Denver Nuggets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Free Agent Rumors: Kuminga, CP3, Horford, Westbrook, Lillard

July 2nd, 2025 at 11:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings are “very engaged” on Warriors restricted free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga, according to Matt George of ABC 10 in Sacramento (Twitter links).

While the Kings have seemingly been extremely willing to discuss Malik Monk in trade scenarios, Monk likely wouldn’t be involved in any deal for Kuminga, says George, noting that Golden State doesn’t appear to have much interest in the veteran guard.

George has heard that the Kings have explored sending out guard Devin Carter, forward Dario Saric, and draft compensation as part of a deal to acquire Kuminga via sign-and-trade (Twitter link). If a deal along those lines came to fruition, it would likely be combined with Sacramento’s Saric/Jonas Valanciunas swap with Denver in order to maximize the Kings’ outgoing salary, which would allow them to give Kuminga a more lucrative deal.

However, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link), there’s no agreement imminent at this point. Conversations on the Kuminga front with the Warriors and “several” teams are ongoing, Slater adds.

Here are a few more items of interest on some of the top free agents still on the board:

After starting all 82 games for San Antonio this past season, veteran point guard Chris Paul is hoping to be a starter again in 2025/26, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link), which is one reason why he’s still weighing his options in free agency. Reynolds says the Clippers are hoping Paul will join them, while Ramona Shelburne of ESPN (Twitter video link) views the Suns as his most likely landing spot. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) believes Paul would like to return to Phoenix, but thinks there would be a very limited role for him with the Suns, so he considered a reunion unlikely.
The Warriors have been “very aggressive” in trying to recruit Al Horford to Golden State, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (Twitter video link). Windhorst believes Horford could end up in the West Coast if he continues his career, noting that the Lakers are among the other teams pursuing him. Windhorst’s report came before the Lakers reached an agreement with Deandre Ayton, but Los Angeles could still use frontcourt depth and still has its $5.1MM bi-annual exception available.
Russell Westbrook, an L.A. native, would like to “be closer to home,” according to Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter video link). Multiple reports this week have linked Westbrook to the Kings, but it sounds like that would only become a viable option if Sacramento ends up trading Monk.
In ranking what he believes are the top five best landing spots for Damian Lillard once he becomes a free agent, Spears places the Timberwolves atop his list (Twitter video link). Mike Conley is still penciled in as Minnesota’s starting point guard, but he’ll be 38 in October and struggled in the postseason, and the Wolves don’t have much reliable depth at the position behind him. Lillard could be a perfect fit, though he’ll miss most or all of the 2025/26 season while recovering from his Achilles tear.
In addition to previously reported suitors like Milwaukee and Indiana, the Knicks, Clippers, Cavaliers, and Nuggets also expressed some level of interest in Ayton before he agreed to join the Lakers, Shams Charania of ESPN said on SportsCenter (Twitter video link). Charania added that several suitors reached out to Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin to ask about Ayton and got “rave reviews of him as a teammate.”

Coaching Rumors: Knicks, Borrego, Shammgod, Magic, Mavs, More

July 2nd, 2025 at 8:49pm CST by Luke Adams

After being denied permission to speak to five NBA head coaches already under contract with rival teams, the Knicks shifted their focus to Mike Brown and Taylor Jenkins, with Jenkins falling behind after “projecting less enthusiasm for the job,” writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.

The team spoke to other candidates, including James Borrego and Micah Nori, and Ian Begley of SNY.tv confirms that South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley did, in fact, formally interview for the job as well. However, as Begley writes, the search was always expected to result in the Knicks hiring an experienced NBA head coach.

The Knicks ultimately decided Brown was their man in large part because they believe he’ll bring “leadership and collaboration” to the organization, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday. Casey Powell (aka CP The Fanchise) of Knicks Fan TV (Twitter link) notes that the club is also confident in Brown’s ability to maximize the talent on the roster.

While Brown won’t be forced to retain any of the assistants who worked under Tom Thibodeau, the expectation is that a few will be back, according to Begley, who specifically identifies Rick Brunson, Darren Ermann, Mark Bryant, and Maurice Cheeks as strong candidates to remain in New York.

Brown is targeting Borrego for his lead assistant role, viewing him as an ideal offensive coordinator, Begley writes. However, as Marc Stein of The Stein Line notes (via Twitter), the Pelicans want to keep Borrego as their associate head coach and don’t necessarily have to let him leave for what would be a lateral move in terms of his title.

According to Stein (Twitter link), New Orleans previously denied permission to the Nuggets, who wanted to speak to Borrego about their lead assistant role under David Adelman.

Here are a few more coaching-related notes and rumors from around the NBA:

As expected, Mavericks player development coach God Shammgod has reached a deal with the Magic to become an assistant on Jamahl Mosley‘s staff, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). Rumors about Orlando’s interest in Shammgod, who had been in Dallas since 2016, had circulated since mid-June.
With Shammgod departing, keep an eye on Phil Handy and Mike Penberthy as possible candidates to join the Mavericks‘ staff under Jason Kidd, according to Stein (Twitter links). Both Handy and Penberthy were part of the Lakers’ staff alongside Kidd when Frank Vogel – Dallas’ new lead assistant – was the head coach in Los Angeles.
Omar Cooper Jr., the twin brother of former NBA guard Sharife Cooper and the son of Ace Bailey‘s agent Omar Cooper, is serving as a guest coach for the Jazz during Summer League, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. Cooper Jr. is looking to get into coaching after wrapping up his college playing career at McNeese State this past season.
In announcing its 15-man roster for EuroBasket 2025, the Spanish national team confirmed that former Raptors assistant Sergio Scariolo will be stepping down from his role as Spain’s head coach after the event. BasketNews.com has the story, along with Spain’s roster, which includes Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama.

Free Agency Notes: Cancar, Nuggets, Turner, Middle Class, Spending Power

July 2nd, 2025 at 11:39am CST by Dana Gauruder

Veteran forward Vlatko Cancar is expected to leave the Nuggets and head to Europe next season, Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com reports. The Italian team Olimpia Milano has emerged as the leading candidate to sign Cancar, Urbonas adds, with a report from Aris Barkas of Eurohoops suggesting the two sides are on track to complete a two-year deal.

Cancar, 28, has spent the past five seasons with Denver. He has battled health problems in recent years, having missed all of 2023/24 due to a torn ACL and then undergoing another knee surgery this past season. In 13 total appearances in 2024/25, he averaged 1.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 11 minutes per contest.

Cancar is an unrestricted free agent after playing on a one-year veteran’s minimum deal.

Here’s more news on the free agent front:

Nikola Jokic lamented the Nuggets’ lack of depth after the team was eliminated by the Thunder in the playoffs. That issue has been addressed, as The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando notes (subscription required). Denver agreed to trade Michael Porter Jr. and replace him with Cameron Johnson from the Nets, made another agreed-upon trade for big man Jonas Valanciunas, and reached agreements with Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown in free agency.
Despite a report from the Indianapolis Star’s suggesting they went higher, both The Athletic and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) contend that the Pacers’ best offer to Myles Turner was in the $20-22MM per year range. Turner agreed to a four-year, $107MM deal with Central Division rival Milwaukee on Tuesday. According to Spencer Davies of RG.org, Turner would have stayed in Indiana for $25MM per year, but the organization held firm, offering a three-year, $66MM contract, with no player option on year four.
The Athletic’s John Hollinger notes that the league “middle class,” solid rotation players but not superstars, are doing surprisingly well in free agency. He points out that eight such players received some or all of a team’s non-taxpayer mid-level exception on the first day of free agency.
Factoring in all the reported moves prior to Wednesday, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith examines the remaining spending power of all the Eastern Conference and Western Conference teams.

Missouri’s Tamar Bates Signs Two-Way Deal With Nuggets

July 1st, 2025 at 5:07pm CST by Earnest Marshall

July 1: The Nuggets have officially signed Bates to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

Denver’s other two-way slots remain open, though the club has a two-way qualifying offer on the table to Spencer Jones for one of them.

June 26: The Nuggets are signing Tamar Bates to a two-way contract, according to The Athletic’s Tony Jones (Twitter link).

Bates played his first two collegiate seasons with Indiana before transferring to Missouri for his junior and senior years. In 2024/25, he averaged 13.3 points per game while posting an extremely impressive .508/.397/.946 shooting line.

The Nuggets did not make any draft picks, but according to the Denver Gazette’s Vinny Benedetto (Twitter link), there were situations where they looked at trying to get into both the first and second rounds. Bates is their first reported add of the 2025 undrafted class.

On his two-way contract, Bates will be eligible to appear in up to 50 regular season games for the Nuggets and will earn a salary ($636,435) worth half the rookie minimum if he sticks beyond the league-wide guarantee date in January.

Kings Trading Valanciunas To Nuggets For Saric

July 1st, 2025 at 11:02am CST by Rory Maher

The Kings have agreed to trade center Jonas Valanciunas to the Nuggets in exchange for forward/center Dario Saric, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Valanciunas will earn about $10.4MM in 2025/26, with a non-guaranteed $10MM salary for ’26/27. Saric is entering the final year of his contract, which will pay him approximately $5.4MM next season.

The Nuggets are able to take on Valanciunas’ higher salary due to the newfound roster-building flexibility they created as a result of the agreed upon trade that will send Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick to Brooklyn for Cameron Johnson.

Valanciunas spent his first six-plus NBA seasons with Toronto, the team that selected him No. 5 overall in the 2011 draft. He also played for Memphis and New Orleans prior to becoming a free agent last year.

The 33-year-old landed with the Wizards via sign-and-trade last summer, then was traded to Sacramento in February. The durable big man made 81 combined appearances last season, averaging 10.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 18.8 minutes per contest.

While he’s a very limited defensive player, Valanciunas is a bruising low-post scorer and rebounder with a soft touch and should be a productive backup for three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.

As for the Kings, they were likely motivated to make the deal for financial reasons. As Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron tweets, Sacramento will save about $5MM in the trade, which will give the team the flexibility to complete its reported deal with veteran guard Dennis Schröder without going into the tax.

Saric signed a two-year, $10.6MM deal with Denver last summer, but it didn’t work out the way either party had hoped. The 31-year-old only played in 16 games last season, averaging 3.5 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 13.1 MPG.

Knicks Sign Guerschon Yabusele To Two-Year Deal

July 1st, 2025 at 10:05am CST by Luke Adams

July 6: Yabusele’s deal with the Knicks is now official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

As we previously relayed, Yabusele is expected to take a little less than the full taxpayer mid-level exception in order to create some extra breathing room below the Knicks’ hard cap.

According to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link), Yabusele’s deal will be worth $5.5MM in year one and $5.775MM in year two.

July 1: The Knicks are in agreement on a two-year, $12MM deal with free agent forward/center Guerschon Yabusele, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), who reports that the new contract will include a second-year player option.

Based on their cap situation, the Knicks appear set to use their full taxpayer mid-level exception on Yabusele. That would work out to approximately $11.7MM over two seasons.

So far, Yabusele’s second stint in the NBA has gone much better than his first one. The Frenchman struggled to carve out rotation minutes when he became a Celtic at age 22 in 2017 after being drafted 16th overall a year earlier.

However, he was a revelation on a minimum-salary contract with the Sixers in 2024/25, averaging 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 27.1 minutes per game, with a .501/.380/.725 shooting line.

Yabusele has the size to match up with big men in the post and the athleticism to switch onto perimeter players, making him a valuable member of any frontcourt rotation. He’ll give the Knicks another option up front to supplement Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson, likely sliding into the spot previously held by Precious Achiuwa, who is currently a free agent.

According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link), the Nuggets were New York’s top competition for Yabusele, with San Antonio and Milwaukee among the other clubs who expressed interest. The 29-year-old was the No. 22 free agent on our top-50 list.

Now that they’ve committed their taxpayer mid-level exception to Yabusele, the Knicks will be limited to minimum-salary signings (or trades) to fill out their roster.

Nuggets To Hire J.J. Barea As Assistant Coach

July 1st, 2025 at 8:30am CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets are adding former NBA guard J.J. Barea to their coaching staff as an assistant under new head coach David Adelman, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). Barea will be a front-of-bench assistant in Denver, Charania adds.

Marc Stein first reported the Nuggets’ interest in Barea, who had been coaching the Guaynabo Mets in his native Puerto Rico over the past couple years before being let go in May.

Barea, who turned 41 last week, played in the NBA from 2005-19, spending the majority of those 14 years in Dallas and winning a title with the Mavericks in 2011. Following his retirement, he spent a year as a player development coach for the Mavs in 2021/22.

As Tim MacMahon of ESPN notes (via Twitter), Adelman was an assistant coach in Minnesota when Barea played for the Timberwolves during the only non-Mavs stint of his career from 2011-14. Adelman reached out to Barea to recruit him for the role, MacMahon reports.

The Nuggets have also reached an agreement to hire Rodney Billups, the younger brother of Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, as an assistant, agent Andy Miller tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Rodney worked on his brother’s staff in Portland from 2022-24 before spending this past season as a Nets scout.

Denver is also said to have interest in Mavericks assistant Jared Dudley for a role on Adelman’s staff. While the Nuggets were granted permission to speak to Dudley, there has been no word yet on whether or not he’ll leave Dallas for Denver.

Free Agency Rumors: Monk, Pistons, Westbrook, Yabusele, Clippers

June 30th, 2025 at 10:24pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Pistons may be pursuing a trade for Kings guard Malik Monk, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (via Twitter). Dennis Schröder is expected to sign with Sacramento and could get there via a sign-and-trade deal that sends Monk to Detroit.

With Schröder expected to join the Kings and Malik Beasley‘s NBA future up in the air due to a gambling-related investigation, the Pistons have been scouring the trade and free agency markets for ball-handling, scoring, and shooting. The club already agreed to sign Caris LeVert and also has interest in free agent sharpshooter Duncan Robinson, as Fischer confirms (Twitter link).

Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal reports (via Twitter) that the Kings have been shopping Monk in the hopes of finding point guard help, and previously made an offer to the Hawks for Kobe Bufkin and Georges Niang, which Atlanta declined.

We have more free agent rumors from around the league:

The Knicks are unlikely to pursue Russell Westbrook with one of their remaining guard spots, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post (via Twitter). It had previously been reported that there was mutual interest between the two sides, but with Jordan Clarkson set to sign with New York after clearing waivers, the pathway to playing time for Westbrook would be limited.
Sixers big man Guerschon Yabusele appears increasingly unlikely to remain in Philadelphia, reports Tony Jones of the Athletic (via Twitter). The skilled French forward had a strong season in his return to the NBA after six years in the EuroLeague. He is expected to be pursued by the Spurs, per Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link), while Jones adds (via Twitter) that the Nuggets are another team to keep an eye on.
Jones also reports (via Twitter) that the Sixers have been trying to trade center Andre Drummond and his $5MM expiring salary, though it’s unclear whether that would change the team’s outlook for Yabusele.
Neither Amir Coffey nor Ben Simmons seems likely to return to the Clippers, according to Law Murray of The Athletic, who suggests they could probably get better offers elsewhere. Simmons is seeking a deal worth more than the veteran’s minimum, Murray notes.

Free Agent Rumors: Kings, Schröder, Horford, More

June 30th, 2025 at 8:52pm CST by Eli Cohen

Finding a point guard was a top priority for the Kings when free agency opened on Monday. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), the team arranged meetings via Zoom with both Dennis Schröder and Russell Westbrook.

Sacramento was also planning to meet with Malcolm Brogdon, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link), who notes that the Wizards would be willing to accommodate a sign-and-trade deal involving Brogdon.

The Kings may end up adding more than one point guard, with Schröder looking like a lock to be one of them. Reports leading up to free agency indicated the two sides would likely agree to a two-year deal worth the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, and Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link) has since reported that Schröder will reach an agreement to sign with Sacramento.

Here are a few more free agent rumors from around the NBA:

Al Horford is commanding a lot of attention, reports HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto (via Twitter). Scotto says that the Warriors, Knicks, Nuggets, Lakers, and Cavaliers have all expressed interest in luring Horford away from the Celtics since free agency opened, but Boston is also interested in retaining him, especially after losing Luke Kornet earlier in the day to the Spurs.
After agreeing to sign Tyus Jones to be the team’s backup point guard, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press hears that reserve big man Moritz Wagner is expected to return to the Magic (Twitter link). Orlando declined its team option on Wagner over the weekend, but retained his Bird rights. Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel echoes Reynolds’ report (via Twitter), saying that expects Wagner to re-sign with the Magic.
The Warriors feel good about their chances of re-signing restricted free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga, according to ESPN’s Marc Spears (Twitter video link). Spears says the money Kuminga and his representatives are looking for does not seem to be on the market this summer, which could result in him remaining in Golden State.

Nuggets Trade Michael Porter, First-Round Pick To Nets For Cam Johnson

June 30th, 2025 at 6:09pm CST by Luke Adams

July 8: The trade is official, the Nets announced in a press release.

June 30: The Nuggets and Nets have agreed to a trade that will send Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick to the Nets in exchange for Cameron Johnson, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The move will create significant cap flexibility for Denver. Porter is owed a little over $79MM across the next two seasons, while Johnson’s contract has a base value of $44MM over those same two years (he also has some unlikely incentives that count toward the tax aprons).

It also looks like a potential on-court upgrade for the Nuggets. While Porter is an extremely talented scorer and shooter who averaged 18.2 points per game on a .504/.395/.768 shooting line in 77 games for Denver in 2024/25, Johnson is considred a strong defender and is a pretty good scorer and shooter in his own right.

Johnson scored a career-high 18.8 points per game on .475/.390/.893 shooting in 57 outings for the Nets this past season. He also set a new career high with 3.4 assists per contest.

The trade will move the Nuggets’ team salary more than $13MM below the first apron, potentially opening up the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to use in free agency, notes Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). That could be a valuable tool for a Denver team looking to add quality depth to support a strong starting lineup.

The Nets, meanwhile, will use a chunk of their cap room to accommodate Porter’s incoming salary — if they had been operating over the cap, they wouldn’t be able to swap Johnson straight up for MPJ and his $38.3MM cap hit.

The move will reduce their cap room to about $17MM, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks, though that number is fluid, depending on how the team handles its non-guaranteed contracts and whether either of the reported deals for Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams go into the room exception.

The unprotected 2032 first-round pick is clearly the prize of the deal for Brooklyn. Nikola Jokic will be 37 years old in 2032, and there’s no guarantee he’ll still be a Nugget anyway, so that pick has a good deal of variability and could turn into a very valuable asset.

Still, the Nets don’t view Porter as a mere salary dump. They’re excited about the former lottery pick – who celebrated his 27th birthday on Sunday – and intend to keep him, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.