Denver Nuggets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Lawson, Aldridge, Anderson

August 16th, 2015 at 5:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

After spending time with Ty Lawson, the Rockets‘ James Harden is confident that his new teammate can overcome his alcohol-related issues, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Lawson, who recently completed a 30-day rehab program in the wake of his second DUI of the year, was shipped from Denver to Houston last month in a five-player deal. Harden said he is “not at all” worried that Lawson’s alcohol problems will affect his play with the Rockets. “He’s out in California right now working out,” Harden said. “We’re happy to have him. He’s going to be a great addition to our team. I’ve been with him these last couple weeks. He’s more focused than ever. He has a great opportunity with a really good team to showcase his talents and help us with that push that we need.”

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

LaMarcus Aldridge has been studying film of the Spurs since he signed with San Antonio in July, tweets Dan McCarney of The San Antonio Express-News. Aldridge expects “a lot of easy shots” in the team’s offense.
San Antonio’s Kyle Anderson, who spent most of his rookie season in the D-League, is trying to adjust to the pace of the NBA game, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. A 6’9″ swingman, Anderson shined in the summer league after appearing in just 33 games with the Spurs last season. “I do try to speed it up a little bit because that’s what they asked me for in San Antonio,” Anderson said, “but I just play my game, just be unselfish.”
Bryce Dejean-Jones, who signed a partially guaranteed three-year deal with the Pelicans Friday, made an impression on the team during summer league, writes Scott Kushner of the Baton Rouge Advocate. “I think he’s showing us he can play in this league,” said New Orleans assistant coach Darren Erman. “He has a lot of NBA skills and he’s tough and has good size. I’ve really like what he’s been able to do for us.”

Northwest Notes: Tskitishvili, Wolves, Exum

August 16th, 2015 at 12:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ater being out of the league for nearly a decade, former Nuggets player Nikoloz Tskitishvili is interested in making a comeback, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. At 32, Tskitishvili insists he’s a better player now than when he quickly passed through the league after being the No. 5 overall pick in the 2002 draft. Tskitishvili spent three seasons in Denver, averaging 3.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 143 games while shooting about 30%. He wants to atone for his past failings and attended the summer league in Las Vegas hoping to find someone to give him a chance. “I’m 100 times better than I was,” he said. “It’s just very difficult for teams to understand that, because they are looking at the number, the age. If you ask me, this is the best shape I’ve ever been in and the best I’ve been playing in my career.”

There’s more news out of the Northwest Division:

The Wolves hold a trade exception worth more than $6.3MM that will expire next Sunday, tweets former Nets executive Bobby Marks. Minnesota is in a tough position because the team is hard capped and has 16 guaranteed contracts, Marks notes. The trade exception was created in last summer’s deal that sent Kevin Love to Cleveland.
Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders likes the veteran leadership that newly acquired Andre Miller and Tayshaun Prince will bring, along with Kevin Garnett (Twitter link). He also notes that Garnett and Prince were once regulars on the All-Defensive team, calling it a “Defensive Culture for Pups to see.”
Utah’s season won’t be destroyed by the loss of Dante Exum, writes Brad Rock of The Deseret News. He points out that the Jazz have a capable backup in Trey Burke, who has started 111 games during his career, along with nearly $7MM in cap room to pursue other options. Utah already has Bryce Cotton on its roster and signed Raul Neto in July. The team also has been rumored to have interest in Washington’s Garrett Temple.

Western Notes: Morris, Brase, Arthur

August 11th, 2015 at 9:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Markieff Morris, who has reportedly cut off contact with the Suns and supposedly wants out of Phoenix in the wake of his twin brother, Marcus Morris, being dealt to the Pistons, is considered a good teammate, according to Phoenix guard Archie Goodwin, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. In an interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio on Monday, Goodwin said, “I can’t speak too much on that situation but I can say that the last couple years I’ve been with [him], Markieff is a great guy, one of my favorite guys to be around. He’s a really positive guy to me and for everybody else. He’s always been a team-first guy. I love Markieff. I love Marcus. I hope [Markieff] stays with us. I don’t know what’s going to happen with that situation. That’s why I really can’t speak on it. I really enjoy being around him and I wish the best for him whether he is with us or another team.” Coro recently chatted with Hoops Rumors about a number of topics regarding the Suns, and you can read the full interview here.

Here’s more out of the Western Conference:

Matt Brase is expected to be named head coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets‘ NBA D-League affiliate, sources have informed Adam Johnson of D-League Digest. Brase is currently the director of player personnel for Houston, and was a former assistant coach for the Vipers, Johnson notes. Brase replaces former coach Nevada Smith, who spent two seasons with the Vipers and compiled an overall record of 60-46, including a mark of 27-23 last season, Johnson adds. The Rockets organization cut ties with Smith at the end of 2014/15.
Samuel Dalembert received a fully guaranteed minimum salary on his one-year deal with the Mavericks, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Dallas will pay $947,276 and the league will cover the rest of the $1,499,187 tab for the 14-year vet. The club currently has 15 guaranteed contracts and 19 players overall, Pincus adds.
The Nuggets used their room exception to re-sign Darrell Arthur to a two-year pact, and the forward’s deal includes a player option worth $2,940,630 for the 2016/17 season, Pincus tweets.

Chuck Myron and Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Nuggets, Lawson, Davis

August 9th, 2015 at 8:42pm CST by Will Joseph

Though it may not be obvious because the Nuggets did not add free agents from outside the organization, the moves Denver GM Tim Connelly made this summer have the franchise pointed in the right direction, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. The Nuggets had a busy and productive summer, as Dempsey points out, because they committed to more than $100MM on extensions and re-signings of of Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Will Barton and Jameer Nelson. Dempsey writes that Denver made these moves, not only because it did not have the cap space to reel in big-name free agents, but also because it wanted to retain these players.

From a financial standpoint, the Nuggets, like many other teams, should be in position to offer a max contract next summer with the help of the salary cap rise, Dempsey writes. Furthermore, Dempsey adds, the return of Pete D’Alessandro to the front office bolsters the Nuggets in terms of a salary cap and business knowledge standpoint, improving any deficiencies the organization thought it may have had there.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Ty Lawson, whom Houston acquired in a trade with the Nuggets, improves the Rockets despite not being a perfect fit, Tim Cato of SB Nation writes. Lawson does not exactly complement star James Harden because Lawson is a ball-dominant player and is not a great defender, Cato adds.
Ed Davis, who signed a three-year contract with the Blazers, told Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that he really wanted to stay with Lakers, but they could not agree on a deal (Twitter link).

Nuggets Re-Sign Darrell Arthur

August 7th, 2015 at 3:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:27pm: The deal is official, the Nuggets announced.

2:46pm: The Nuggets and Darrell Arthur have reached agreement on a two-year deal that includes a player option on the final season, reports Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Arthur had been expected to re-sign since late last month, as Dempsey wrote more than two weeks ago, but the sides had yet to agree to terms. The Nuggets renounced their Bird rights to the Jerry Hicks client last month, so they’ll have to use cap space or the $2.814MM room exception to give Arthur more than the minimum. Denver doesn’t have enough cap room at present to formally sign Arthur, who made in excess of $3.457MM last season, for more than that room exception amount, so today’s news would appear to be further indication that Kostas Papanikolaou‘s non-guaranteed contract has a tenuous place on the roster, at best.

Arthur and the Clippers reportedly had mutual interest, though L.A. is limited to giving the minimum salary to outside free agents, as I noted earlier today. The Pistons and Wizards were also apparently interested early last month, but Washington is similarly cash-strapped and Detroit only has the room exception to spend.

The 27-year-old veteran of seven NBA seasons has been steady over his two years in Denver as a rotation-caliber reserve, averaging 6.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in 17.1 minutes. His greatest contributions come on defense, as he’s been perhaps the team’s best on that end of the court, and in the locker room, Dempsey writes in a full story. He’ll again face a tough challenge for minutes on a roster that also features Kenneth Faried and J.J. Hickson at his position.

Papanikolaou plays power forward, too, but his $4.798MM non-guaranteed contract, which Denver acquired in the Ty Lawson trade, has value as a trade chip or as a gateway to cap space if the Nuggets waive him. Denver has 14 guaranteed contracts plus Papanikolaou and a partially guaranteed deal with Erick Green, so not everyone will make Denver’s regular season roster.

Do you think the deal with Arthur makes sense for the Nuggets? How about for Arthur? Leave a comment to let us know.

Nuggets Re-Sign Will Barton

August 7th, 2015 at 3:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

AUGUST 7TH, 3:26pm: The signing is official, the team announced.

JULY 25TH, 4:50pm: Denver still has yet to make an official announcement, but the signing took place Thursday, according to the RealGM transactions log.

JULY 11TH, 10:59am: The Nuggets are finalizing a deal to re-sign Will Barton, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports. The agreement will be for three years and worth approximately $10MM, Haynes notes.

After being selected in the second round of the 2012 draft, Barton saw limited playing time in two and a half seasons with the Blazers. He flourished after being traded to Denver at the deadline, averaging 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 28 games after the deal.

Denver and the Brian Elfus client had reportedly shared interest in a new deal, so today’s news is no surprise. Last month, the Nuggets tendered a qualifying offer to Barton worth more than $1.18MM to make him a restricted free agent.

Nuggets Re-Sign Jameer Nelson

August 7th, 2015 at 3:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

AUGUST 7TH, 3:24pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

JULY 14TH, 8:37am: Denver hasn’t made any formal announcement, but the signing has taken place, as the RealGM transactions log shows.

11:15am: It’s worth $13.5MM over the three years, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Grantland’s Zach Lowe suggests that a partial guarantee is on the final season (Twitter link). Stein also indicates that Nelson has already put pen to paper, though the team has made no official announcement . That, combined with Nikola Jokic‘s pact, would leave less room for the starting salary in Wilson Chandler‘s new deal. We discussed some of the numbers involved for Chandler right here.

JULY 13TH, 10:39am: The Nuggets and Jameer Nelson have an agreement in principle on a new three-year deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The point guard last month turned down a player option worth nearly $2.855MM that would have kept him under contract with the Nuggets through this coming season, but his new arrangement appears to tie him to Denver for a longer period of time. Several contenders also expressed interest in the 33-year-old, but new coach Michael Malone said Sunday that a deal would get done, Charania writes.

The general expectation was that Denver would re-sign the Steve Mountain client, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reported when free agency began. Earlier, Dempsey had identified the Nuggets’ choice of coaches as one of the determining factors Nelson would use to decide whether to return, and while Nelson was fond of interim coach Melvin Hunt, as many Nuggets were, the team’s hiring of Malone apparently wasn’t a turn-off.

Keeping Nelson around long-term provides a measure of insurance for the Nuggets in case they deal trade candidate Ty Lawson, whose contract runs through 2016/17. It provides a degree of stability for Nelson, who twice found himself in trades after signing with the Mavericks last summer. Dallas sent him to the Celtics in the Rajon Rondo swap, and Boston flipped him to Denver in exchange for Nate Robinson. Denver could still trade Nelson as soon as December 15th, but the team appears committed to him.

And-Ones: Brooks, Contracts, Spurs

August 5th, 2015 at 10:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the bulk of the offseason free agent signings in the rearview, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders examined whom he believes to be the best values amongst the free agent contracts doled out this Summer. The Cavs‘ re-signing LeBron James snagged the top spot, but Pincus also is a fan of the Celtics inking Amir Johnson, David West signing with the Spurs, and Brandan Wright‘s pact with the Grizzlies. The Basketball Insiders scribe notes that the best aspect of Johnson’s deal with Boston is that the second year is non-guaranteed, making him a potentially valuable trade chip next season.

Here’s more from around the league:

MarShon Brooks, who last played in the NBA with the Lakers during the 2013/14 season, has signed with the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link).
The Rockets sent the Nuggets $440k as part of the trade for Ty Lawson, and the Thunder forked over $1.5MM to the Celtics as part of the trade for Perry Jones III, Pincus relays (Twitter links).
Danny Green believes that the combination of the Spurs signing free agent LaMarcus Aldridge, and re-signing both Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan, will likely keep coach Gregg Popovich from retiring in the near future, Mike Monroe of The San Antonio Express News relays. “Without LaMarcus and Kawhi I think he’s out the door when Timmy [Duncan] leaves,” Green said. “Them being here I think extends his tenure just a little bit longer. Pop loves the game, obviously. I don’t see him stepping away fully. Even if he ever did he’d always be in the front office, or around or something.”

Western Notes: Harris, Gallinari, Jazz

August 5th, 2015 at 8:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Devin Harris anticipates a change in his role with the Mavericks after the offseason additions of Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews, and the team’s new deal with J.J. Barea, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. “I would consider the backcourt crowded, but I think we got solid pieces — one, two and three,” Harris said. “I don’t know how much of a role change I’m going to have, but I think I’ll probably be playing mostly off the ball, you know, with J.J. coming back and with Deron coming in. But we’ll see what happens throughout training camp. You never know what will happen.” Harris also indicated that the franchise has recovered and moved on from what he termed, “the whole DeAndre Jordan fiasco,” Sneed adds. The center had spurned Dallas after reaching a verbal agreement in order to re-sign with the Clippers.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Danilo Gallinari admits that he was pleasantly surprised by the Nuggets‘ renegotiation-and-extension offer, which he has officially signed, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post relays. “I was very fast in saying yes to this extension,” Gallinari said. “I’m very happy to stay in Denver. This extension came because of the people in Denver, the fact that I’ve been in Denver for a while now and the fact that I love the city.“
The forward also noted that he was pleased with the Nuggets‘ offseason moves, including the hiring of Michael Malone as coach, Dempsey adds. “I’m very confident in the choices they made this summer in changing the coach and everything,” Gallinari said. “They are doing everything possible in their capacity to win. And I think that they made the right choices, and hopefully we can start winning again starting this season.“
Despite point guard Dante Exum possibly suffering a torn left ACL on Tuesday, the Jazz are more than likely going to rely on Trey Burke, Bryce Cotton, and Raul Neto at the one spot, rather than signing or trading for a veteran player to bolster their depth, Tony Jones and Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune write.

Northwest Notes: Christon, Brown, Wolves

August 3rd, 2015 at 9:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Semaj Christon, the 55th pick in the 2014 draft, has signed with Italy’s Vuelle Pesaro, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Christon leaves the Thunder’s system after having spent this past season playing for Oklahoma City’s D-League team, but the Thunder retain his NBA rights as a draft-and-stash prospect. Check out our freshly updated list of draft rights held players here, compiled by Mark Porcaro.

In other news around the Northwest Division:

Lorenzo Brown‘s minimum salary is partially guaranteed for $75K, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Brown was in line to receive $200K if he had remained on the Timberwolves roster through Saturday, as Hoops Rumors reported, before he and the Wolves changed the guarantee structure as part of a deal that would keep him on the roster for training camp, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities heard.
The Timberwolves will keep shooting coach Mike Penberthy around, president of basketball operations Flip Saunders told of Dan Barreiro KFAN Radio (hat tip to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press and Andrew Renschen), a move that will likely please Ricky Rubio, Krawczynski observes (Twitter links). Rubio, the team’s most highly paid player, had developed a bond with Penberthy, who hadn’t been certain to return, the AP scribe notes.
The first two years of Tibor Pleiss‘ contract with the Jazz are fully guaranteed, with a $500,000 guarantee for the third season, Pincus reports in a separate tweet. Pleiss signed a three-year, $9MM contract on July 14th.