The Nuggets are expected to re-sign Darrell Arthur, NBA sources tell Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The team and the Jerry Hicks client reportedly engaged in productive talks at the start of free agency, but the Clippers later emerged as a team with which Arthur apparently shared mutual interest. The Pistons and Wizards were interested, too, as Dempsey reported at the beginning of the month.
Denver renounced its Bird rights to Arthur, but Dempsey indicates that the Nuggets are set to use some of the cap flexibility they reaped in the Ty Lawson trade to facilitate a deal with the power forward. The Nuggets can open about $11MM in room if they waive the non-guaranteed contracts of Kostas Papanikolaou and Erick Green and refrain from formally signing Emmanuel Mudiay and from making their reported deal with Will Barton official, so that their cap holds remain low. They won’t need all of that space for Arthur, but the Nuggets are expected to sign Danilo Gallinari to an extension this week, as Dempsey also reports, and if that’s a renegotiation and extension in mold of Denver’s new Wilson Chandler pact, it would take up some of that cap flexibility.
A new deal with Arthur would leave the Nuggets poised to have 15 guaranteed contracts on the books once the Barton and Mudiay signings take place. Arthur has been consistent in his two seasons with Denver, averaging 6.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in 17.1 minutes per game over that time.
Is keeping Arthur the right choice for the Nuggets, or should they seek out another free agent power forward? Let us know in the comments.
Absolutely terrible he shot 23% on 110 3pt shots. He has no business shooting a basketball. Better to just develop the guys they already have. Cause this guy sucks.