Denver Nuggets Blog – Page 15 – NBA Blog

Nuggets sign Torrey Craig

The Nuggets signed free agent forward Torrey Craig to a multi-year contract today.

“We are thrilled to have Torrey back on our roster. His journey to the NBA was an atypical one and this contract is a testament to his tremendous work ethic and drive,” stated Connelly.

Craig, 27, was signed to a two-way contract with Denver during the 2017-18 season where he averaged 4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 39 games (five starts) for the Nuggets. He also appeared in 15 games (12 starts) for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of G League last season, averaging 22.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.00 blocks and 1.13 steals in 5.0 minutes per game. He also shot .477 from the field and .386 from three for the Skyforce.

The South Carolina native went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft and prior to joining the Nuggets he spent three seasons starring in the Australian National Basketball League. He played for the Brisbane Bullets during the 2016-17 season where he was named both the Australian NBL Defensive Player of the Year and the Most Improved Player while earning All-NBL Second Team honors. He played collegiately at the University of South Carolina-Upstate for four years, earning NABC All-District First Team honors three times and was named the Atlantic Sun Player of the Year as a sophomore.

Nuggets trade Wilson Chandler to Sixers

The Denver Nuggets have traded forward Wilson Chandler and a future second round draft pick to Philadelphia in exchange for cash considerations.

“We want to thank Wilson for seven years in Denver,” said Connelly. “As good as a player as he is, he’s an even better person. He will be a great addition in Philly and we will certainly all be rooting for him.”

Chandler, 31, spent seven seasons with Denver, averaging 13.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 357 games (267 starts). Overall he has appeared in 590 career games (447 starts) with New York and Denver, averaging 13.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

Nuggets sign rookie Michael Porter Jr

The Denver Nuggets have signed forward Michael Porter Jr. to his rookie contract.

All players selected in the first round of the draft, as Porter Jr was, are guaranteed to receive a contract. Therefore, this signing is standard and was expected.

Porter Jr., 6-10, 215, was selected by the Nuggets with the 14th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft out of the University of Missouri. He began his collegiate career as the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit as a high school senior out of Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, Washington. Porter Jr. averaged 36.2 points and 13.6 rebounds per game as a senior while leading Nathan Hale to a perfect 29-0 record en route to the Washington Class 3A State Championship, the first-ever state title for the school.

The native of Indianapolis was named the MVP of the McDonald’s High School All-American Game as well as winning both the Naismith and Gatorade National Player of the Year awards, joining Dwight Howard (2004), LeBron James (2003), Chris Webber (1991) and Alonzo Mourning (1988) as the only players to ever accomplish the feat. Porter Jr. was named a 2017-18 consensus preseason All-American, the 2017-18 preseason ESPN National Freshman of the Year and the 2017-18 preseason SEC Co-Player of the Year.

Nuggets take Michael Porter Jr. with 14th pick in NBA Draft

The Denver Nuggets selected forward Michael Porter Jr. with the 14th overall pick in tonight’s 2018 NBA Draft. Denver also acquired the draft rights to forward Jarred Vanderbilt at 41st overall from Orlando in exchange for the 43rd pick and a future second round pick and also selected center Thomas Welsh with the 58th pick.

Porter Jr., 6-10, 215, signed with the University of Missouri as the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit as a high school senior out of Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, Washington. Porter Jr. averaged 36.2 points and 13.6 rebounds per game as a senior while leading Nathan Hale to a perfect 29-0 record en route to the Washington Class 3A State Championship, the first-ever state title for the school.

The 19-year-old native of Indianapolis was named the MVP of the McDonald’s High School All-American Game as well as winning both the Naismith and Gatorade National Player of the Year awards, joining Dwight Howard (2004), LeBron James (2003), Chris Webber (1991) and Alonzo Mourning (1988) as the only players to ever accomplish the feat. Porter Jr. was named a 2017-18 consensus preseason All-American, the 2017-18 preseason ESPN National Freshman of the Year and the 2017-18 preseason SEC Co-Player of the Year before a back injury limited him to just three games during his debut campaign.

Vanderbilt, 6-9, 214, appeared in 14 games as a freshman for Kentucky, averaging 5.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 17.0 minutes per game. The 19-year-old from Houston averaged 28.5 points, 13.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists as a senior at Victory Prep School. Vanderbilt played for the USA Junior National Select Team at the 2017 Nike Hoop Summit and was also a member of the U.S. U16 National Team that won Gold at the 2015 FIBA U16 Americas.

Welsh, 7-0, 255, played four seasons at UCLA where he averaged 9.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks while shooting 53.7% from the field. He was one of five finalists for the 2017-18 Kareem Abdul-Jabar award, given to the nation’s top center, and finished his Bruins career ranked third in career rebounds (1,035), third in blocks (143) and sixth in career double-doubles (37). As a senior the California native posted averages of 12.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 40.7% from three (45-of-112 3FG) and 82.8% from the free throw line. His 10.8 rebounds per game was UCLA’s highest per game average since David Greenwood in 1977-78.

On the future of Kenneth Faried and the Nuggets

Kenneth Faried had been thought of as the future of the Nuggets. That’s in the past. As for the future, here’s the Denver Post reporting as the team looks forward to free agency and the draft:

One potential anchor to rid is forward Kenneth Faried. He was inactive from Feb. 3 through the end of the season, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski recently reported the Nuggets have been shopping to trade him for a year. Faried is Denver’s third-highest-paid player with a base salary of almost $13 million, according to Sportrac, and successfully packaging him with the No. 14 pick would give the Nuggets $26.7 million in cap space to work with. Another veteran with a hefty price tag who played sparingly in 2017-18 is Darrell Arthur; he carries a dead cap figure of $14.6 million and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2019.

They’re not the only variables in play as the Nuggets re-evaluate their finances for next season. There’s also Wilson Chandler, who has a player option this season and is due $12.8 million should he choose to return, and Connelly said the Nuggets want to bring back guard Will Barton, who’s an unrestricted free agent…

Connelly said Wednesday that with the No. 14 pick in the draft, the Nuggets are looking for a player with positional versatility who is skilled on the defensive end.

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Mason Plumlee undergoes surgery

Denver Nuggets center Mason Plumlee has undergone a surgical repair of a core muscle injury this morning. The surgery was performed by Dr. William Meyers at the Vincera Institute in Philadelphia.

The Nuggets say that Plumlee will resume basketball-related activities this summer and should be at full-strength when the team opens training camp for the new season.

Josh Kroenke promoted to Vice Chairman of KSE and KSE UK

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment today announced the promotion of Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets President Josh Kroenke to Vice Chairman of KSE and KSE UK.

“This appointment is a well-deserved and long overdue recognition of Josh’s many contributions to not only the Avalanche and Nuggets organizations but also his role in the overall global growth of KSE and our sister companies,” said Jim Martin, KSE CEO and President. “Josh has evolved into a respected leader and innovator in sports business, and is already leading many of our organization’s investments in forward-thinking multimedia platforms and emerging technologies.”

Kroenke, 37, serves on the Board of Governors of the NHL and NBA. He is also a member of the NBA’s influential Planning Committee. In addition to his NBA and NHL responsibilities, he is an Alternate Governor for the Colorado Rapids (MLS), and sits on the board of Arsenal Football Club of the English Premier League.

“While the business of sport has transformed in recent years, we are still just getting started,” Kroenke said. “Our current management structure won’t change, and Joe Sakic of the Avalanche and Tim Connelly of the Nuggets will continue reporting directly to me. This new position allows me the opportunity and flexibility to work closer with employees, fans, sponsors and community leaders to strategize and celebrate the power of sports and entertainment.”

Kroenke’s first role at KSE was with the Nuggets in 2007, where he began learning the organization from the ground up working with departments ranging from scouting to marketing and sales. He was promoted to President of the Nuggets and Governor of the Avalanche in 2010, before assuming the additional title of President with the Avalanche in 2013.

Kroenke has held numerous leadership positions for the Nuggets and Avalanche, playing a pivotal role in hiring Coach of the Year recipients in the NBA and NHL as well as multiple NBA Executive of the Year honorees. As Alternate Governor of the Colorado Rapids, Kroenke helped bring the MLS All-Star Game to Denver in 2015 and helped the Rapids acquire U.S. World Cup goalie Tim Howard in 2016.

Key point about the Nuggets vs Timberwolves game tonight

The Nuggets and Timberwolves play in Minnesota tonight. The winner makes the NBA playoffs. The loser has to go home and stare at a wall. Or they can watch TV. Maybe eat something. Or hop on a plane and fly to an exotic overseas beach destination. Which sounds cool. But making the playoffs is better. Beaches can wait.

The Western conference playoff seeding situation is complicated. Regarding these two teams, here are the possibilities:

If the Nuggets win tonight, they will either be the 6 or 7 West seed.

If the Timberwolves win, they’ll be the 6, 7 or 8 West seed.

Why? Because a big stack of West playoff teams have almost identical records, and therefore tiebreaker rules come into effect.

Here’s what’s set in the West through Tuesday:
Rockets are the 1-seed.
Warriors are the 2-seed.
Blazers or Jazz are the 3-seed.
The rest will be determined tonight.

InsideHoops.com will turn things things up for the 2018 playoffs. Roll with us daily.

Three-team trade sends Emmanuel Mudiay to Knicks, Doug McDermott to Mavs, Devin Harris to Nuggets

The New York Knicks have acquired guard Emmanuel Mudiay in a three-team deal with Denver and Dallas. In the deal, New York sends forward Doug McDermott to Dallas and its 2018 second-round draft pick to Denver (Subject to Philadelphia’s right to swap that pick with the Los Angeles Clippers second-round pick). Dallas also sends guard Devin Harris to Denver, with Denver sending a 2018 second round pick to Dallas.

“We welcome Emmanuel to New York and are excited to add this talented player to our roster,” said Scott Perry, General Manager, New York Knicks. “He is a young, athletic guard who we feel will be a valuable addition to the Knicks moving forward.”

Mudiay, 6-5, 200-pounds, holds career averages of 11.1 points, 4.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds over 25.6 minutes in 165 games (107 starts) through three seasons with Denver. The Democratic Republic of Congo-native is averaging 8.5 points, 2.9 assists and 2.2 rebounds over 17.9 minutes in 42 games this season. He was originally selected by Denver with the seventh overall selection of 2015 NBA Draft. He represented the Nuggets in the 2016 Rising Stars game at All-Star Weekend and was named to the 2015-16 All NBA Rookie Second Team.

“We can’t thank Emmanuel enough for his time in Denver” President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly said. “Emmanuel has been nothing but a complete professional both on and off the court and has done so much to help improve our organization and the city of Denver. New York is not just getting a good basketball player but a fantastic individual and we wish him the best moving forward.”

McDermott (6-8, 225) holds career averages of 7.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 20.4 minutes per game in 238 games (10 starts) with Chicago, Oklahoma City and New York. He has shot 44.9 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from beyond the arc and 81.8 percent from the foul line for his career.

The fourth-year man out of Creighton averaged 7.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 21.3 minutes per game in 55 games (one start) for the Knicks this season. He is shooting a career-high 46 percent (151-of-328) from the floor and 38.7 percent (53-of-137) from deep in 2017-18.

McDermott was originally selected by Denver with the 11th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, but had his draft rights traded to Chicago along with Anthony Randolph in exchange for the draft rights to Gary Harris and Jusuf Nurkic and a future second-round pick.

On Feb. 23, 2017, McDermott was traded, along with Taj Gibson and a future second-round pick, to Oklahoma City in exchange for Joffrey Lauvergne, Anthony Morrow and Cameron Payne. On Sept. 25, 2017, he was dealt, along with Enes Kanter and a future second-round pick, to New York in exchange for Carmelo Anthony.

The 6-8 forward played four years for his father, Greg McDermott, at Creighton from 2010-14. He finished his college career ranked fifth on the NCAA Division I all-time scoring list with 3,150 points. As a senior in 2013-14, he led the nation in scoring (26.7 ppg) en route to being named the consensus national player of the year.

McDermott was a high school teammate of Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes at Ames High School (Ames, Iowa). Barnes and McDermott led the Little Cyclones to back-to-back Iowa 4A state championships and a combined 53-0 record during their junior and senior years (2008-09 and 2009-10).

McDermott will wear No. 20 for Dallas.

Devin Harris, 6-3, 192, appeared in 44 games (one start) for Dallas this season, averaging 8.5 points, 1.9 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game. Over 14 seasons, Harris has appeared in 890 career games (446 starts) for Dallas, New Jersey, Utah and Atlanta averaging 11.2 points, 4.1 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 25.1 minutes per game.

The 34-year-old has played in 64 playoff games (31 starts) holding averages of 9.1 points, 2.6 assists and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 45.0% from the field in 23.7 minutes per game. The University of Wisconsin product was also named to the NBA Eastern Conference All-Star team during the 2008-09 season while playing for the New Jersey Nets.

Trey Lyles having nice season for Nuggets

A post shared by Trey Lyles (@treylyles) on Dec 3, 2017 at 5:11pm PST

The Nuggets are 21-20 this season, being led in scoring by SG Garry Harris (16.9 ppg), PG Jamal Murray (16.1 ppg), C Nikola Jokic (15.7 ppg), PF Paul Millsap (15.3 ppg, though he’s been injured and played in just 16 games so far this season, and may return in February), and SG Will Barton (14.5 ppg, mostly off the bench. But right after Barton is young power forward Trey Lyles. Now in his third NBA season, Lyles in just 19.9 minutes per game is putting up 10.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Solid backup numbers. Here’s the Denver Post with more:

At the start of the season, Trey Lyles was the odd man out amongst Denver’s crowded frontcourt. But since Paul Millsap went down, Lyles has used his versatile inside-outside game and admirable work ethic to thrive as the Nuggets’ first big man off the bench. While playing both forward spots and center, Lyles has compiled 13 consecutive double-figure scoring outings while also averaging 7.5 rebounds per game during that span. His emergence is partially why Kenneth Faried has essentially been pushed out of Denver’s rotation. A tip of the cap here should also go to Torrey Craig, who has parlayed a career in Australia into an NBA two-way contract and, now, a rotation spot as a perimeter defensive stopper.

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