Nuggets Notes: Johnson, Gordon, Watson, Adelman
Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson was forced out of Sunday’s loss to Minnesota with a lingering right ankle injury and doesn’t expect to be available for Monday’s game at Utah, writes Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette. Johnson struggled through a frustrating afternoon against the Wolves, going scoreless in 23 minutes and missing all six of his shots. Benedetto notes that he’s shooting just 31.4% from the field and 26.7% from three-point range in six games since the All-Star break.
“One (part) is understanding that you’ve been through it before,” Johnson said. “(It’s) understanding that every time that you’ve felt down that you don’t really feel like you’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel — you just feel like you keep letting yourself down, letting your teammates down — every time that’s happened, I’ve been able to turn it around and get back on track some way somehow.”
Johnson was expected to be a seamless replacement for Michael Porter Jr. when he was acquired in a trade with Brooklyn last summer. After a slow start to the season, he found his outside shot in November and December before suffering a bone bruise shortly before Christmas that sidelined him for six weeks.
The first priority is fixing the ankle issue that Johnson said has bothered him throughout the season. He plans to try different shoes or orthotics to help ease the pain.
“It hasn’t knocked me out of the game completely yet. It hasn’t forced me to hang it up. It hasn’t forced me to miss every shot for the rest of my career,” Johnson said. “I just got to continue on with that trust, continue to work and forget about it.”
There’s more on the Nuggets:
- Coach David Adelman adjusted his substitution pattern after watching a nine-point lead slip away while Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray were both resting early in the second quarter, Benedetto states in a separate story. Murray remained on the court the next time Jokic went to the bench early in the fourth quarter. “It’s not what I want to do,” Adelman admitted. “I like them to play together. I don’t like when I’m taking minutes away from them not being on the court together. If we have to do it, we’ll do it, because this can’t happen. It’s happened two games in a row. It’s cost us big time.”
- The Nuggets haven’t been able to able to add any wing help in the buyout market, so that heightens the need for Johnson to get healthy, observes Sean Keeler of The Denver Post. They missed out on two potential targets when Khris Middleton opted to stay in Dallas rather than seeking a buyout and Kyle Anderson decided to return to Minnesota after being let go by Memphis.
- Reinforcements could be coming soon as Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson are close to returning from hamstring injuries, per Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter link). Sources tell Siegel that both players are ramping up their activities and will be reexamined this week.
- Meeting with reporters before Sunday’s game, Adelman had some harsh words about Friday’s incident that saw the Thunder‘s Luguentz Dort get ejected for tripping Jokic, relays Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “There’s a point where we play these games and what he deals with nightly, anybody would react that way,” Adelman said of Jokic. “And then for Dort to take that shot — and then I guess it wasn’t that big of a deal from their standpoint, how they looked at it — is ridiculous. That was malicious. It was a cheap shot. Lu Dort’s a great player, and that’s not what I’ve seen him do before. But at some point, you have to stand up for yourself.”
Nuggets Notes: Gordon, Watson, Johnson, Simpson
The Nuggets have had to deal with a barrage of injuries impacting starters and rotation players this season, but head coach David Adelman is optimistic it won’t be much longer until the roster is healthy again. Adelman told reporters today that he’s hoping the team will be fully healthy with about 20 games to go in the season, as Ryan Blackburn of Mile High Sports tweets.
The Nuggets will be playing their 62nd game of the season on Monday in Utah, so if we take Adelman literally, he’s suggesting that players like Aaron Gordon (hamstring) and Peyton Watson (hamstring) might be able to return in a week or so. For what it’s worth, Blackburn says he’s heard it could be more like two or three weeks before Gordon and Watson are back.
Adelman provided a positive update on Gordon’s progress today, indicating that the veteran forward did “basically everything but the contact stuff” in Tuesday’s practice, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link).
“He got up and down (the court). We did some situational defensive drills. He was a part of that,” Adelman said. “But it’s just gonna be a day-by-day thing. … Aaron’s been great. He’s understood the process.”
Gordon, who last played on January 23, was ruled out for at least four-to-six weeks due to a right hamstring strain, while Watson has been out since February 4 with a left hamstring strain and is expected to be reevaluated in early March.
We have more on the Nuggets:
- The odds are high that Denver will have to part ways with a key player this offseason, Durando writes in a mailbag for The Denver Post (subscription required). As Durando explains, the Nuggets have essentially treated the second tax apron like a hard cap in recent years, but re-signing restricted free agent Watson – who has had a breakout 2025/26 season – would require them to either surpass that threshold or move off another one of their highest-paid players. According to Durando, sources he has spoken to view Cameron Johnson as the most likely trade candidate if the team makes a move to create more financial flexibility to re-sign Watson.
- The Nuggets still have an open spot on their 15-man roster, and Durando thinks the team will most likely use that opening to add more size on the wing. However, he cautions that the front office is expected to wait to see who else shakes free on the buyout market in the coming days before making any decisions on that 15th roster spot.
- The two-way contract that guard KJ Simpson signed with the Nuggets last week covers two years, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Denver will have the ability to hang onto Simpson through the 2026/27 season on that deal.
Nuggets Notes: Simpson, Jokic, Murray, Gordon
KJ Simpson attended the championship parade in 2023 as the Nuggets celebrated their first NBA title, and now he’s on the roster with a chance to help them win another one, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Simpson was playing at the University of Colorado at the time and had a high school rivalry with Denver swingman Peyton Watson. As he watched Watson go by in the parade, Simpson was hoping to be able to have the same experience.
“That was the closest I had been to seeing or being there to experience a championship team, I guess,” Simpson said. “Seeing them just go by. The job is finished. That was mad inspiring to me. Like, man, I want to feel that one day.”
Simpson’s NBA career began last season when he was selected by Charlotte with the 42nd pick in the draft. He was waived on February 6 and signed a two-way deal with the Nuggets on Thursday. His debut came Friday at Portland, as he contributed three points and four assists in seven minutes.
“I’m just excited to play in front of that fan base,” Simpson said. “It’s bigger than just CU Boulder. Colorado in general. … I was there for three years. First place I lived other than home. So to me, that was considered like home. I loved my time there. I loved everything about it. The people. And we would go to Denver a lot just to go see games. … So I’ve always felt that connection to Colorado. It’s just crazy how full-circle it is.”
There’s more on the Nuggets:
- Nikola Jokic didn’t wear tape on his right wrist Friday night, but the pain is still affecting him, Durando states in a separate story. Jokic estimates he has been dealing with wrist discomfort for six years, and it started flaring up again before the All-Star break. He still provided 32 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, scoring 19 points in the first quarter as Denver pulled away early. “When I tape it, I don’t feel it, and I don’t feel the ball. So that didn’t work really well for me,” Jokic said. “It’s pretty much the same.”
- Jamal Murray was listed as questionable for Friday with right hamstring tightness, Durando adds, and after playing 25 minutes he may be held out of Sunday afternoon’s game at Golden State. “If he feels anything, he’s not gonna play,” coach David Adelman said on Friday. “We played a 7:30 (Pacific time) game last night. We play 7:00 tonight. We play 12:30 on Sunday. It makes absolutely no sense for me to put him in a torture chamber and then be surprised if he gets hurt.”
- Aaron Gordon is making progress toward returning from a strained right hamstring, Tim MacMahon said on the latest edition of The Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to Jordanna Clark of NuggLove). MacMahon reports that the Nuggets sent a trainer to Orlando with Gordon during the All-Star break, and he was able to participate in portions of practices this week. Gordon has been dunking and playing one-on-one games, and the team hopes to slowly expand those to five-on-five. MacMahon adds that the Nuggets are being careful with the injury and projects it will be a couple more weeks before Gordon resumes playing.
Nuggets Notes: Gordon, Jokic, Watson, Braun
The Nuggets‘ hopes of having their preferred starting lineup together again soon were dashed when Aaron Gordon reaggravated his right hamstring strain, resulting in another four-to-six-week absence. The setback compounds a frustrating season for Gordon, who suffered the original injury in November and has only been available for 23 games, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post.
“That’s a very unselfish person in Aaron, and being able to help his teammates and win games is a big part of who he is. It’s why his jersey will hang here,” coach David Adelman said. “So he’s where he should be (emotionally). Frustrated. Pissed off.”
Gordon returned to action on a minutes restriction earlier this month and was used off the bench for a few games as he eased back into his normal role. The latest injury occurred last Friday in Milwaukee on the second night of a back-to-back. Gordon played 33 minutes in the first game, but Adelman points out that he was able to pass a stress test and insists that “nobody made a mistake” by using him in that situation.
Durando adds that Gordon wasn’t able to undergo an MRI right away because the team got stranded in Memphis due to a blizzard last weekend. Adelman said Gordon had been hopeful that this hamstring issue was less serious than the previous one before the medical results were obtained. He’ll be sidelined until mid-March if the recovery stretches to six weeks, and Durando suggests the team may want to be extra cautious when he’s cleared to return.
“It hurts the team, but I’m more concerned about him,” Adelman added. “Just him having to restart this whole process, find the motivation to get back. We know he’ll be back before the end of the season. And he’ll get back to being who he is. Just an unfortunate thing in a season of many unfortunate things.
There’s more on the Nuggets:
- Nikola Jokic got into early foul trouble on Friday, which made it easier for Adelman to keep him on his minutes restriction in his return from a 16-game injury absence, per Logan Struck of Sports Illustrated. Jokic still made history in the 25 minutes he played, but Adelman didn’t have to worry about overtaxing him. “At the most, he probably would have played three more minutes, maybe,” Adelman said. “We’re just trying to balance it the best we can with the information that’s been given to us. But obviously he was very impactful.”
- Peyton Watson has been the biggest beneficiary of the offseason deal that sent Michael Porter Jr. to Brooklyn in exchange for Cameron Johnson, observes Sean Keeler of The Denver Post. Watson had been stuck behind Porter prior to this season, but he’s averaging more than 20 points per game over the past month and Keeler states that he’s established himself as either a core piece for the future or a valuable trade asset.
- Christian Braun has been upgraded to doubtful for Sunday’s game against Oklahoma City, the Nuggets announced (via Twitter). He has been sidelined since January 9 with a sprained left ankle.
Jokic Makes History In Return From Knee Injury
Nikola Jokic made a triumphant return to action on Friday. Jokic finished with 31 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals in 24 minutes as the Nuggets posted a 13-point win over the Clippers. According to the Denver Post’s Bennett Durando, Jokic became the first player in NBA history to amass 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in fewer than 25 minutes.
Jokic missed the previous 16 games due to a knee injury.
“You miss playing. You miss the pressure. You miss the adrenaline. Just being out there with the guys and trying to win a game,” Jokic said. “It’s a collective that I missed. This hasn’t happened for me probably in my career. So it was an interesting feeling.”
Being out for an extended period was a helpless feeling for the three-time Most Valuable Player.
“Watching just a game, it was taking so much of my energy,” he said. “I was yelling at the TV when I stayed back in Denver, and then, like, in the games (I was attending), I was so emotionally empty after the games. And then I decided the last two games, I’m just gonna try to chill and watch the game.”
Denver still isn’t close to being a full strength with Aaron Gordon sidelined by a hamstring strain and Christian Braun (ankle) and Cameron Johnson (knee) also rehabbing injuries. But getting Jokic back is an enormous boost one of the Western Conference’s prime contenders.
Jokic said the knee wasn’t on his mind while he was on the court.
“I was not scared to use it,” he said. “I was not thinking about it while I’m running, while I’m playing, so I think that’s a good sign that I’m ready.”
Aaron Gordon Out At Least 4-6 Weeks With Hamstring Strain
Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon will be reevaluated in four-to-six weeks due to a right hamstring strain, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Bennett Durando of The Denver Post confirms the news (via Twitter).
Gordon, a key starter for the Nuggets, aggravated his right hamstring strain in a January 23 victory at Milwaukee. The team was cautiously optimistic his latest strain wasn’t severe as his first, which sidelined him for six weeks, but it appears he’ll end up facing a similar recovery timeline.
In 23 appearances this season, Gordon has averaged 17.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 27.9 minutes per game, with a strong shooting slash line of .509/.400/.789. The 30-year-old is also one of the best defenders on Denver’s roster.
The Nuggets have a 17-6 record when Gordon plays this season, compared to a 14-10 mark when he’s unavailable. They’re currently 31-16, the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
While Denver will be without Gordon for several weeks — likely for all of February — they should have superstar center Nikola Jokic back in the near future. Charania reported on Tuesday that the three-time MVP, who has been out for a month due to a hyperextended left knee and bone bruise, is expected to be reevaluated next week.
Nuggets Notes: Gordon, Valanciunas, Watson, Jokic, More
David Adelman says Aaron Gordon is hopeful his latest right hamstring strain isn’t as severe as when he initially injured it in late November, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. However, the Nuggets‘ head coach also acknowledged Gordon’s status remains uncertain.
“I feel for him,” Adelman said. “He’s optimistic it’s not as bad as it was, the last one. But we won’t know until we get it actually tested.”
Gordon missed six weeks — and 19 games — before returning to action in early January. Adelman explained the team’s decision to play the veteran power forward in Friday’s win at Milwaukee, which was the second night of a back-to-back.
“It’s just the stress test. That’s what they go by,” Adelman said, per Durando. “And they look at his body and how it responded to yesterday. The response was good.
“And let’s just be honest. This is not an exact science. These injuries, they can come back any time. Aaron’s had different ones that are similar, the soft tissue stuff. … Nobody made a mistake with him playing. You can only do what you can do. And we have the best people in the world making decisions. They believed that the stress test showed he was good to go. So he did.”
Here’s more on the Nuggets:
- After Thursday’s win in Washington, Gordon said he was thrilled to have Jonas Valanciunas back in the lineup, Durando writes for The Denver Post. The Lithuanian center had missed 22 days due to a calf strain and finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes against his former team. “He pushes me back to the four,” Gordon said with enthusiasm when the topic of Valanciunas’ return came up. “It’s nice having somebody bigger on the floor than me. On the defensive end, on the glass, on the offensive end. … I can play big-big pick-and-roll again. I mean, he’s a fantastic player. And it’s nice having that center. That anchor back in, boxing out, getting rebounds.” It’s a very small sample size (54 minutes), but the Nuggets have blitzed their opponents with Gordon and Valanciunas on the court, Durando notes. “It’s been a while since I’ve played with him, so it’s great,” Valanciunas said. “He’s a good player. He’s very smart, very crafty. He knows what he’s doing on the floor. High-IQ guy.”
- Peyton Watson notched a career-best 35 points on 10-of-16 shooting in Thursday’s victory, according to Durando, though the fourth-year forward injured his left ankle in the process and sat out Friday with what the team referred to as sprains in both ankles. Watson, who has played exceptionally well over the past two months and particularly since Nikola Jokic went down with a knee injury in late December, also contributed eight rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals in 40 minutes. One high-ranking NBA executive told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps that Watson could receive a contract worth around $20MM annually in restricted free agency this summer.
- Jokic, Christian Braun (left ankle sprain) and Cameron Johnson (right knee bone bruise) all went through pregame shooting routines prior to Thursday’s contest, Durando adds. Jokic was wearing a sleeve on his injured left leg.
- In a fourth story, Durando explores five trends that have defined the Nuggets since Jokic got hurt.
Injury Notes: Gordon, Davis, Gafford, Claxton, Towns
Bad news for Nuggets fans: Aaron Gordon reinjured his right hamstring strain on Friday in Milwaukee and was eventually ruled out for the second half, the team announced (Twitter link).
Gordon was playing on both ends of a back-to-back for the second time since he initially strained his hamstring in November, an injury which caused him to miss six weeks.
“I feel good. Better than I’ve felt in a long time,” Gordon said after Thursday’s win at Washington, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link).
The veteran power forward appeared to tweak his hamstring in the final minute of the second quarter (Twitter video link via DNVR Sports). He finished with 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in 16 minutes.
While Gordon was available, multiple other key players were held out Friday, including Jamal Murray (right hamstring inflammation, left hip inflammation), Peyton Watson (right and left ankle sprains), and Jonas Valanciunas, who returned to action on Thursday after missing just over three weeks with a right calf strain.
Here are some more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Mavericks big man Anthony Davis, who is on the mend from ligament damage in his left hand, has begun light on-court work while wearing a protective glove, reports Grant Afseth of DallasHoopsJournal.com. Davis is expected to miss several weeks, though no firm timetable has been given for his return.
- As Afseth writes in another story for Dallas Hoops Journal, Mavericks center Daniel Gafford will return to action on Saturday against the Lakers after missing four games with a right ankle sprain that has given the 27-year-old big man issues throughout the 2025/26 campaign. Dwight Powell will continue to start in the middle even with Gafford back, however, as Dallas looks for its fifth straight win.
- Nets center Nic Claxton injured his pinkie finger in Friday’s double-overtime loss to Boston and will undergo imaging on Saturday, he told reporters, including Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link). Claxton was asked about being involved in trade rumors prior to Friday’s game and if he’s had any conversations with general manager Sean Marks, tweets Lewis. “I’ve almost been traded before,” Claxton said. “Sean, he has an open-door policy. You can always go talk to him whenever you want; but that’s for my agents to take care of. I’m just here as long as I’m here.”
- Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns is dealing with thoracic back spasms and is questionable for Saturday’s game in Philadelphia, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). The five-time All-Star has appeared in 41 of New York’s 44 games to this point in the season.
Nuggets Notes: Braun, Murray, Hardaway, Gordon, Jokic
Nuggets wing Christian Braun missed seven weeks due to a left ankle injury, didn’t look like his normal self in his three games back earlier this month, and has now missed the past four contests. Head coach David Adelman says Braun didn’t re-injure his ankle or suffer a setback, but instead realized he wasn’t 100% when he returned to action.
“I watch him work out, and he’s going full speed. It’s just, he can’t do everything his body should be able to do right now,” Adelman said, per Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette (Twitter link). “And so I feel like it’s fair to us and to the player for him to come back when he’s really ready to play basketball, not just run up and down the court.
“CB is tough. So him coming back as quick as he did off an injury like that is not surprising. And I think we have to do what’s best for him. I do think it’s a group conversation. Whatever CB communicates, I 100% understand where he’s coming from. That guy likes to play, loves to hoop. And he loves to win.”
Braun said earlier this month that he tore ligaments in his ankle when he initially suffered the injury on November 12. The 24-year-old added that he was unable to walk for several weeks.
Here’s more from Denver:
- The Nuggets trailed the Wizards by seven points early in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game, but Jamal Murray and Tim Hardaway Jr. sparked a comeback victory by combining for 31 points in the final period, Benedetto writes for The Denver Gazette. Murray, who should be a lock to make his first All-Star appearance, had another outstanding outing, finishing with 42 points (on 15-of-24 shooting), six assists, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 39 minutes. Hardaway, meanwhile, scored a season-high 30 points (on 10-of-18 shooting) in 36 minutes off the bench. The veteran guard/forward, who is playing on a one-year, minimum-salary contract, is shooting a career-best 41.5% from long distance this season.
- According to Benedetto (Twitter link), Adelman said multiple times after the game that he played Murray and Aaron Gordon (eight points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists in 32 minutes as the starting center) more than he wanted to on Saturday. Benedetto says he wouldn’t be surprised if both players are unavailable for Sunday’s back-to-back against Charlotte.
- Superstar center Nikola Jokic has essentially been acting as an assistant coach since he suffered a knee injury at the end of last month, according to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “I think for the young guys, the guys that haven’t played as much, to have a three-time MVP pull you aside and give you confidence, talk to you about what you can do better in this situation (is valuable). … Especially Nikola, who has memorized this league’s playbook,” Adelman said. “It’s absolutely insane. So leadership comes from a million places. Your veteran players are so important. … All these guys that have been through it, and I always say this, not just the successes they’ve had but the failures, too. They’ve been through it, and they can have a commentary that sometimes a coach can’t have with a player.” The Nuggets have gone 7-3 so far without their best player.
Northwest Notes: Gordon, Trail Blazers, Holiday, Bailey
The Nuggets have been using Aaron Gordon off the bench since he returned from a hamstring strain to maximize the value of his limited minutes, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Coach David Adelman wants Gordon to be available to help close out games, so he’s playing him strategically the rest of the time.
“When you have a minute restriction, if you start somebody, they sit for so long before you put them back in. So this allows me to kind of play with the minutes,” Adelman said after Friday’s loss to Atlanta. He pointed out that a starting lineup with Hunter Tyson and DaRon Holmes was able to keep the game close until Gordon checked in.
Gordon logged 24 minutes on Friday, the most he has played in any of the three games since his return after a six-week absence, and finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists. He said the hamstring feels “fine” now, but he’s still adjusting to the unfamiliar role.
“I’m just trying to figure out the flow of my minutes, you know? It’s a longer halftime for me right now, for going in at halftime, then coming off the bench out of halftime,” Gordon said. “It’s a little bit longer for me. So I’m just trying to figure out how I can continue to get my body back and contribute more in the second half. And help my team win. I feel like if I was better in the second half, we would have won that game. At least in the fourth quarter. So I take this one on me.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Trail Blazers are on a five-game winning streak, triggering memories of last season’s second-half surge, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report states in a subscriber-only story. Injury issues created opportunities for two-way players Sidy Cissoko and Caleb Love, who have become trusted parts of the rotation. “It’s just the confidence that these guys are getting,” interim coach Tiago Splitter said. “True minutes, meaningful minutes. Knowing that we have a system and a way to play, and we just follow it.”
- Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday is close to returning after missing the past 27 games with a right calf strain, according to Joe Freeman of the Oregonian. He has been upgraded to questionable for Sunday’s game against New York and could be back on the court for the first time since November 14. Freeman notes that Holiday was originally expected to be reevaluated in one to two weeks, but the injury continued to linger. In 12 games, Holiday is averaging 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists in 33.4 minutes per night.
- Jazz rookie Ace Bailey was only able to play 10 minutes on Wednesday against Oklahoma City as he tried to return from a strained hip flexor. It’s the only time he’s been on the court since suffering the injury on December 26. “Yeah, it’s still day to day,” coach Will Hardy told reporters, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). “You know, he felt like he could go in OKC, and then after his first two shifts, we didn’t love how he looked moving, he didn’t love how he felt, and so we don’t want to put him in a position that hurts him. So we’re taking it day by day. He’s working really hard. He was on the court today. Still got a long way to go.”