Denver Nuggets Blog – Page 53 – NBA Blog

Denver Nuggets sign Al Harrington

The Denver Nuggets have signed free-agent F Al Harrington, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today.

Harrington, 6-9, 250, is a 12-year NBA veteran who averaged 17.7 points and 5.8 rebounds for the New York Knicks last season. For his career, he has averaged 14.1 points and 5.8 rebounds in 800 games with Indiana, Atlanta, Golden State and New York.

The 25th overall pick of the 1998 NBA Draft, Harrington scored in double figures 60 times in 72 games with the Knicks in 2009-10, including 16 games of at least 25 points, four games of 30+ points and two 40-point games.

The 30-year-old Harrington exploded for 41 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Nuggets in Denver on Nov. 27, 2009. That came four weeks after he scored a career-high 42 points against Philadelphia. He also had 23 points and nine rebounds in a victory over the Nuggets on March 23.

Drafted by Indiana out of high school, Harrington has averaged at least 12.2 points in nine of his 12 seasons. He averaged a career-high 20.1 points and ranked seventh in the NBA with 171 three-pointers during the 2008-09 season. He has made at least 140 three-pointers in each of the past three seasons.

InsideHoops.com editor says: Harrington can be a bench star for the Nuggets, backing up at both forward spots. This is a good addition.

Nuggets sign Anthony Carter, Shelden Williams

The Denver Nuggets have re-signed G Anthony Carter and signed free-agent F/C Shelden Williams, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today.

Carter, 35, spent the past four seasons with the Nuggets, averaging 5.6 points and 4.5 assists in 204 regular-season games. In his 11-year NBA career with Miami, San Antonio, Minnesota and Denver, he has averaged 5.0 points, 4.0 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 566 games.

This past season, Carter helped Denver to its second consecutive Northwest Division title, registering 3.3 points, 3.0 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per contest. He started seven games for the Nuggets in 2009-10 and recorded one double-figure scoring game and one double-figure assist game.

Carter signed with Denver as a free agent each of the past three summers, returning to the Nuggets on Aug. 31, 2007, Jul. 9, 2008 and then again on Aug. 14, 2009.

Williams, 6-9, 250, averaged 3.7 points and 2.7 points in 54 games with the Boston Celtics in 2009-10 and appeared in eight playoff games as the Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals. He recorded one double-double during the regular season and scored at least 10 points six times, including a season-high 14 against Phoenix on Dec. 30, 2009.

Selected fifth overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2006 NBA Draft, the 26-year-old Williams has averaged 4.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in 244 games with Atlanta, Sacramento, Minnesota and Boston.

“We’re excited to add two veteran players with playoff experience,” Warkentien said. “They are two more pieces to the puzzle as we work to improve our team this summer.”

Linas Kleiza signs Toronto offer sheet

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday they have signed restricted free-agent forward Linas Kleiza (LYNN-as CLAY-za) to an offer sheet. Per team policy, financial details were not disclosed. We’ll post contract details tonight.

The Denver Nuggets are expected to receive the offer sheet Friday. Under the terms of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, beginning Saturday they will have seven days to match the Raptors’ offer.

Kleiza played last season in Greece with Olympiakos after four seasons (2005-09) with the Nuggets. He averaged 14.0 points and 5.1 rebounds in 31 regular season games with Olympiakos. He shot .596 from the field, .374 from three-point range and .800 from the foul line.

In 22 Euroleague outings, Kleiza contributed 17.1 points and 6.5 rebounds. In the regular season he finished second in the Euroleague in scoring at 19.7 points per contest. He led Olympiakos to the Euroleague Championship game in Paris.

Kleiza averaged 8.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in 301 career games with Denver. He saw action in 26 postseason games, where he averaged 6.4 points and 3.2 rebounds. He averaged 14.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in the 2008 NBA Playoffs.

Kleiza, 6-foot-8, 245 pounds, was born in Lithuanian, attended high school in Maryland and played collegiately at the University of Missouri. He was selected 27th overall by Portland in the first round of the 2005 NBA Draft.

Raptors sign Linas Kleiza to offer sheet

Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reports (via blog):

The Raptors have dipped a foot in to the NBA free agent waters but it’s not a move that should cause too many ripples.

As we mentioned here the other day, the chance to get Linas Kleiza in the fold a year after an earlier dalliance was too much to resist and the Raptors have signed the restricted free agent to an offer sheet.

Seeing how my very good spies tell me Kleiza was actually spotted in Toronto last night, I’m sure he’ll stop by the Raptors office and sign the offer sheet today…

The Denver Nuggets have seven days to match the contract – which is four years and $20 million.

Nuggets will not trade Carmelo Anthony

Chris Broussard of ESPN The Magazine reports:

Carmelo Anthony will be a member of the Denver Nuggets next season — whether he accepts the team’s offer of a contract extension or not.

With speculation that Denver may trade their All-Star forward growing over the past week, a high-ranking Nuggets official said the club has no intentions of moving its best player.

“There is no way we are trading Carmelo Anthony,” the official said. “We’re 100 percent certain of that.”

Anthony can opt out of his contract after next season and become a free agent, one year after other top members of his draft class have potentially turned this summer into the most volatile in league history.

Nuggets make qualifying offer to Linas Kleiza

The Denver Nuggets have made a qualifying offer to restricted free agent Linas Kleiza, Nuggets Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today. Per team policy, terms of the offer were not released.

Kleiza, 6-8, 245, averaged 8.3 ppg and 3.5 rpg in 301 games with the Nuggets in four seasons (2005-2009) with the team since being acquired in a draft-night trade with Portland on June 28, 2005. During the 2008-09 season, his most recent season with the Nuggets, he posted averages of 9.9 ppg and 4.0 rpg in 22.2 mpg.

He spent the past season in Greece, helping Olympiakos reach the Euroleague Championship game while leading the Euroleague in scoring with an average of 17.1 ppg.

Chris Andersen has right knee surgery

Denver Nuggets F/C Chris Andersen underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a partial tear of the patella tendon in his right knee. The surgery was performed by Dr. Steven Traina, Nuggets Team Physician.

The injury occurred during Game 2 of the Nuggets first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz on April 19.

Andersen is expected to be fully recovered for the 2010-11 regular season.

In 76 games for the Nuggets this season, Andersen averaged 5.9 ppg, a career-high 6.4 rpg and ranked sixth in the NBA with 1.88 bpg. Appearing in all six of the team’s playoff games, he posted averages of 4.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 1.00 bpg in 19.3 mpg.

Prokhorov Says GM Vandeweghe will not return to Nets

The AP reports:

New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov says general manager Kiki Vandeweghe will be let go when his contract expires this summer.

”I wish him well,” says Prokhorov.

NBA owners approved the sale of the Nets to the Russian billionaire last week.

Prokhorov says Wednesday he does plan to retain team president Rod Thorn.

Boston man who threatens Juwan Howard locked up

The Boston Herald reports:

A “psychotic” Boston man is accused of threatening to kill NBA star Juwan Howard and his family as well as attempting to extort $1 million from the Portland Trail Blazers forward, prosecutors and police said.

“He has been doing this for years, and he’s never actually spoken to my husband, he’s never even met him, but he’s obsessed with him,” said Jenine Howard in a phone interview after the arrest of Rahmal W. Stinson, 30, of Dorchester. “He’s showed up at games, and mailed gifts and leaves obscene messages. We’ve gotten additional security and we feel pretty safe. But he makes me nervous.”

Stinson, who was arrested Tuesday, was determined to be psychotic and is locked up in Bridgewater State Hospital, where he is undergoing a 20-day evaluation, according to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley’s office.

Stinson’s 12-year-old child is the daughter of Jenine Howard’s sister and occasionally stays at the Howards’ Houston home, according to the family. Stinson frequently calls the home, and on March 20 allegedly threatened to kill the entire household, police said.

Kirilenko returns for Jazz

Michael Black of the Deseret News reports:

It didn’t take long Saturday night for Andrei Kirilenko to make his long-awaited return to the lineup during Game 3 of the Jazz’s playoff series against the Lakers.

With 6:54 left in the first quarter, Kirilenko checked into the game to a rousing standing ovation from the EnergySolutions Arena crowd. It was the first time back on the court for him in nearly two months due to a strained left calf muscle that was injured in three separate places. He had missed 23 of Utah’s last 25 games, but by the crowd’s response, absence only made the heart grow fonder.

“I have a long, long relationship with our fans. We have always been very close,” Kirilenko said. “I missed those two months, so I was pretty happy to just be back and start playing again.”