Denver Nuggets Blog – Page 28 – NBA Blog

Nuggets guard Randy Foye hopes to heal over All-Star break

All-Star weekend is fun for fans, and even for some of the players involved, but the average NBA player loves the weekend mostly because it gives them a few days to rest and heal from various bumps and bruises. Here’s the Denver Post blog with more:

No Nuggets player needs the All-Star break more than guard Randy Foye. He simply gutted out the last two games on the team’s recent road trip, and probably shouldn’t have been playing in Minnesota on Wednesday night due to a bad ankle injury in addition to a hamstring ailment.

His hope is he didn’t do any damage that would cause him to miss any games after the four-day break. But on a team with no point guards, that desperately needed someone to handle the basketball, he played through his injuries instead of sitting.

“I’m extremely banged up,” Foye said. “It started in the New York game, where I tweaked my hamstring and then…it seemed like every game, it’s the first time this year where every game something happened to me.”

JaVale McGee health update: Progress being made

Here’s the Denver Post blog on the health of injured Nuggets center JaVale McGree, who is reportedly making progress — though he’s still not set to return just yet.

While the news of Danilo Gallinari’s need for another ACL surgery still was sending waves through the Nuggets organization, they are gradually getting good returns on another player out for an indefinite period of time.

Center JaVale McGee, who has been out since early November with a stress fracture in his left tibia, has recently begun some lower body activity, getting some limited work in on an elliptical machine.

“It doesn’t put any pain on my shin because my foot is never leaving the platform,” McGee said. “That’s the only thing I can do. I can’t ride the bike or treadmill.”

Danilo Gallinari out for season after additional knee surgery

Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari underwent surgery this morning to reconstruct an ACL tear in his left knee.

The surgery was performed by team Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Steve Traina at Midtown Surgical Center.

“It was recently determined that the procedure that Danilo underwent on his knee this past summer was insufficient,” Nuggets General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly said.

“Danilo’s knee required that he undergo reconstruction of the ACL, which was successfully completed earlier this morning. Knowing Danilo’s drive and work ethic, we look forward to a full recovery and a healthy return to the court next season.”

Gallinari tore his ACL on April 4, 2013, against the Dallas Mavericks.

Denver Nuggets rescind the suspension of guard Andre Miller

The Denver Nuggets have rescinded the suspension of guard Andre Miller general manager/executive vice president of basketball operations Tim Connelly announced today.

He will return to the team on Monday, Jan. 6th and will be excused from all team activities for personal reasons until then.

He was going to miss two games due to suspension, but with this news, it appears he still won’t be involved with the team for those games, but will now at least receive his usual salary. So, instead of being suspended, it’s like he’s been given a few days off. To clear his head, or something.

There are trade rumors involving Miller, and it’s possible he will be dealt soon. But nothing concrete has been reported.

Denver Nuggets suspend Andre Miller two games

The Denver Nuggets, who have lost eight straight games and been in a free-fall lately, have suspended point guard Andre Miller for two games for conduct detrimental to the team, general manager/executive vice president of basketball operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Miller will miss Denver’s home game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday and will not travel with the team for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center.

Nuggets forward Jordan Hamilton suspended one game

Denver Nuggets forward Jordan Hamilton has been suspended one game without pay for throwing a punch and making contact with the shoulder of Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Hamilton was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected, occurred with 11:01 remaining in the fourth quarter of Denver’s 105-93 loss to the Thunder on Tuesday, Dec. 17, at Pepsi Center.

Hamilton will serve his suspension when the Nuggets visit the Phoenix Suns on Friday, Dec. 20, at US Airways Center.

Ty Lawson set to return for Nuggets

Here’s the Denver Post on the Nuggets getting healthier and stronger:

Nuggets guard Ty Lawson is over a hamstring injury and officially set to go for Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz. That’s just in time to face a Jazz team that looks wholly different from the one the Nuggets beat on Nov. 11 in Utah — a victory that at the time kicked off a stretch of 10 wins in 12 games.

The differences between that Utah team and this one start at point guard.

Rookie point guard Trey Burke, a lottery pick out of Michigan, returned to the team not long after that early November matchup, and he’s been the catalyst for a Jazz team that has put a much more competitive product on the court of late.

“We talked about with the team, don’t expect to see the same Utah team we saw a month ago,” Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said.

Knicks, Nuggets reportedly discuss an Iman Shumpert, Kenneth Faried trade

The New York Knicks may need a shakeup, and talented young guard Iman Shumpert is one of their most tradeable assets. But will the team really move him? Here’s the New York Daily News:

Talks between the Knicks and Nuggets centered around a deal that would send Iman Shumpert to Denver for forward Kenneth Faried have intensified in recent days, the Daily News has learned.

According to a league source, no deal is imminent, although the struggling Knicks feel they need to make a move to bolster their banged-up front court.

Tyson Chandler is out at least one month after breaking his leg last week while both Amar’e Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin have been placed on a minutes restriction because if their health.

Wilson Chandler still recovering from hamstring injury

Here’s the Denver Post on a key piece of the Nuggets who has been sidelined a bit longer than expected:

Wilson Chandler’s face would never give away his sense of worry, of frustration, of most anything. He’s as even-keeled as they come.

And yet he’s been dealing with a nagging hamstring injury that cost him pretty much all of the preseason and has spilled into the regular season, sidelining him for Wednesday night’s season opener against Sacramento.

Chandler’s inability to get better is concerning to Nuggets coach Brian Shaw.

“I am concerned with that,” Shaw said. “But at this point, it’s the beginning of the season — hamstring, those kinds of muscle pulls, strains, tears, can hamper you and linger for a long time. I just want him to be able to get it right and feel confident that when he does he can come out there and be productive for us.”

Denver Nuggets exercise contract options on Kenneth Faried and Evan Fournier

The Nuggets have exercised the fourth-year contract option on forward Kenneth Faried and the third-year option on guard Evan Fournier for 2014-15, general manager/executive vice president of basketball operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Faried, the 22nd overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, averaged 11.5 points and 9.2 rebounds – both career-highs – in 80 games for the Nuggets last season. He recorded 31 double-doubles and ranked ninth in the NBA in field-goal percentage (.552).

In 126 career games (119 starts), Faried has averaged 11.1 points and 8.6 rebounds, while posting 43 double-doubles. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2011-12.

In addition to his production on the court, Faried received the 2012-13 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award presented annually by the Professional Basketball Writers Association.

Fournier, the 20th overall pick in 2012, averaged 5.3 points and 1.2 assists in 38 games as a rookie last season. He scored in double-figures in six of his final nine appearances, including a career-high 24 points against the Portland Trail Blazers on April 14.

Fournier, 21, turned pro as a teenager and played for Union Poitiers Basket 86 in France’s top pro league before entering the NBA Draft. He twice was named the French League’s Most Improved Player.