re a championship team,” Murray said. “All that stuff, not being happy, has gotta go out the window or else we’re not going to win. It’s nice to have a coach that knows that and knows what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Murray’s comments could be interpreted as a dig at fellow guard Bones Hyland, who is reportedly on the trade block due in part to unhappiness about his role. However, according to Singer, Murray was talking more about teammates like Vlatko Cancar, whose commitment to doing what’s best for the club hasn’t changed even as his playing time has. Murray, who referred to Cancar as “selfless,” clarified on Saturday that he wasn’t taking any shots at Hyland, tweets Singer.

“It’s tough for Bones, man … No one wants to be in this position,” Murray said of his teammate, who has been a DNP-CD for Denver’s last two games as trade rumors swirl. “… He’s doing his best. Me and him are cool, we don’t have no problems. Just trying to keep him in good spirits and know that his time’s coming.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • Nuggets head coach Michael Malone also weighed in on Saturday on Hyland’s status as a trade candidate who has been out of the rotation this week. “It’s a real sensitive area for everyone involved,” Malone said, per Singer (Twitter link). “… Just trying to give him some space, but also let him know, yes, this is a business, but we also care about you. …. I put myself in his situation, and it’s not easy.”
  • In a Q&A with Chris Hine of The Star Tribune, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said the Timberwolves have had “varying degrees of discussions” about contract extensions with D’Angelo Russell, Naz Reid, and Jaylen Nowell, and view all three players as “very important” to the team. Connelly also admitted he doesn’t particularly enjoy trade season. “The whole idea of trading guys is kind of gross,” he said. They’re human beings, not assets.”
  • Anthony Slater of The Athletic checks in on the Thunder‘s rebuilding process, which has been progressing ahead of schedule. While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s emergence as an All-NBA caliber player has been the driving force behind Oklahoma City’s relative success (the team has surpassed its win total for each of the last two seasons with 30 games still to play), Slater notes that Josh Giddey has been a capable “co-pilot” and the team is putting together an impressive defensive-minded supporting cast.
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21 More NBA Players Become Trade-Eligible

January 15th, 2023 at 8:23am CST by Luke Adams

Today is Sunday, January 15, which means that nearly two dozen players who signed free agent contracts meeting specific criteria this past offseason are now eligible to be traded.

Most offseason signees became trade-eligible on December 15, but players who met the following criteria were ineligible to be moved for an extra month:

  1. The player re-signed with his previous team.
  2. He got a raise of at least 20%.
  3. His salary is worth more than the minimum.
  4. His team was over the cap and used Bird or Early Bird rights to sign him.

The following players met that criteria and are eligible to be traded as of Sunday:

(* Players marked with an asterisk have the ability to veto trades.)

Most of the players on NBA rosters are now eligible to be moved, though a small handful still can’t be dealt. That group includes Thunder guard Isaiah Joe, who becomes trade-eligible on Monday, Bucks swingman Pat Connaughton (trade-eligible on Wednesday), and Thunder forward Kenrich Williams (trade-eligible on Friday).

There are also several players who won’t become trade-eligible before this season’s February 9 deadline, including Lakers star LeBron James. Players on 10-day contracts are also ineligible to be dealt.

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Nuggets Notes: Power Forwards, Gordon, Jokic, Braun

December 27th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said on Sunday that the team will take a by-committee approach to replacing Jeff Green‘s minutes with the forward expected to miss at least a month or so due to a finger injury.

As Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets, Malone mentioned Zeke Nnaji as a logical replacement from Green at power forward, but noted that Vlatko Cancar, Michael Porter Jr., and Bruce Brown could all see minutes at the four as well. Nnaji was ineffective vs. Phoenix on Sunday, picking up three fouls and no points or rebounds in nine minutes of action.

Here’s more on the Nuggets:

  • Aaron Gordon had 28 points, 13 rebounds, a highlight-reel dunk, and a key blocked shot in Sunday’s victory and has now been a plus-65 during Denver’s four-game winning streak (the Nuggets have been outscored by 31 points with Gordon off the court during the streak). As Mike Singer of The Denver Post writes, the forward’s ability to contribute all over the court has Malone talking about him as a potential All-Star and Nikola Jokic referring to him as the “soul of this team.”
  • Gordon is questionable to play on Tuesday in Sacramento due to a right shoulder strain, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.
  • Voter fatigue will likely work against Jokic as he makes a bid for a third consecutive MVP award, but the Nuggets’ star center is building a strong case for consideration, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. The 27-year-old is nearly averaging a triple-double for the top team in the Western Conference and has scored more efficiently than ever, with a career-best .616 FG%. Additionally, the Nuggets have a plus-11.3 net rating with Jokic on the floor, compared to an abysmal minus-13.6 mark when he sits, per NBA.com.
  • Within the same Athletic story, Hollinger checks in on Nuggets rookie wing Christian Braun, who has been playing rotation minutes as of late. Hollinger is intrigued by the potential Braun has shown on defense, but acknowledges his role on offense is unlikely to expand beyond “guy who stands in the corner” anytime in the near future.
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Nuggets Notes: Porter, Brown, Bench

November 28th, 2022 at 10:53am CST by Arthur Hill

Michael Porter Jr. wasn’t able to practice Sunday because of lingering pain from a left heel contusion and it sounds like he’ll miss Monday’s game against the Rockets, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Porter hasn’t played since Nov. 22, but Nuggets coach Michael Malone said the injury occurred before then and called it “something that’s kind of been building.”

“Right now it’s just real painful for Michael, so he’ll come back and he’ll play when he feels like he’s able to go out there and do his job effectively,” Malone said.

Porter has managed to play in 16 of Denver’s first 19 games after being limited to nine games last season with a back injury. Bruce Brown has filled the opening in the starting lineup over the past week, which has boosted the team’s defense. Singer notes that Jeff Green would have been considered to replace Porter as a starter, but he’s been dealing with a knee contusion and won’t be available for tonight’s game either.

There’s more from Denver:

  • Brown may be playing too well for the Nuggets to be able to re-sign him after the season, Singer states in a mailbag column. If Brown turns down his $6.8MM player option for 2023/24, Denver would only have his Non-Bird rights and would be limited to offering him a 120% raise in the first year of a new contract, which would be about $7.75MM. Singer suggests that Brown might be able to double his current salary of $6.479MM in free agency.
  • The reserve unit has been an issue for the first quarter of the season as the Nuggets’ bench has the third worst plus-minus rating of any group in the league, Singer adds. Brown and Bones Hyland have regular roles and Singer believes Green’s spot is secure because of his veteran status, but Malone has been juggling the other players to try to find an effective combination. Neither Davon Reed or Christian Braun has seized the backup small forward role, and Malone has recently been using Zeke Nnaji and Vlatko Cancar ahead of DeAndre Jordan. Singer speculates that Nnaji or Cancar could eventually be dealt for another guard.
  • Draft-and-stash player Ismael Kamagate is interested in joining the Nuggets next season, as we relayed on Sunday. The 21-year-old center was traded twice after being selected with the 46th pick in this year’s draft, and he said Denver has been sending representatives to watch him play.
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Northwest Notes: Markkanen, Porter, Cancar, Pokusevski, Dort

November 27th, 2022 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen hasn’t missed a game during his breakout season. That could change on Monday. Markkanen is listed as questionable to play against Chicago due to a right knee contusion.

Markkanen has been a find for the Jazz, averaging 21.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game after being acquired in the Donovan Mitchell blockbuster with Cleveland.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. is listed as doubtful to play on Monday due to a left heel contusion, the team tweets. “Right now it’s just real painful for Michael, so he’ll come back and he’ll play when he feels like he’s able to go out there and do his job effectively,” coach Michael Malone told Mike Singer of the Denver Post. Porter has already missed the last two games.
  • Vlatko Cancar is making a case for a Nuggets rotation spot with his play at both ends of the floor, Singer writes in a separate story. Cancar is averaging 11.8 points in 18.5 minutes over the past four games. “Sometimes I can score 20 points, sometimes I can score two points,” he said. “As long as I’m doing the right things on the court to help my team win, I think that’s most important.”
  • Starters Aleksej Pokusevski and Luguentz Dort felt the wrath of Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault in the team’s loss to Houston on Saturday. Pokusevski played just nine minutes and Dort saw a season-low 14 minutes of action, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman notes. “I just thought our overall team energy wasn’t where it needed to be, especially to start the game,” Daigneault said. “When that happens, we have a lot of guys that we want to play. I use those opportunities to try to get different guys out there.”
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More Than 30 NBA Players On Track To Suit Up For EuroBasket

August 18th, 2022 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The first EuroBasket tournament in five years will tip off in two weeks and there are currently 34 NBA players on track to participate in the event, representing 17 different countries, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net.

EuroBasket is a 24-team international basketball competition also known as the European Basketball Championship. It historically took place every two years, but that gap was recently adjusted to four years, emulating the FIBA World Cup schedule.

The last EuroBasket tournament was played in 2017 — the next one had been scheduled for 2021, but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics. As a result, after being played every two years since 1947, it has now been five years since the last EuroBasket tournament, easily the longest layoff since World War II.

It’s possible that some NBA players will be cut from their teams’ rosters or will have to drop out due to injuries or personal reasons before the event begins on September 1, but in general enthusiasm to participate in the long-awaited event appears high.

Here’s the list of NBAers currently set to play in EuroBasket, per Eurohoops:

There are also multiple NBA free agents on EuroBasket rosters, including French swingman Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and German guard Dennis Schröder.

A number of young NBA players, such as 2022 draftees Jeremy Sochan and Nikola Jovic, have dropped out to focus on getting ready for the 2022/23 season, while others, including Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia) and Frank Ntilikina (France), were ruled out due to injuries.

Round robin play will begin on September 1, with each team facing the other five clubs in its group once. The top four teams in each group will advance to a 16-team bracket that begins on September 10. The final will take place on September 18, just over a week before NBA training camps get underway.

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Contract Details: Drummond, Jones, LaVine, Cancar, Martin, Nurkic

July 9th, 2022 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The two-year contracts that Andre Drummond and Derrick Jones signed with the Bulls have virtually identical terms. Both players will earn guaranteed $3.2MM salaries in 2022/23, with $3.36MM player options for the ’23/24 season, Hoops Rumors has learned. The only real difference between the two deals is how the Bulls completed them — Drummond received a portion of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, while Jones was re-signed using his Non-Bird rights.

Here are more details on recently signed contracts from around the NBA:

  • Zach LaVine‘s five-year, maximum-salary contract with the Bulls includes a 15% trade kicker, Hoops Rumors has learned. For 2022/23, at least, that kicker will be inconsequential since LaVine is already earning the max, but it could be a factor later in his deal if the annual salary cap increases outpace his annual 8% raises.
  • Vlatko Cancar‘s three-year contract with the Nuggets features matching $2,234,359 cap hits in each of the first two seasons, plus a $2,346,606 team option for 2024/25. The first two years are guaranteed.
  • Heat forward Caleb Martin received a starting salary of $6,479,000, which is the full portion of the taxpayer mid-level exception. Miami remains below the tax apron, so the team can use the rest of the non-taxpayer MLE (approximately $4MM more) if it so chooses. Martin also got a third-year player option and a 15% trade kicker on his new three-year deal.
  • Jusuf Nurkic‘s four-year, $70MM contract with the Trail Blazers is fully guaranteed and is structured with standard 8% annual raises. It starts at $15,625,000 in 2022/23 and increases to $19,375,000 by year four in ’25/26.
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Northwest Notes: Porter Jr., Lillard, Cancar, Gobert

July 9th, 2022 at 10:31am CST by Dana Gauruder

Michael Porter Jr.‘s season was short-circuited by back surgery but the Nuggets forward said he’s ready to go for next season, Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets.

On an NBA TV interview, Porter said, “I think I’m 100% at this point. It’s a blessing. I feel good. I’m excited to get back on the court and play basketball.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • In an interview with ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth, Damian Lillard said he’s healthy after recovering from abdominal surgery, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets. “I wanted to fight through it. … It got to the point where I had to play it smarter,” Lillard said. “… My body is stronger than it was before in certain areas.” Lillard will be signing a two-year max extension with the Trail Blazers.
  • In the same interview, Lillard gave a ringing endorsement to the Jerami Grant trade with the Pistons. Reynolds relays in another tweet. “I loved it. That was like the No. 1 thing I wanted to get done,” he said. “Jerami has been on winning teams in OKC and Denver. He brings something to the game that we haven’t had at that position.”
  • Vlatko Cancar‘s three-year contract with the Nuggets is worth $6.8MM, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. Cancar signed the contract on Thursday. As previously reported, it includes a team option in the last year.
  • Rim protection and rebounding were areas of needs for the Timberwolves. That’s why they were willing to pay a high price for Rudy Gobert, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. “We gave up a lot. There’s no two ways about it,” president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said. “Tremendous draft capital, really good players, really good guys. But when you’re able to add a guy that’s as good as Rudy and not touch your top two or three players, it’s really, really rare.”
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Nuggets, Vlatko Cancar Complete Three-Year Deal

July 7th, 2022 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

10:58am: Cancar’s new deal is now official, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

9:30am: Free agent forward Vlatko Cancar has reached an agreement with the Nuggets, according to agent Misko Raznatovic, who tweets that his client will sign a three-year contract. The third year of the deal will be a team option, per Raznatovic.

The 49th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Cancar remained overseas for two more years, then signed with the Nuggets in 2019. He has spent the last three seasons with the team, but has only appeared in 70 games during that time, averaging 2.3 PPG and 1.3 RPG on .484/.333/.742 shooting in 7.2 MPG.

Cancar appeared to be in line for a little more playing time in 2021/22 before his season was derailed by a right foot fracture in January. The injury took about three months to heal — the 25-year-old returned to action in the Nuggets’ regular season finale, then saw some brief action in two playoff contests.

Despite Cancar’s limited role during his first three NBA seasons, the Nuggets issued him a qualifying offer last week, making him a restricted free agent, and have now reached a deal that will keep him on the roster. While the team held the Slovenian’s Bird rights, it would be surprising if his new deal is worth more than the minimum, and it’s unclear how much of it will be guaranteed.

Denver has 11 players currently on guaranteed contracts, with Bruce Brown, DeAndre Jordan, and Davon Reed set to join that group once they officially sign their respective contracts. That puts Cancar in line to fill the 15th and final spot on the team’s standard regular season roster, though it’s possible there will be more changes between now and opening night.

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Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III Among Players Receiving QOs

June 28th, 2022 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have issued a qualifying offer to center Deandre Ayton, making him a restricted free agent, reports Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Ayton’s qualifying offer is worth $16,422,835.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Qualifying Offers]

Although there have been consistent whispers about the possibility of Ayton leaving Phoenix in free agency this summer, there was never any doubt that he’d receive a qualifying offer. That QO ensures that he doesn’t become an unrestricted free agent and gives the Suns the opportunity to match any offer sheet he signs with a rival team. Ayton also has the option of signing the one-year, $16.4MM deal if he wants to become an unrestricted free agent in 2023, though that’s considered very unlikely.

Here are a few more updates on qualifying offer decisions from around the NBA:

  • The Pistons have tendered a qualifying offer worth $7,228,448 to big man Marvin Bagley III, making him a restricted free agent, tweets Smith. Multiple reports in recent weeks and months have indicated that re-signing Bagley will be a priority for Detroit this offseason. His cap hold will exceed $28MM, but if the two sides agree to terms quickly once free agency opens, the Pistons will be able to maximize their cap room by reducing that $28MM cap hold to a first-year salary that will come in much lower.
  • The Nets have issued qualifying offers to center Nic Claxton and two-way guard David Duke, per Smith (Twitter link). Claxton’s QO is worth $2,228,276 while Duke’s is for another two-way contract. Both players are now restricted free agents.
  • The Nuggets have extended qualifying offers to forward Vlatko Cancar and two-way swingman Davon Reed, according to Smith (Twitter link). Like Claxton, Cancar has a $2,228,276 qualifying offer. Reed’s is for another two-way contract, though it’s possible he could generate interest from teams interested in giving him a standard roster spot.
  • Wizards forward Anthony Gill received a qualifying offer making him a restricted free agent, according to Smith (Twitter link). Gill’s QO projects to be worth $2,011,516, though that could increase or decrease slightly depending on where the salary cap for 2022/23 ends up.
  • The Warriors have made swingman Quinndary Weatherspoon a restricted free agent by giving him a two-way qualifying offer, reports Smith (Twitter link). Golden State reportedly agreed to a deal with Lester Quinones to fill the team’s other two-way slot.
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