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Wilson Chandler to undergo season-ending hip surgery

Wilson Chandler to undergo season-ending hip surgery

Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler will undergo surgery to repair a labral tear in his right hip and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, Nuggets General Manager and Executive Vice President Tim Connelly announced today.

“Since his arrival in Denver in 2011, Wilson has embraced everything that has been asked of him and more,” said Nuggets President and Governor Josh Kroenke. “No one has worked harder, and to see him miss our entire season is devastating as I know how badly he wants to be on the court helping his teammates. Knowing the person behind the player and the character he has displayed during previous periods of adversity, Wilson will embrace this challenge and come back as a healthy and improved player next season. We look forward to assisting him every step of the way in his recovery.”

“While we are extremely disappointed by the news, we are confident that Wilson will be at full strength to start next season. Wilson is one of the league’s elite workers and we are going to be there for him during this entire process,” Connelly stated.

“I’m incredibly disappointed at this point, I put in so much work over the summer to make myself a better player,” said Chandler. “I was really looking forward to this year, being out there battling with my teammates, being a part of the change. I dedicated my whole summer to self-improvement and all I had on my mind this off-season and preseason was ‘this was my year, I was going to help this team win.’ So this is very frustrating and heart-breaking to say the least. I just want to say thank you to the whole organization for supporting me at a time like this.”

Chandler, 28, has spent the last five years as a Denver Nugget, appearing in 212 games (163 starts) and averaging 13.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He has played in 445 total games (343 starts) over eight seasons with Denver and New York, owning career averages of 13.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists.

Chandler was originally drafted out of DePaul University by New York with the 23rd overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft.

Nuggets sign Kostas Papanikolaou and waive Erick Green

The Denver Nuggets have signed forward Kostas Papanikolaou and waived guard Erick Green, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Papanikolaou, 6-8, 225, appeared in 43 games (one start) in his rookie season with Houston, averaging 4.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 18.5 minutes per game. He was originally drafted by the New York Knicks with the 48th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft and was traded to Portland in 2012 and then to Houston on July 10, 2013. From 2011 to 2013, the Greek forward played for Olympiacos and in 2013-14 he played for FC Barcelona in the Spanish ACB league.

Green, 6-4, 185, has appeared in 46 games for Denver over the past two seasons, averaging 3.2 points in 9.1 minutes per game. Green was selected by the Utah Jazz with the 46th overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft and was traded to Denver on draft night in exchange for Rudy Gobert.

Papanikolaou will be available for tonight’s game vs. the Utah Jazz.

Nuggets waive Nick Johnson, Oleksiy Pecherov, Devin Sweetney

The Denver Nuggets have waived Nick Johnson, Oleksiy Pecherov and Devin Sweetney, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Johnson, 6-3, 202, appeared in six games (one start) for Denver in the preseason, averaging 2.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 17.7 minutes per game.

Pecherov, 7-0, 232, appeared one preseason game for Denver, averaging 6.0 points and 1.0 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per game.

Sweetney, 6-6, 200, played in four preseason games for Denver, averaging 1.3 points in 3.3 minutes per game.

The Nuggets roster now stands at 15 players.

Nikola Jokic impressive at Nuggets training camp

Here’s the Denver Post reporting positive Nuggets center-related news:

Reporters never have to specifically broach the subject of rookie Nikola Jokic with Nuggets coach Michael Malone for him to lavish praise.

It goes something like this: Coach, how do you size up the center position?

Malone gets started on the answer. In the midst of it all, something in the neighborhood of this comment, which came earlier in camp, inevitably comes out.

“Nikola Jokic, he’s a young kid and I’m not saying he’s ready, but he does things every practice that make you say ‘Wow, this kid has a chance to be a (heck of a) player,’ ” Malone said. “For him to be that young and that skilled is really exciting to see. The fact that he’s gotten so much better even from summer league.”

Emmanuel Mudiay interview quotes after NBA preseason win vs Mavs

Nuggets rookie guard Emmanuel Mudiay inteview quotes after Tuesday’s 96-86 preseason win over the Dallas Mavericks. Mudiay shot 7-of-14 for 17 points and five assists, though he did commit seven turnovers.

Emmanuel Mudiay interview quotes

On his preseason play through two games:

Emmanuel Mudiay: “It’s cool. The more I am out there, the more comfortable I get. I’m just learning from these guys. (Nuggets guard) Jameer (Nelson), (Nuggets head coach Michael) Malone, and all the veterans are helpful.”

On his feel for the game and tonight’s fourth quarter:

Mudiay: “You just have to be aggressive. I was just trying to make plays to win. We didn’t have a lot of veterans out there with me, so we just had to find a way to go out there and win.”

On having the keys to the Nuggets’ offense:

Mudiay: “It’s a team sport. I still have a lot to learn. I’m going to learn from lots of these veterans and lots of these coaches. But at the same time, it’s a blessing. I have to thank God for it.”

On what he needs to work on:

Mudiay: “Just keep working. Like I said, the more I am out there, the more comfortable I get. It’s a learning process. I just learn from the coaches as much as I can and try to be a basketball junkie off the court. Keep working hard do what got me here.”

Defense the focus for these Nuggets

Defense the focus for these Nuggets

Here’s the Denver Post blog with insight on this season’s Nuggets squad:

Make no mistake about it, the Nuggets will be a defense-first basketball team. And to that end, much of what was drilled during the week was on that end of the court. Against the Clippers — and then Mavericks on Tuesday — [Nuggets coach Michael] Malone wants to see progress on that end of the court first. Success there will allow the team to get on the break on offense.

“The hope is if you have a solid defensive effort that we’re able to run off of our defense,” he said. “I think we have some guys on our team that are really suited to play up tempo, open court. I think Emmanuel Mudiay, the more we can put him in open court situations, the more he’s going to thrive. Offensively we know there are going to be some growing pains, but as long as we’re not throwing the ball all over the gym and we’re trying to execute, we’ll be okay, regardless of the outcome.”

…

Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari reported feeling “fresh” after the first couple of days of practices. He and forward Joffrey Lauvergne are coming off of playing in the EuroBasket 2015 tournament in the first couple of weeks of September. Both will be monitored for fatigue and held out as necessary, Malone said.

Nuggets add Mike Miller

Nuggets add Mike Miller

Along with the signing of 15-year NBA veteran Mike Miller, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced the Denver Nuggets official 2015-16 training camp roster today.

With the addition of Miller and signings of Matt Janning, Oleksiy Pecherov and Devin Sweetney, the Nuggets roster stands at 19 players.

The Nuggets are currently holding training camp at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs before heading to Los Angeles to face the Clippers in their first preseason game on Friday, October 2nd.

Emmanuel Mudiay has big goals for Nuggets

Here’s the Denver Post reporting on talented Nuggets rookie guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who appears to have big potential and will be one of the rookies InsideHoops.com pays consistent attention to as the new season begins:

Emmanuel Mudiay has big goals for Nuggets

Mudiay’s not just talking about having nice seasons. He’s talking titles.

“For sure,” he said. “If you ask that to anybody, anybody is going to say ‘Yeah.’ But I actually really mean it. I’ve always kind of been the first to do certain things, so that wouldn’t be nothing new to me.

“I think if I’m blessed enough to get one here, it’s just going to be addictive. I’m just going to want more championships.”

A busy Nuggets summer, which included trading point guard Ty Lawson, ensured Mudiay will be able to start his — and the team’s — growth toward that goal immediately.

At a fresh-out-of-the-wrapper 19 years old, Mudiay has been handed the keys to the team.

When the season opens Oct. 28 in Houston, Mudiay will be just the second rookie to start at point guard in Nuggets history. Bobby Jackson, in 1997, was the first.

Jusuf Nurkic will not be ready for start of training camp

Here’s the Denver Post with an update on Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic, who averaged 6.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks — impressive considering he played just 17.8 minutes per game last season:

Jusuf Nurkic will not be ready for start of training camp

Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic will not be ready for the start of training camp as he continues to rehab his left knee, general manager Tim Connelly said Wednesday.

“We’re going to take our time with him,” Connelly said.

Nurkic underwent surgery in May to repair a partially torn left patella tendon. The original timetable was three to four months. Connelly, however, did say that Nurkic was “ahead of schedule,” but he wouldn’t “put a firm timetable on when he’ll be back.”