Denver Nuggets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Dellavedova, D’Antoni, Erman, Pistons

November 24th, 2020 at 11:32am CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers are close to finalizing a deal to bring back Matthew Dellavedova for another season, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who reports that the veteran guard has agreed to the parameters of a one-year contract. The agreement will give Dellavedova $2.1MM for the upcoming season, along with a one-year Bird restriction and the option to veto any trade.

Dellavedova, 30, is expected to serve as a back-up point guard and a veteran leader on a youthful team. Fedor states that several other teams expressed interest, including the Lakers, but Dellavedova opted for Cleveland, where he has spent most of his seven-year NBA career.

The signing will give the Cavaliers 14 players under contract, and the final roster spot may not be filled right away, Fedor adds. The team will explore potential signings heading into training camp, but may opt for the flexibility of keeping a spot open.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Mike D’Antoni considered retirement after leaving the Rockets following their playoff exit, writes Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. D’Antoni was convinced to keep coaching when he got an offer from the Nets to join the staff of first-time head coach Steve Nash, who orchestrated D’Antoni’s offense when they were together in Phoenix. “He’s going to make it easy for Steve,” said Warriors assistant Leandro Barbosa. “Mike is one of the best coaches that I ever played for. He’s also one of the best from an offensive standpoint. He knows a lot of plays, he knows a lot of tricks, I think he’s going to be awesome for Kyrie (Irving) and (Kevin) Durant.”
Darren Erman, who coached the Celtics’ G League affiliate last season, will join the Knicks as an assistant to Tom Thibodeau, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Erman spent four years as associate head coach with the Pelicans.
The Nuggets will receive $110K from the Pistons in the sign-and-trade that sent Jerami Grant to Detroit, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). The Pistons shipped $250K to the Jazz in the deal for Tony Bradley, Pincus adds (Twitter link).

Nuggets Promote Bol Bol To Standard Roster

November 24th, 2020 at 10:32am CST by Luke Adams

4:22pm: The Nuggets have officially announced that they’ve signed Bol to a standard NBA contract.

10:32am: The Nuggets and young center Bol Bol have agreed to a two-year deal worth $4.2MM, his agents at CAA Sports tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Bol, who spent his rookie season in 2019/20 on a two-way contract, will be promoted to Denver’s standard roster as part of the agreement.

Bol, once considered a probable 2019 lottery pick, dropped to No. 44 in last year’s draft due to health concerns. The 21-year-old was limited to seven NBA appearances and eight G League games as a rookie.

However, Bol has flashed intriguing potential as a 7’2″ center who can knock down shots from beyond the arc, and the Nuggets are excited about his development, tweets Charania. In his eight games for the Windy City Bulls last season, he averaged 12.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 2.1 BPG with a .364 3PT% in 19.3 minutes per contest.

Even with Mason Plumlee out of the picture for the Nuggets in 2020/21, Bol will have to compete to earn a regular role in the rotation. Isaiah Hartenstein, Paul Millsap, and Zeke Nnaji are also candidates for minutes at the five behind Nikola Jokic.

Bol will fill the roster spot previously occupied by Keita Bates-Diop, who was waived before his salary for 2020/21 became guaranteed. Mike Singer of The Denver Post previously reported that the Nuggets would promote Bol to the standard roster.

After committing most of its mid-level exception to JaMychal Green, Denver will likely use the remaining portion of that MLE to complete the Bol signing.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Four-Team Jrue Holiday, Steven Adams Trade Officially Complete

November 24th, 2020 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans, Thunder, Bucks, and Nuggets have officially completed the four-team trade that will send Jrue Holiday to Milwaukee and Steven Adams to New Orleans, the Pelicans announced today in a press release.

In total, the mega-deal involves 10 players, five draft picks, and two future pick swaps. The trade breaks down as follows:

Bucks acquire Holiday and the draft rights to Sam Merrill (No. 60 pick; from Pelicans).
Pelicans acquire Adams, Eric Bledsoe, the Bucks’ 2025 first-round pick (unprotected), the Bucks’ 2027 first-round pick (unprotected), and the right to swap first-round picks with the Bucks in 2024 and 2026.
Thunder acquire George Hill, Darius Miller, Kenrich Williams (sign-and-trade), Josh Gray (sign-and-trade), Zylan Cheatham (sign-and-trade), the Nuggets’ 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected), the Wizards’ 2023 second-round pick (from Pelicans), and the Hornets’ 2024 second-round pick (from Pelicans).
Nuggets acquire the draft rights to RJ Hampton (No. 24 pick; from Bucks).

The deal began when the Bucks and Pelicans reached an agreement on a trade sending Holiday to Milwaukee last week. From there, the Thunder got involved when New Orleans agreed to flip Hill to Oklahoma City in a trade for Adams.

A draft-night deal between the Nuggets and Pelicans that involved the Nuggets’ 2023 first-rounder and the Bucks’ No. 24 pick (sent to New Orleans as part of the original Holiday agreement) was folded in to make it a four-team trade when the Pels agreed to flip Denver’s ’23 pick to OKC as part of the Adams package.

As cap expert Albert Nahmad has pointed out (via Twitter), it’s an intricate, complex transaction that had to make use of a slew of CBA rules. The Pelicans, who are signing Adams to a two-year extension as part of the trade, needed to sign-and-trade Williams, Gray, and Cheatham to Oklahoma City and guarantee most or all of Miller’s $7MM salary in order to abide by salary-matching rules.

Meanwhile, Adams gets a trade bonus worth a little over $2MM as part of the deal, while the Thunder create the largest trade exception in NBA history, worth $27.5MM, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

Unfortunately, as Nahmad observes (via Twitter), Oklahoma City will likely have to use that massive TPE immediately to accommodate the acquisition of Al Horford. Still, as John Hollinger of The Athletic writes, the Thunder should come out of their series of transactions with a handful of usable trade exceptions, including one worth $15.4MM.

A full breakdown of this offseason’s trades – including the ones not yet made official – can be found right here.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Spurs Sign Keita Bates-Diop To Two-Way Deal

November 23rd, 2020 at 8:20am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 29, 1:20pm: The Spurs have officially announced the signing of Bates-Diop to a two-way contract.

NOVEMBER 23, 8:20am: The Nuggets officially waived Bates-Diop on Sunday, per the NBA’s transactions log. Assuming he clears waivers on Tuesday, he’ll be free to sign with San Antonio at that point.

NOVEMBER 22, 9:54pm: The Spurs and forward Keita Bates-Diop have agreed to a two-way deal, according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Bates-Diop is technically still a member of the Nuggets. However, Mike Singer of The Denver Post has reported that the club intends to waive the 24-year-old before his salary for 2020/21 becomes fully guaranteed this week in order to clear a spot on the 15-man roster for Bol Bol.

Denver likely gave Bates-Diop and his reps a chance to seek out a new opportunity before that move becomes official. He’ll still have to clear waivers, but I don’t expect any team will make a surprise claim.

The 48th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Bates-Diop began his career with the Timberwolves before being tradd to Denver at last season’s deadline. In 74 career games as a pro, he has averaged 5.9 PPG and 2.8 RPG on .426/.303/.699 shooting.

Quinndary Weatherspoon is expected to fill San Antonio’s other two-way contract slot.

Pistons Acquire Jerami Grant In Sign-And-Trade With Nuggets

November 22nd, 2020 at 8:13pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 22: The Pistons have officially announced the acquisition of Grant. Interestingly, the team’s press release states that it’s a sign-and-trade, with Grant and the draft rights to Nikola Radicevic being sent to Detroit, while Denver receives cash considerations.

The move will allow the Nuggets to create a traded player exception worth about $9.5MM.

NOVEMBER 20: The Pistons are signing veteran free agent Jerami Grant to a three-year contract worth $60MM, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The move will reunite Grant with new Pistons GM Troy Weaver, who worked in Oklahoma City’s front office during the forward’s stint with the team.

Grant, 26, was acquired by the Nuggets during the 2019 offseason from the Thunder in exchange for a first-round pick. He came off the bench for most of the season in Denver, averaging 12.0 PPG and 3.5 RPG with a shooting line of .478/.389/.750 in 71 games (26.6 MPG). He entered the team’s starting lineup in the playoffs due to Will Barton‘s absence and played a key role in Denver’s run to the Western Finals.

Grant’s size, defensive versatility, and ability to knock down outside shots made him a popular free agent this fall, though it’s still a bit surprising that the rebuilding Pistons were the team to land him. Detroit entered this week with cap room but have made a series of moves eating into that cap room and will have re-open some of it to complete the Grant signing.

The Nuggets, meanwhile, will be on the lookout for frontcourt players after two of their key free agents – Grant and Mason Plumlee – agreed to deals with Detroit tonight. According to Denver-area reporter T.J. McBride (Twitter link), the Nuggets offered to match Grant’s three-year, $60MM offer from the Pistons, but he chose Detroit because he wants a bigger role.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nuggets Sign Isaiah Hartenstein

November 22nd, 2020 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 30: The Nuggets have officially signed Hartenstein, the team announced in a press release.

NOVEMBER 22: The Nuggets intend to sign free agent center Isaiah Hartenstein to fill their final roster spot, a league source tells Mike Singer of The Denver Post. He’ll receive a two-year deal, Singer adds (via Twitter).

Hartenstein’s deal will include a second-year player option, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’ll be a minimum-salary contract, adds Singer (via Twitter).

Hartenstein, 22, spent the first two years of his NBA career in Houston before being waived in June. In 51 total games, he averaged 3.1 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 9.5 minutes per contest.

He’s expected to compete with Zeke Nnaji for Denver’s backup center job following the departure of Mason Plumlee, Singer notes. I’d expect Paul Millsap and JaMychal Green are also candidates to play some minutes at the five in smaller lineups when Nikola Jokic is off the floor.

Another player who could be in the mix for playing time at center is 2019 second-rounder Bol Bol, who will be promoted from his two-way contract to the standard roster, according to Singer. Bol will fill the roster spot previously occupied by Keita Bates-Diop, who will be waived before his salary for 2020/21 becomes guaranteed, per Singer.

Bol, once considered a probable 2019 lottery pick, dropped to No. 44 in last year’s draft due to health concerns. The 21-year-old was limited to seven NBA appearances and eight G League games as a rookie.

The Nuggets will also aim to sign forward Greg Whittington to a two-way contract, per Singer, though a league source tells JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors that Whittington has yet to agree to a deal. Undrafted Marquette free agent Markus Howard is on track to fill one on Denver’s two-way slots.

Nugggets Looking For Big Man For Final Roster Spot

November 22nd, 2020 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nuggets have an open roster spot after withdrawing their qualifying offer to Torrey Craig, and it will most likely be used to add a back-up big man, tweets Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Denver lost Mason Plumlee to Detroit on the first night of free agency. Top centers still available include Hassan Whiteside, Aron Baynes and Marc Gasol.

Nuggets Withdraw QO For Torrey Craig, Making Him UFA

November 21st, 2020 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets have withdrawn their $2.5MM qualifying offer for swingman Torrey Craig, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). As a result of the move, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.

Craig, who will turn 30 next month, averaged 5.4 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 58 games (27 starts) for Denver in 2019/20, providing the team with solid perimeter defense. However, he became a victim of a roster crunch in Denver.

According to Wojnarowski, the Nuggets valued Craig, but are simply running out of roster spots with which to comfortably bring him back on a guaranteed deal.

Even having lost Mason Plumlee and Jerami Grant, Denver added Zeke Nnaji and RJ Hampton in this week’s draft, is retaining Paul Millsap on a new deal, and is bringing in JaMychal Green and Facundo Campazzo in free agency. The club also reportedly plans on promoting two-way player Bol Bol to its standard roster.

The Nuggets are also emerging as the frontrunners to sign forward Greg Whittington to their roster, as our JD Shaw reports (via Twitter).

Nuggets Rumors: Grant, Bates-Diop, Bol, Craig, Nnaji

November 21st, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jerami Grant‘s decision to join the Pistons had a lot to do with his role with the Nuggets, according to Mike Singer of the Denver Post.

Grant received similar offers of three years and $60MM from Detroit and Denver and decided to take an expanded offensive role with the rebuilding Pistons. Grant wasn’t thrilled with being the fourth option on a prime championship contender. He served on the second unit a majority of last season behind Paul Millsap and Grant viewed that as a sacrifice.

Singer offers more info on the Nuggets

They filled one of their two remaining roster spots by agreeing to a contract with Millsap on Saturday afternoon. But they don’t intend to keep forward Keita Bates-Diop, so that will open up another roster spot. It will likely be filled by second-year center Bol Bol. The team plans to convert his two-way contract into a standard deal.
With Millsap coming back, the next priority is restricted free agent Torrey Craig. His perimeter defense increases his value due to Grant’s departure.
If Craig signs elsewhere, they’ll look to add a mobile big man to replace Mason Plumlee, who is also headed to Detroit. If that plan falls through, the role may be filled by first-round selection Zeke Nnaji.

Nuggets Re-Sign Paul Millsap

November 21st, 2020 at 3:49pm CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 3: The Nuggets have officially re-signed Millsap, the team announced today in a press release. All of Denver’s reported offseason moves have now been finalized.

NOVEMBER 21: The Nuggets lost Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee on the first day of free agency, but they’re bringing back their other key frontcourt free agent. Denver has agreed to re-sign Paul Millsap to a one-year contract worth $10MM+, agent DeAngelo Simmons tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Millsap, 35, played fewer minutes per game (24.3) in 2019/20 than he had in any season since 2007/08, but he remained highly effective in those minutes. He averaged 11.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 1.6 APG with a solid shooting line of .482/.435/.816 in 51 games (48 starts).

Since arriving in Denver in 2017, Millsap has helped stabilize the team’s defense alongside Nikola Jokic in the frontcourt. With Plumlee and Grant departing in free agency, Millsap will share time up front in 2020/21 with the newly-added JaMychal Green, with youngsters like Michael Porter and Bol Bol expected to take on larger roles too.

Millsap received interest from “over half of the league” as a free agent, according to Charania (via Twitter). Earlier today, the Celtics were cited as a strong contender for the big man. However, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link) hears that personal reasons played a major part in Millsap’s decision — he didn’t want to uproot his family from Denver.

Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said back in September that he’d “love to see” Millsap spend the rest of his career in Denver. While this contract won’t guarantee that, it’s a good first step.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.