Nuggets Rumors

2015 NBA Draft Grades: Northwest Division

September 26th, 2015 at 12:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The 2015 NBA Draft is squarely in the rearview and a number of draftees have already provided a taste of what is to come with their summer league play. I held off on my grades until now because I wanted a better context in which to evaluate each team’s selections, with free agency and summer league providing greater perspective. Sometimes, selecting the best available player isn’t the best course of action and it is wiser to nab a player who fits a clear need, which should always be considered when rating how each front office fared in the draft. I’ve already run down my thoughts on the Atlantic, Central, Southeast, and Pacific divisions, and next up is a look at the Northwest Division:

Denver Nuggets

Team Needs: Point guard. Talent and depth.

Draft Picks:

No. 7 Overall — Emmanuel Mudiay, PG, Guangdong
No. 57 Overall — Nikola Radicevic, PG, Serbia

The Nuggets entered the 2015 draft with a number of glaring holes, which isn’t a surprise for a team coming off a 30-win campaign. Denver’s primary need was a point guard to replace Ty Lawson, whose tenure with the team came to an end when he was unceremoniously dealt to the Rockets this summer. Denver certainly addressed that need when it nabbed Emmanuel Mudiay, the second-ranked point guard in this year’s draft, with the No. 7 overall pick.

Landing a player of Mudiay’s potential outside of the top five picks has to be considered a win for the Nuggets, though he doesn’t arrive without some question marks attached. Having bypassed playing college ball at SMU in order to head overseas to China, the young guard is a bit of a wild card, which is likely why he was still on the board when it was Denver’s turn on the clock. Mudiay has an NBA-ready frame, an abundance of athleticism, as well as a lofty ceiling as far as his NBA potential goes, but like any young guard, he still has a lot to learn about being an NBA playmaker. There are also concerns about Mudiay’s jump shot and if he’ll be able to keep defenses honest by draining his outside shots consistently.

Mudiay is likely to have a rough first season, not only because of his expected rookie growing pains, but also due to the lack of talent surrounding him. But regardless of how his initial campaign in the NBA goes, Denver made the right call by selecting Mudiay, and not just because he fills an obvious need. He may also emerge as one of the top talents in the entire draft. He’ll certainly take his lumps this season, but Mudiay could end up being an All-Star by his third or fourth year in the league.

Overall Draft Grade: A. While Mudiay is a bit of a wild card, he has a wealth of talent and potential, and should give Nuggets fans reason to hope for a better tomorrow. An excellent pick by GM Tim Connelly.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Team Needs: Depth in the frontcourt and point guard, outside shooting.

Draft Picks:

No. 1 Overall — Karl-Anthony Towns, F/C, Kentucky
No. 24 Overall — Tyus Jones, PG, Duke*

*Acquired from Cavaliers in exchange for the rights to Cedi Osman and Rakeem Christmas as well as a 2019 second-rounder.

It’s natural to think that possessing the top selection in the draft and having the pick of the litter of the player pool should ensure that a team gets it right. But looking back over past drafts, that’s not always the case, with the most recent example being Anthony Bennett, who reached a buyout arrangement with Minnesota this week after two unspectacular seasons in the NBA. Time will tell if Flip Saunders made the right call by nabbing Towns over D’Angelo Russell and Jahlil Okafor, but I’m a big believer that Minnesota absolutely nailed it with this pick.

Towns didn’t have eye-popping stats during his lone season at Kentucky, but that was a result of the Wildcats’ ridiculous depth and effective platoon system. He would have been a shoo-in for NCAA Player of the Year honors on almost any other college squad. Few players come along who possess Towns’ brilliant combination of size, speed, skill, and athleticism, and Timberwolves fans should be truly excited about the possibilities heading forward, not only for Towns, but the franchise as a whole.

But despite all my gushing over Towns, I do need to dial down fans’ expectations a bit for the coming season. He is still very much a work in progress, and though he should be a solid contributor from the outset, I don’t expect his rookie season to be an easy ride. Towns still needs work on his post moves and outside shot, and he’ll need time to adjust to the bigger, stronger players at the professional level. Keep in mind that Anthony Davis, who is well on his way to becoming the best player in the NBA, notched averages of “only” 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest his rookie year.

I would have raved about Minnesota’s draft if it ended with Towns, but acquiring the No. 24 pick from Cleveland to nab Duke point guard Tyus Jones was an excellent follow-up move. Jones has the potential to develop into an absolute steal for Minnesota, and he also fills the Wolves’ need for depth at the point. Given the unknowns regarding the health and future of incumbent starter Ricky Rubio with the franchise, and Zach LaVine not being a true point guard, adding Jones was a wise move. Jones lacks elite athleticism and speed, but he has virtually every other skill and intangible that one would desire from a point guard. I don’t expect much from Jones this coming season, but he could become a big part of Minnesota’s future if the team develops him properly.

Overall Draft Grade: A+. It’s hard to find any fault with Minnesota landing the most talented player in the draft in Towns, who has the potential to become a superstar. I also love the addition of the underrated Jones late in the first round.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Team Needs: Backcourt depth.

Draft Picks:

No. 14 Overall — Cameron Payne, PG, Murray State
No. 48 Overall — Dakari Johnson, C, Kentucky

OKC filled its biggest need with the selection of Cameron Payne, who, hopefully for the Thunder, won’t become the next talented guard the team will deal away rather than sign to an extension. Following in the footsteps of James Harden and Reggie Jackson, Payne, who shot up draft boards late in the process, will be asked to provide scoring off the bench and be an insurance policy in the event that Russell Westbrook suffers another injury.

Payne is a versatile guard who is a tantalizing blend of scorer and playmaker. He has excellent fundamentals and a high basketball IQ, and while he doesn’t possess blazing speed, Payne is deceptively quick. He is an excellent mid-range shooter, a skill that seems to be quickly becoming a lost art around the league, and he’ll also keep defenses honest from beyond the arc. There is quite a bit to like about Payne as a player, and while he’ll need some time to acclimate to the speed of the NBA game, he has the potential to become a special player in the league.

I also like the team nabbing Kentucky center Dakari Johnson late in the second round. He was buried on Kentucky’s depth chart and his stats suffered as a result. Johnson is not likely to be a starter in the league anytime soon, but the team can certainly develop him into a solid rotation big. He will sign with the team’s D-League affiliate this season, which is great for the Thunder, as they will still retain his NBA rights, and the young big will get some time to develop away from the bright lights of the NBA.

Overall Draft Grade: A. A very solid draft for the Thunder who landed a talented guard in Payne, as well as an intriguing prospect in Johnson.

Portland Trailblazers

Team Needs: Talent. Depth in the frontcourt and at the wing.

Draft Picks:

No. 41 Overall — Pat Connaughton, SG, Notre Dame*
No. 54 Overall — Daniel Diez, SF, Spain**

*Acquired from Nets along with Mason Plumlee in exchange for the draft rights to Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Steve Blake.

**Acquired from Jazz for cash.

Portland traded away its 2015 first-rounder along with Blake for Plumlee, who was the No. 22 overall pick back in 2013, and a second round pick, which they used to select Connaughton. The Blazers decided to go with a more known quantity in Plumlee, whom they will task with helping to replace LaMarcus Aldridge, rather than trying to strike gold with a rookie via the draft.

Plumlee, 25, has shown promise, though he wasn’t necessarily utilized well during his time in Brooklyn, and a change of scenery, coaches, and systems should benefit the third-year player. The only negatives regarding this deal that I see are that Plumlee, whose contract includes a team option for the 2016/17 season, can hit restricted free agency in two years, whereas a player selected in this year’s draft would come with up to four years of complete team control, and that Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, whom the Nets grabbed with Portland’s pick, would have been a nice replacement for Wesley Matthews, who signed with Dallas this offseason.

The addition of Connaughton in the second round is an intriguing pick for the team. The 22-year-old out of Notre Dame is a freak athletically, and his predraft workouts were rather impressive in that regard. Connaughton is a project who will take some time to develop, but he was a good gamble for a team that could use some luck for a change. He’s not likely to become a starter in the NBA, but he has the potential to be an impact player off the bench at some point.

Overall Draft Grade: B. I like Portland adding a more established player in Plumlee, who should benefit by the change of scenery, via trade, though Hollis-Jefferson would have been a nice fit in Rip City as well.

Utah Jazz

Team Needs: Backcourt depth, stretch four, scoring.

Draft Picks:

No. 12 Overall — Trey Lyles, F, Kentucky
No. 42 Overall — Olivier Hanlan, G, Boston College

Utah has quietly accumulated a very solid collection of talent over the past couple of seasons, and the team entered the draft without any glaring holes to fill. This allowed GM Dennis Lindsey to focus on fine-tuning his rotation and looking for specific skillsets to complement his existing roster. One need that the Jazz do possess is a stretch four to replace Enes Kanter, whom they dealt to Oklahoma City last season, and Lyles is the man they are counting on to fill that void.

Lyles is a solid and athletic forward whose game is quite versatile, and he should fit Utah’s system perfectly. As was the case with Towns, Lyles’ college numbers weren’t all that impressive, thanks to Kentucky’s depth, but he showed more than enough promise to justify having been a lottery pick. He will also benefit greatly from playing behind Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward, which should give Lyles ample time to ease into the league without receiving undue pressure to perform immediately. I’m a big fan of this pick, and a number of front office types whose teams selected ahead of Utah may end up kicking themselves over allowing Lyles to slip past them.

The Jazz didn’t fare as well as in the second round, selecting Boston College point guard Olivier Hanlan at No. 42 overall. Hanlan has some potential, thanks to his size and scoring ability, but I’m not sold on him being an NBA point guard. He has the look of a player who is ticketed for overseas play or the D-League, and I think Utah would have been better served to instead take Oregon’s Joseph Young, who went to the Pacers with the very next pick. Young isn’t a pure point guard either, but he is a more explosive scorer than Hanlan is, and I believe he’ll have a more successful NBA career than the BC playmaker.

Overall Draft Grade: B+. Utah adds another solid young piece to its roster in Lyles, but the team could have done better in the second round than it did with Hanlan.

Northwest Notes: Gallinari, Davis, Thunder

September 22nd, 2015 at 3:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies looked into trading for Danilo Gallinari around the trade deadline this past season, several league sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe, advancing a report from June indicating that Memphis was pursuing the combo forward as the draft approached. The Nuggets instead held on to him, even though they “absolutely could have” scored first-round picks for Gallinari or Wilson Chandler, Lowe writes, citing league sources. Both signed renegotiations-and-extensions this summer with Denver, a place Gallinari loves, according to Lowe, making him a relative rarity among top-level players and extra valuable to the Nuggets, who aren’t eligible to trade him until February even if they so desired because of the terms of his new deal.

The Kroenke family, which owns the team, has never wanted to strip down the roster, Lowe adds as he examines a Nuggets team stuck far from contention but too talented to bottom out. See more from the Northwest Division:

Ed Davis received the second most lucrative deal that the Blazers handed out this summer, at $20MM spread over three years, and while the former 13th overall pick is anxious to become a full-time starter for the first time since entering the league in 2010, it not a given that will happen this season, as The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman examines.
Susan Bible of Basketball Insiders, writing in the site’s preview of the Thunder‘s season, likes what extension candidate Dion Waiters and Oklahoma City’s new coaching staff can contribute to the team as it approaches a pivotal year ahead.
Thunder director of strategic planning Jason Ranne is headed back to the Wasserman Media Group, which used to employ him, for an executive position within the agency, as Wasserman announced and as Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal details.
The Blazers have promoted associate video coordinator Jim Moran to assistant coach, the team announced.
See the details on Anthony Bennett‘s buyout deal with the Timberwolves right here, and check out the news on the teams in the running for the former No. 1 overall pick, including the Blazers, in this post.

Northwest Notes: Faried, Bennett, Kaman

September 18th, 2015 at 11:45am CST by Chuck Myron

People close to the Nuggets have indicated that Kenneth Faried played a larger role in the downfall of former coach Brian Shaw than publicly known, according to Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders. Trade rumors surrounded Faried for much of the past year, and many people around the league expect Denver will deal him away. Still, Dowsett takes Shaw to task for his performance as a coach last season and calls the hiring of Michael Malone the team’s best offseason addition. See more from the Northwest Division:

Anthony Bennett looked strong playing for the Canadian national team during the summer, and Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor downplayed the idea that the Wolves will trade the former No. 1 overall pick, telling Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, “We shouldn’t assume he’d go” (Twitter link). The Wolves have reportedly been willing to move Bennett for the right return.
Chris Kaman would probably fit best on a contender, but he enjoyed playing for the Trail Blazers last season, and Kaman’s level of contentment has had much to do with whether he’s been successful over the past few seasons, as The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman examines. Kaman will make $5.016MM this season in the last year of his contract.
The exodus of so many of last season’s Trail Blazers has C.J. McCollum excited about the more prominent role he’s poised to take on this year, one reminiscent of his time as a scoring force in college at Lehigh, as he tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. McCollum is hopeful that he can continue to work with Steve Nash, who helped him with his game this summer, even though Nash is reportedly finalizing a deal to become a part-time player development consultant for the Warriors.

Nuggets Sign Matt Janning For Camp

September 16th, 2015 at 2:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2:11pm: The signing has taken place, though the team has made no official announcement, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It’s a one-year, minimum salary arrangement with limited injury protection, Pincus adds, so it’s an Exhibit 9 contract.

SEPTEMBER 8TH, 8:43am: The Nuggets and one-year NBA veteran Matt Janning have a non-guaranteed deal for training camp, reports international journalist David Pick (Twitter links). The 27-year-old shooting guard, who was on the Suns roster briefly during the 2010/11 season after he went undrafted out of Northeastern in 2010, picked Denver over a chance to join the Hawks as well as offers from overseas teams, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (on Twitter).

Janning played with Turkish powerhouse Anadolu Efes this past season, averaging 9.2 points in 24.4 minutes per game with 37.9% three-point shooting combined between Turkish league and Euroleague play. He didn’t make it in a game during his 2010 stint with the Suns, who waived him a few weeks after opening night that year. He’s chiefly played overseas since, though he’s made multiple appearances in NBA summer league, the last coming in 2014 with the Timberwolves.

Denver has 14 full guarantees, plus Erick Green, who has a partial guarantee of $100K, and Kostas Papanikolaou, whose contract is non-guaranteed. Conflicting reports exist on whether the Nuggets are poised to waive Papanikolaou. The Nuggets could use some shooting, Wolfson tweets, pointing to that as one reason for Janning to choose them over Atlanta. The Hawks have only 13 full guarantees, though they have partial guarantees out to Mike Muscala, Lamar Patterson and Terran Petteway plus a non-guaranteed deal with Jason Richardson.

Who do you think deserves the final roster spot for the Nuggets? Leave a comment to tell us.

Nuggets Sign Oleksiy Pecherov, Devin Sweetney

September 16th, 2015 at 2:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2:10pm: The signings have taken place, though the team hasn’t announced them, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). They’re for one year at the minimum salary and non-guaranteed with limited injury protection, Pincus adds, making them Exhibit 9 contracts.

SEPTEMBER 8TH, 10:43pm: The Nuggets have agreed to deals with unrestricted free agents Oleksiy Pecherov and Devin Sweetney, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the pacts are unknown, but Dempsey classified them as training camp deals, which means both players have likely agreed to minimum salary pacts with little or no guaranteed salary, though that is merely my speculation. The additions of Pecherov and Sweetney will bring Denver’s roster count up to 19 players, which is one below the preseason maximum.

Pecherov, 29, has been out of the NBA since the 2009/10 campaign when he appeared in 44 games for the Timberwolves. The center has career NBA averages of 3.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.2 blocks to go along with a slash line of .386/.290/.793. The seven-footer, who spent last season with the Estonian club BC Kalev/Cramo, has reportedly been eyeing an NBA comeback for the coming season, and he had originally worked out for Denver at the end of June.

The 27-year-old Sweetney went undrafted out of Saint Francis back in 2010. In four seasons with the Red Flash, the swingman averaged 14.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, and he had a shooting line of .423/.268/.785. Sweetney spent the 2014/15 season playing for a pair of teams in Switzerland, where he notched averages of 20.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 2.3 APG in 19 total contests, before finishing up with Huracanes of the Dominican Republic on a four-game stint in which he put up 9.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 1.0 APG in 27.3 MPG.

Warriors Sign Ian Clark To Camp Deal

September 14th, 2015 at 5:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 14TH, 5:22pm: Clark has signed with the Warriors, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reveals (Twitter link), though the team hasn’t made an announcement. It’s a non-guaranteed deal that becomes partially guaranteed for $474K if he’s not waived by the end of the day before opening night.

JULY 27TH, 2:38pm: The Warriors have agreed to sign two-year veteran shooting guard Ian Clark, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Golden State and the David Mondress client are still negotiating terms, but Clark has committed to the team, Charania adds. Golden State is limited to paying him the minimum salary, so it would seem the back-and-forth would be over length and the amount of guaranteed money. He became an unrestricted free agent after the Nuggets decided against making a qualifying offer of about $1.147MM.

Clark, 24, had hoped the Nuggets would re-sign him after his summer league performance, in which he averaged 13.4 points per game and made 12 of 24 total three-point attempts, but Denver renounced its rights to him to clear cap room. That didn’t preclude the team from re-signing him, but it did make it seem to make the possibility less likely. Denver claimed him off waivers from the Jazz late last season, apparently with the idea of keeping him for this year, but it appears that plan didn’t work out.

Golden State has 13 guaranteed contracts, leaving room under the 15-man regular season roster limit for the team to give one to Clark. The Warriors have a connection with him that dates back to the Las Vegas Summer League in 2013, when a 33-point outburst in the championship game helped him secure a contract with the Jazz. He’d gone undrafted out of Belmont earlier that summer.

Do you think Ian Clark has a shot to make the rotation for the Warriors this year? Leave a comment to let us know.

And-Ones: Leonard, Lawson, Kings

September 13th, 2015 at 8:19pm CST by Will Joseph

Kawhi Leonard, who re-signed with the Spurs in July for five years and an estimated $90MM, ranks favorably among the best small forwards in history at similar stages of their careers, according to advanced stats, Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News writes. For example, in his fourth year, Leonard had a better Player Efficiency Rating (22.0) than Scottie Pippen (21.5), Bernard King (19.8), Alex English (19.7) and John Havlicek (19.2) did in their fifth, as McCarney points out. What’s more, he had more win shares per 48 minutes (.204) than those four as well as Rick Barry (.155) and Dominique Wilkins (.197), McCarney adds.

Here’s more news and notes from around the league:

The Kings‘ decision to sign Rajon Rondo to a one-year deal worth $10MM was a bad move because Rondo is a limited player and even if he does post a quality season, the contract does not provide any future control for the team, writes SI.com’s Ben Golliver in an analysis of Sacramento’s offseason. On the other hand, the Kings’ deal with Kosta Koufos is a good one, Golliver writes, because Koufos is a dependable, unselfish producer.
Ty Lawson, in reply to a comment on his Instagram account, criticized Nuggets GM Tim Connelly, owner Stan Kroenke and president Josh Kroenke (h/t Jeffrey Morton of Denverstiffs.com). Lawson was traded to the Rockets during the summer after continued alcohol issues. In response to a comment that labeled Lawson a disappointment in Denver, Lawson replied, “lol I wasn’t a disappointment…. I did my job.. Tim Conelly [sic] and the kronke [sic] are bad owners and gm’s.”

Northwest Notes: D-League, Wolves, Westbrook

September 11th, 2015 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The acquisition of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants by the Pacers will certainly change how teams around the NBA without their own affiliates utilize the D-League. The Blazers severed their partnership with the Idaho Stampede, who are now the Jazz‘s affiliate, at the completion of the 2013/14 campaign, but not having a D-League franchise of its own hasn’t hurt Portland’s player development yet, Mike Richman of the Oregonian opines. The franchise was still able to add point guard Tim Frazier last season, who was the D-League’s MVP and Rookie of the Year, despite not having their own affiliate, Richman notes. Establishing its own D-League affiliate isn’t currently a priority for Portland, Richman adds.

Here’s more out of the Northwest Division:

Timberwolves GM Milt Newton, who’s in charge of the team’s front office while Flip Saunders recovers from cancer, wants to add two more players for training camp and he’ll need to unload one of the team’s 16 fully guaranteed contracts before opening night, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
Kevin Durant expressed his admiration for what teammate Russell Westbrook was able to accomplish last season with the rash of injuries the Thunder had suffered, including Durant himself missing a total of 55 contests, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report writes. “It was amazing to see a guy at the point guard position take over the game from all aspects and will his team with his passion, his enthusiasm, his energy on top of his skill,” Durant said. “It was incredible to watch. I was [expletive] I wasn’t out there to help him out. But I could tell he learned a lot and gained a lot of confidence.“
The Nuggets are in for a long, difficult season, but the franchise does possess solid building blocks in Jusuf Nurkic and Emmanuel Mudiay, as well as a revitalized Danilo Gallinari, which should give the team hope for the future, writes Tim Bontemps of The New York Post (Facebook link) in his season preview.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Gallinari, Majok, Moreland

September 10th, 2015 at 10:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers, who have deals with 17 players, plan at least one more signing before the start of camp, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). It remains unclear whether undrafted center Robert Upshaw will join the team. Upshaw was reportedly close to signing with the team back in July, but some personal issues have delayed the two sides coming to terms on a deal.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

There are no trigger dates attached to Eric Moreland‘s $200K partial guarantee that is included in his deal with the Kings, according to former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter link). The partial guarantee is in effect from day one, and will not be dependent on Moreland remaining on Sacramento’s roster through a specific date.
The Lakers have made their required tender of a one-year, non-guaranteed, minimum salary offer to Ater Majok, which will allow the franchise to retain his draft rights, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (via Twitter). Majok was the No. 58 overall pick out of UConn in the 2011 NBA Draft. The center currently plays for Trefl Sopot of the Polish Basketball League.
If Danilo Gallinari‘s stellar play during the final two months of the 2014/15 season and this Summer’s Eurobasket tournament are any indication of what is to come from the small forward, the Nuggets got themselves a steal in their renegotiation-and-extension of his contract, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com opines (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Northwest Notes: Favors, Bjelica, Malone

September 9th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Derrick Favors had started only eight games the season before he signed his four-year, $49MM-plus extension with the Jazz in 2013, but GM Dennis Lindsey tells Adi Joseph of The Sporting News that the team wasn’t worried. Lindsey credits Favors with having patiently waited his turn to inherit a major role.

“The present screams while the future whispers,” Lindsey said. “And many of those contracts, you do have to project. But Derrick gave us a great sense of calm with how he’s handled himself as a player and as a person.”

Lindsey added that he considered supplementing the team’s playoff push this season with a veteran free agent addition or a splashy trade but decided against it when the right player didn’t emerge, entrusting Favors and the other members of the team’s youthful core with taking the next step this season. While we wait to see if they can, see more on the Jazz and their Northwest Division rivals:

Favors wasn’t initially sold on Utah, but that’s changed, as he said to Joseph for the same piece. “I didn’t expect to stay [long term], no,” Favors said. “Utah was so different, I was so new to it. I didn’t expect to stay. But as the years have gone on, I’ve grown to love it. I got used to it. I just started feeling comfortable. I like how calm and chill it is in Utah. It’s a good thing and it’s a bad thing. The bad part is, maybe after a big game you want to go out and hang out or whatever, and there’s really not too many spots like that in Utah. Down here, you could go anywhere. Out in Utah, it’s chill, laid-back. There’s not a lot of rah-rah stuff going on. You can focus on your job, your career, whatever else you have going on.”
Nemanja Bjelica will fight for minutes at a crowded power forward position as a rookie this year, but the Timberwolves draft-and-stash signee figures to earn his share of playing team, and he’s capable of becoming a star in the NBA, opines SB Nation’s Liam Boylan-Pett. His performance in this week’s Eurobasket tournament has provided glimpses of why he can succeed at the NBA level, as Boylan-Pett examines.
The addition of coach Michael Malone is one of the few moves that the Nuggets have made recently that seem to have struck the right chord, writes Shaun Powell of NBA.com in his 30 Teams, 30 Days series.

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