Category: Denver Nuggets Blog

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone has been suspended one game without pay for entering the court, halting play and making contact with a game official, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 6:20 remaining in the second quarter of Denver’s 127-109 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 19 at Staples Center.

Malone will serve his suspension tonight when the Nuggets face the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Arena.

The NBA also rescinded the ejection fine given to Nuggets’ center Nikola Jokic, who properly received a technical foul for his actions but should not have been ejected from the game.

The Denver Nuggets have assigned rookie Tyler Lydon and transferred rookie Monte Morris to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and transferred rookie Torrey Craig to the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Craig, 6-6, 215, appeared in four preseason games for Denver, averaging 6.8 minutes per game. He also played in six summer league games (two starts) for the Nuggets, averaging 11.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.33 steals and 1.00 blocks per game.

Lydon, 6-10, 225, was acquired by Denver along with Trey Lyles in a draft night trade with Utah. He appeared in all five of Denver’s preseason games, averaging 1.0 points and 1.0 rebounds in 5.3 minutes per game.

Morris, 6-3, 175, was selected by Denver with the 51st pick of the 2017 NBA Draft. He played in three preseason games for the Nuggets, averaging 3.0 points and 4.3 minutes per game.

The Denver Nuggets have signed forward Richard Jefferson and waived guard Jameer Nelson.

Jefferson, 6-7, 233, most recently averaged 5.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 79 games for the Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016-17. He was also a member of the Cavaliers 2015-16 NBA Championship team, appearing in all 21 (two starts) of their playoff contests with averages of 5.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. In 16 NBA seasons, Jefferson has averaged 12.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 1,161 career NBA games (809 starts) with New Jersey, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Golden State, Utah, Dallas and Cleveland.

Nelson, 6-0, 190, was acquired by Denver in a trade with Boston on January 13th, 2015, and re-signed on August 15, 2015. Nelson appeared in 148 games (59 starts) for Denver in two and a half seasons, averaging 8.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 25.6 minutes. The 13-year NBA veteran has played 828 career games (639 starts) for Orlando, Dallas, Boston and Denver, averaging 11.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game.

The Nuggets roster remains at 15 guaranteed players and two two-way players.

The Denver Nuggets have signed guard Gary Harris to a contract extension, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced.

According to ESPN.com, it’s a a four-year, $84 million contract extension that “includes $74 million in guaranteed money, and team and individual bonus clauses worth the remaining $10 million.”

Harris, 23, had the most productive year of his young career last season, averaging 14.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.25 steals per game in 57 contests (56 starts). He also shot .502 from the field and .420 (107-255 3FG) from beyond the arc in 2016-17, ranking eighth in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage and first among all shooting guards in field goal percentage.

Additionally, out of the 155 NBA players that made at least 60 three-pointers this past season, Harris was one of just two that shot over 50% from the field and 40% from long range. He became just the second Nugget in team history to accomplish this feat as well.

The Fishers, Indiana native was acquired by the Nuggets in a draft-night trade after he was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 19th pick of the 2014 NBA Draft. He has appeared in 188 career games (138 starts) over three seasons with Denver, averaging 10.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.10 steals in 26.3 minutes per game. Harris has improved his points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, field goal percentage and three-point shooting percentage in each of his first three seasons.

Denver Nuggets President and Governor Josh Kroenke has announced that in conjunction with the season-long celebration of 50 years of Mile High Basketball, the Nuggets will be retiring legendary player Lafayette “Fat” Lever’s #12 jersey on Saturday, December 2, 2017 vs. the Los Angeles Lakers.

“With what Fat Lever has meant to this team, this city and our community for the past 30-plus years, it makes perfect sense to honor him by retiring his jersey during this special season,” Kroenke stated. “He is not only one of the best Nuggets in franchise history, but a great ambassador of Denver basketball as well. It is going to be an honor to have his jersey hanging in our arena.”

Lever was a member of the Nuggets from 1984 through 1990. In 474 games spanning six seasons with Denver, he averaged 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.46 steals per game. The Nuggets reached the postseason in all six of Lever’s years while playing under Head Coach Doug Moe and his up-tempo system, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 1985.

Lever earned an All-Star spot in both the 1988 and 1990 seasons and was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 1986-87 and the All-Defensive Second Team in 1987-88. He is scattered throughout the Nuggets’ all-time leaderboards, ranking 1st in steals (1,167), 2nd in assists (3,566), 7th in points (8,081), 7th in made field goals (3,304), 7th in minutes played (16,867) and 8th in rebounds (3,621).

The Pine Bluff, Arkansas native also earned the reputation as a prolific triple-double threat during his time in Denver. He registered 46 triple-doubles as a Nugget (including three in the playoffs), far and away the most in franchise history. He is currently one of only seven NBA players since 1983-84 to have registered a triple-double with steals and is the only Nugget in team history to ever do so. Lever led the NBA in triple-doubles (16) in 1986-87, tied for the most in the league (12) in 1987-88 and came in 3rd (10) in 1988-89. Over that three-year span, Lever ranked 2nd in the NBA in total triple-doubles with 38, trailing only Magic Johnson (43) and ahead of Michael Jordan (18).

Lever will become the sixth Nugget player to have his jersey retired and seventh member of the organization overall. He will join Byron Beck’s #40, David Thompson’s #33, Dan Issel’s #44, Alex English’s #2 and Dikembe Mutombo’s #55. Iconic head coach Doug Moe and his 432 career wins with the Nuggets are also memorialized with a banner in Pepsi Center’s rafters.

The Denver Nuggets have exercised the fourth-year options for both Trey Lyles and Emmanuel Mudiay and exercised the third-year options for Malik Beasley, Juancho Hernangomez and Jamal Murray, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Lyles, 6-10, 243, was drafted out of the University of Kentucky with the 12th pick of the 2015 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz. He was acquired by Denver, along with Tyler Lydon, in a draft-night trade on June 22, 2017. He appeared in 151 games (37 starts) in his first two seasons with Utah, averaging 6.1 points and 3.5 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game.

Mudiay, 6-5, 200, was selected by Denver with the seventh overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft. He has played in 123 games (107 starts) over his first two seasons, posting averages of 12.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 28.2 minutes per game.

Beasley, 6-5, 196, was drafted out of Florida State University with the 19th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft by Denver. He appeared in 22 games (one start) for the Nuggets as a rookie, averaging 3.8 points in 7.5 minutes. He also appeared in 16 games (12 starts) for Sioux Falls of the NBA G-League, averaging 18.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.10 steals in 31.9 minutes.

Hernangomez, 6-9, 230, was selected by Denver with the 15th overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft. The Madrid, Spain native played in 62 games (nine starts) as a rookie last season, posting averages of 4.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game.

Murray, 6-4, 207, was selected by Denver with the seventh overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft out of the University of Kentucky. He appeared in all 82 games (10 starts) as a rookie last season, averaging 9.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 21.5 minutes per game. The Kitchener, Canada native earned All-Rookie Second Team honors, was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for Oct./Nov. and won the MVP award at the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend.

The Denver Nuggets have named Calvin Booth their Assistant General Manager, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Booth, 41, joins the Nuggets after spending the past four seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves front office, most recently serving as the Director of Pro Personnel. Prior to his promotion last season, Booth was a scout for the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2012-13 season before transitioning to the same position in Minnesota for the start of the 2013-14 season. While in Minnesota Booth continued his rise as a basketball executive as he worked his way from a scout, to the Director of Player Programs and then to the Director of Player Personnel.

Before beginning his front office career, Booth played for seven different teams over a 10-year career in the NBA. He appeared in 366 games (83 starts), averaging 3.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.00 blocks per game. The Reynoldsburg, OH native was drafted by the Washington Wizards in the second round (35th overall) of the 1999 NBA Draft after playing four years at Penn State University.

Booth and Connelly are no strangers, having worked together on two separate occasions with the Washington Wizards and also later with the New Orleans Pelicans. Booth had two separate stints as a player with the Wizards, first between 1999-01 while Connelly was a scout and again from 2005-07 while Connelly was the Director of Pro Personnel. Most recently the pair came together in the Pelicans front office where Booth was a scout during the 2012-13 season and Tim Connelly was finishing his last year as New Orleans’ Assistant General Manager before being hired as the Nuggets General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations.

The Denver Nuggets have hired veteran NBA coach and player Bob Weiss to join Head Coach Michael Malone’s staff as an assistant coach, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Bob Weiss brings 34 years of coaching experience to Denver, including 31 at the NBA level. Weiss, who spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach with the Charlotte Hornets, has been a head coach on four occasions, compiling a 223-299 career record (.427) with the San Antonio Spurs (1986-88), Atlanta Hawks (1990-93), Los Angeles Clippers (1993-94) and Seattle SuperSonics (2005-06). Along with the last four seasons in Charlotte, his tenure as an assistant coach includes stops with the San Diego Clippers (1977-80), Dallas Mavericks (1980-86), Orlando Magic (1989-90) SuperSonics (1994-2005) and Atlanta Hawks (2012-13).

In 2008, Weiss became the first former NBA head coach to be a head coach in China, where he spent two seasons leading the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons (2008-10) and one season with the Shandong Lions (2010-11).

Prior to coaching, Weiss played 12 seasons in the NBA. Drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers as the 22nd overall pick in the 1965 NBA Draft, he averaged 7.6 points, 3.7 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 783 career games for the 76ers, Seattle SuperSonics, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Buffalo Braves and Washington Bullets. Weiss also saw action in 53 playoff games, including winning the 1967 NBA Championship with the 76ers.