Denver Nuggets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nets To Sign Thomas Robinson To 10-Day Deal

February 23rd, 2015 at 1:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:49pm: Robinson has agreed to sign a 10-day contract, though the Nets are expected to eventually sign him for the rest of the season, Wojnarowski reports in a full story.

1:26pm: Nets officials changed their minds about Robinson this weekend after they were initially uninterested in signing him, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Twitter link).

12:57pm: Robinson confirmed the agreement to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, as Kennedy relays in a pair of tweets.

12:47pm: The Nets and Thomas Robinson have agreed to a deal that will see the big man join the team after he clears waivers from the Nuggets, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Denver released him Sunday after agreeing to a buyout deal, so he’s poised to clear waivers Tuesday. It’s something of a surprise to see Brooklyn end up with the former No. 5 overall pick, since a report late Sunday indicated that the Nets weren’t interested. That ran counter to an earlier dispatch from Shams Charania of RealGM that said Brooklyn, along with the Spurs, Suns, Heat and Hornets, had engaged in talks with Robinson.

Brooklyn has an open roster spot, so no corresponding move is required. The Nets are limited to paying the Tony Dutt client no more than the prorated minimum salary, which is less than the other teams reportedly in discussions could offer, as I explained. Still, it’s not a shock to see him settle for the minimum, as he’s struggled to live up to his lofty draft position, and Brooklyn is poised to become his fourth team in fewer than three NBA seasons. The Blazers declined their team option on the fourth year of his rookie scale contract before trading him to Denver at the deadline on Thursday.

Robinson was one of three prospects the Nets were particularly enamored with when they traded their 2012 lottery pick to Portland, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). That pick came in sixth, which the Blazers used to select Damian Lillard, so Brooklyn wouldn’t have had a chance to nab Robinson, since the Kings took him fifth. Since then, Robinson has displayed proficiency on the boards, hauling in 11.7 per 36 minutes for his NBA career, but he’s otherwise failed to make much of an impact.

Nuggets Waive Thomas Robinson

February 22nd, 2015 at 3:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SUNDAY, 3:41pm: The Nuggets announced that they have waived Robinson.

THURSDAY, 8:33pm: Robinson and the Nuggets have reached a verbal agreement on a buyout, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.

4:14pm: Thomas Robinson may not be a member of the Nuggets for very long. The player’s representatives are going to seek to reach a buyout arrangement with Denver, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com reports (Twitter link). The young forward out of Kansas was acquired by the Nuggets as part of the deal that sent Arron Afflalo to the Trail Blazers. Denver also received Will Barton, Victor Claver, a second-rounder, and a future lottery-protected first-round pick in the transaction.

The 6’10” forward is making $3,678,360 this season, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. It’s unclear just how much of his salary Robinson is willing to give back in a buyout. But with Kenneth Faried currently entrenched as the starting power forward, and the Nuggets in full-rebuilding mode, Robinson may prefer to seek out a contending team in need of an athletic big man, though that is just my speculation.

In 32 appearances for the Blazers this season, Robinson has contributed 3.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in 12.2 minutes per contest. His career numbers since becoming the No. 5 overall pick back in 2012 are 4.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 0.5 assists. Robinson’s career slash line is .462/.000/.523.

Nuggets Waive Victor Claver

February 22nd, 2015 at 3:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SUNDAY, 3:40pm: The Nuggets announced that they have waived Claver.

FRIDAY, 8:37pm: The Nuggets intend to waive forward Victor Claver, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Claver was acquired from the Trail Blazers on Thursday along with Will Barton and Thomas Robinson in exchange for Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee.

The 26-year-old from Spain is earning $1.37MM this season, and was set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the campaign. Denver currently has the league maximum 15 players on its roster, so releasing Claver would allow the team some roster flexibility moving forward.

Claver has appeared in 10 games this season, all with Portland, and he is averaging 2.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.6 minutes per game. His career numbers through 80 contests are 3.2 PPG and 2.2 RPG. Claver’s career slash line is .398/.293/.585.

Five Teams In Talks With Thomas Robinson

February 21st, 2015 at 7:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

Thomas Robinson has had conversations with the Spurs, Nets, Suns, Heat and Hornets in the wake of his buyout deal with the Nuggets, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The former No. 5 overall pick went to Denver in the deadline-day trade that sent Arron Afflalo to the Blazers.

The Suns can spend the most, with more than $3.247MM in cap room. Miami has a disabled player exception worth nearly $2.653MM it can spend. The Spurs have a prorated portion of their mid-level, worth about $2.4MM, while the Hornets have their room exception, which comes to about $2MM at this point. The exceptions that San Antonio and Charlotte possess reduce in value daily. The Nets are limited to the minimum salary, which also prorates on a daily basis.

Robinson has seen his minutes decline each season after his rookie campaign, when he was traded midseason from the Kings to the Rockets. Portland acquired him when Houston sent him out in a cap-clearing move that helped the Rockets sign Dwight Howard, but at each stop, the power forward has failed to live up to his draft position. Still, he’s an efficient rebounder, averaging 4.2 boards in 12.2 minutes per game this season.

Northwest Notes: Young, Lauvergne, Lawson

February 21st, 2015 at 12:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the trade deadline passed the Timberwolves‘ focus is on seeing which players fit into their long-term plans, Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune writes. “It’s an evaluation time for some of these guys, for where they’re at,” president of basketball operations Flip Saunders said. “But also for what they have to work on, once the season ends and they start getting ready for next year, what they need to do to become solid rotational players. So it’s a little of both.”

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

The first-round pick the Jazz netted in their trade of Enes Kanter is Oklahoma City’s 2017 choice, and it’s lottery-protected every year through 2020, as RealGM shows. If it doesn’t convey by then, the Thunder will send their 2020 and 2021 second-round choices.
Thaddeus Young‘s representatives had asked the Timberwolves to trade him prior to Thursday’s deadline, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (Twitter link). Young was dealt to the Nets for Kevin Garnett.
Joffrey Lauvergne‘s contract with the Nuggets is for three years and $5.2MM, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The big man will earn $1.89MM the first year, and then $1.7MM in each of the two remaining years, with the third season non-guaranteed, Pincus notes. Denver used part of its mid-level exception to sign the big man, Pincus adds.
Nuggets GM Tim Connelly was critical of Ty Lawson, whose relationship with the team has reportedly deteriorated, Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post reports (Twitter links). Speaking about Lawson, Connelly said, “He needs to grow up. The organization, top to bottom, can’t be anymore supportive. It’s time for, not just Ty but for several of our guys to be pros or it’s time to take a hard look at our roster.“
As a result of their deadline dealings the Blazers now have an empty roster spot, something president of basketball operations Neil Olshey is in no hurry to fill, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian writes. Olshey believes that the Blazers’ player rotation is set and the organization believes that it has enough talent and depth to be a contender in the Western Conference, Freeman adds.
With the Nuggets reportedly set to waive him, Victor Claver‘s representatives are working to find the player a spot on an NBA roster, Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype.com relays. “The priority would be to find a new NBA deal even if it has to be a 10-day contract,” a league source told Sierra. “That would not be a problem, especially considering it may be too late for a deal in the Euroleague at this point.“

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Afflalo, Jackson

February 20th, 2015 at 2:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

Blazers GM Neil Olshey made it clear that Thursday’s trade for Arron Afflalo was a product of the team’s emphasis on the present, as he told reporters and as The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman transcribes.

“It’s one of the things about our league; you can’t be a development team and a winning team,” Olshey said. “They’re not always independent of one another, but they’re more independent than people would like to admit.”

All five Northwest Division teams made trades Thursday, and that included two deals in which Northwest teams hooked up with each other. We rounded up the latest on the Wolves, the lone team that didn’t make an intradivision trade, earlier today, and now here’s what’s happening in the rest of the division:

The Nuggets expected that Afflalo would command $9-10MM a year in a new contract this summer, reports Chris Mannix of SI.com, who writes in his Open Floor column. The new Blazers shooting guard has a player option likely worth $7.75MM for next season, up from his base salary of $7.5MM. That’s because playing with Portland means he’ll probably trigger the bonus for making the playoffs that’s part of his contract, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
There were strong feelings in the Nuggets organization that the presence of JaVale McGee negatively influenced a “winning culture,” Mannix also writes in the same piece.
Reggie Jackson sat out a game at the beginning of the season because he was disappointed the Thunder didn’t trade him, a source tells Royce Young of ESPN.com, who delves into the frayed relationship between Jackson and his now former Thunder teammates.
The development of Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors and the desire for cap flexibility motivated the Jazz’s decision to trade Enes Kanter, not Kanter’s trade request, Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey insists, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune relays.
Dorell Wright, a free agent at season’s end, would prefer re-signing with the Blazers over a deal with any other NBA team, as he tells Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders.
There’s a decent chance Tibor Pleiss, the draft-and-stash prospect whom the Jazz acquired Thursday from the Thunder, leaves his Spanish team soon, making him available to sign with Utah, a source indicated to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). Pleiss, a center, is currently under contract through 2016, as our draft rights held database shows.

Sixers, McGee To Work Buyout?

February 19th, 2015 at 8:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

8:07pm: Philadelphia has no intention of discussing a buyout arrangement with McGee, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports.

5:15pm: The Sixers and JaVale McGee are headed for a buyout, as Tom Moore of Calkins Media believes (Twitter link). McGee was acquired by Philadelphia from the Nuggets earlier today along with the Thunder’s 2015 first-round pick and the rights to Nigerian forward Chu Chu Maduabum in exchange for the rights to draft-and-stash prospect Cenk Akyol.

The 27-year-old center out of Nevada is earning $11.25MM this season, and is scheduled to make $12MM for the 2015/16 campaign. It’s unclear how much of next year’s fully guaranteed salary Philadelphia would be willing to absorb if the team decided to waive McGee as part of a buyout agreement. With McGee’s injury history it would be a bit surprising to see him give up a major chunk of next year’s salary, though that is just my speculation.

McGee missed most of the 2013/14 campaign due to a stress fracture in his leg and has also missed time this year because of an injury in the same area. The big man has only appeared in a grand total of 22 games for the Nuggets over the last two seasons. The athletic 7-footer has career averages of 8.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks. McGee’s career slash line is .541/.200/.587.

Nuggets Sign Joffrey Lauvergne

February 19th, 2015 at 4:02pm CST by Eddie Scarito

4:02pm: Denver has once more announced the signing and restored the press release to the team website.

2:59pm: The Nuggets sent out a press release recalling the announcement of the signing, and the page about the pact that was on their website has been replaced by an error message.

FEBRUARY 19TH, 2:37pm: The deal is official, the Nuggets announced.

FEBRUARY 11TH, 4:27pm: The Nuggets and Lauvergne are finalizing a two-year, fully guaranteed deal worth more than the minimum salary, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). The pact will also contain a team option for a third season, Charania notes.

6:02pm: The Nuggets and Lauvergne should reach an agreement on a multi-year contract by next week, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reports (Twitter links).

FEBRUARY 5TH, 8:16am: Khimki Moscow and Lauvergne have officially parted ways, the team announced (hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The Nuggets face “logistical hurdles” before they can formally bring him stateside, a league source told Wojnarowski for his full story, but ostensibly, Khimki Moscow’s announcement clears one of them.

FEBRUARY 4TH, 8:55pm: The Nuggets are working on a deal to sign 6’11” forward Joffrey Lauvergne, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Lauvergne was set to cut ties earlier today with Khimki Moscow, his Russian team, a source told David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). The Nuggets currently have 14 players on their roster, so no corresponding roster move would be required in order to ink Lauvergne.

The 23-year-old Frenchman was originally selected by the Grizzlies with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. Lauvergne was subsequently dealt to the Nuggets, along with Darrell Arthur, for Kosta Koufos.

Lauvergne was averaging 7.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 18.1 minutes per game for Khimki Moscow this season. His career European professional numbers are 6.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 0.6 APG. His career slash line is .476/.269/.694.

Sixers Acquire JaVale McGee, First-Rounder

February 19th, 2015 at 2:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:41pm: The deal is official, the Nuggets announced. It’s McGee, the rights to Maduabum, and the first-rounder that Oklahoma City owed the Nuggets heading to Philly in exchange for the rights to Akyol.

1:07pm: The Sixers also received the rights to Nigerian forward Chu Chu Maduabum from Denver in the trade, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).

11:29am: The rights to draft-and-stash prospect Cenk Akyol are headed from the Sixers to the Nuggets, tweets Orazio Cauchi of Sportando.

11:17am: Denver will get the rights to one of the foreign players stashed overseas by the Sixers, a source tells Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter). Mannix also notes that the Nuggets will create a sizable trade exception in the deal.

10:58am: The Nuggets and Sixers have agreed to send JaVale McGee to Philly, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link) Wojnarowski had just reported that the sides were deep in talks (Twitter link). Philadelphia gets the Thunder’s 2015 first-round pick, which Denver picked up in the Timofey Mozgov trade last month, according to Wojnarowski. Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reported moments earlier that the Nuggets were closing in on a trade involving McGee.

McGee missed most of 2013/14 thanks to stress fracture in his leg and has also missed time this year because of an injury in the same area. Across the last two seasons, McGee has played in a grand total of 22 games for the Nuggets. The high-flying 7-footer has career averages of 8.5 PPG and 5.6 RPG. His best season arguably came in 2011/12, split between the Wizards and Nuggets, where he averaged 11.3 PPG and 7.8 RPG in 25.2 minutes per night.

Denver reportedly wanted to move McGee more than any other player on the roster. They tried repeatedly to swing a deal for Brook Lopez with the Nets involving McGee, but that never came to fruition.

Blazers Acquire Arron Afflalo

February 19th, 2015 at 1:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:17pm: Denver has followed with a press release announcing the deal, too. There’s no mention of a separate second-rounder changing hands, apart from the two second-rounders that would go to the Nuggets if the protected first-rounder doesn’t convey.

1:05pm: The Blazers announced that the deal is now official.

“Arron is a proven winner with playoff experience who will be easily integrated into our culture,” Blazers GM Neil Olshey said. “He possesses a skill set that compliments our style of play on both ends of the floor and will make an immediate impact as we continue our playoff push. Alonzo is an elite athlete and defender who adds a unique element to our perimeter. We thank Thomas, Will and Victor for their contributions to the team and wish them all the best for the future.”

10:33am: The Nuggets and Blazers have struck a deal that will send Arron Afflalo to Portland, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Will Barton, Victor Claver, Thomas Robinson, a future lottery-protected first-round pick and a second-round pick go to the Nuggets, who also give up Alonzo Gee, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The first-rounder headed Denver’s way is for 2016, and is again lottery protected in 2017 if it doesn’t convey that year, Wojnarowski tweets, adding that if it doesn’t get to Denver in 2017, it becomes two future second-round picks.

Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported this week that the Blazers appeared the front-runners for Afflalo and that the Nuggets appeared poised to receive the first-rounder they sought for him. It appeared some other teams tried to make a late run at him but fell short.

Afflalo, 29, has been averaging 14.5 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 33 minutes per contest this season. Meanwhile, the guard’s below average 11.7 PER rating is his worst in several years. However, Afflalo is only a year and change removed from his time in Orlando where he was regarded as one of the league’s brighter two guards under the age of 30. For his career, Afflalo has averaged 11.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 2.0 APG for the Pistons, Magic, and Nuggets. In total, he has shot 38.4% from downtown.

The Blazers, at 36-17, are currently tied for third place in the Western Conference with the Rockets.