Pops Mensah-Bonsu has left the Nuggets training camp for personal reasons, and he won’t return, tweets Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post. This presumably means that Denver will place the four-year veteran’s non-guaranteed contract on waivers, though it’s unclear as to what the team’s plan is at this point. It’s also unclear at this time precisely why Mensah-Bonsu left camp. His exit reduces the Nuggets preseason roster count to 18.
Mensah-Bonsu had turned down a pair of lucrative offers from European clubs in order to sign with the Nuggets. While he was a longshot to make the regular season roster, Denver has had injury issues the past couple of seasons, and with Danilo Gallinari, JaVale McGee, and Wilson Chandler all question marks to make it through a full season, it’s possible that with a strong camp Mensah-Bonsu could have made the team.
The 6’9″, 31 year-old has made stops in Turkey, Italy and Spain since his departure from the NBA after the 2010/11 campaign, averaging 8.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per game last season for Turkey’s Galatasaray. For his NBA career, Mensah-Bonsu has averaged 3.0 PPG and 3.0 RPG. His career slash line is .410/.000/.589.