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On the Nuggets the night they were eliminated from playoffs

Here’s the Denver Post on a scene after the Nuggets were escorted out of the playoffs:

On the sad night the Nuggets were swept from the NBA Playoffs, center Nikola Jokic and coach Michael Malone sat down together and poured out a beer to kill the pain.

“We wind up hanging out for like two hours after that game. Talking about the season, talking about the summer, talking about his horses, talking about everything,” Malone recalled Friday. With the gratitude of a coach blessed with a good gig, he described a conversation with the league MVP and his boss in the wake of a 125-118 home loss to Phoenix that ended a ballyhooed Denver season in frustration.

Franchise owner Josh Kroenke joined Malone and his star player.

“(He) was there with me (and) Nikola … for two hours,” Malone added. “When I went home that night, I said, ‘Man, we got a really unique setup here.’ We’re all disappointed, we lost, no one was happy. … But to have an owner and an MVP who are just so down to earth and committed to doing whatever it takes to be better and find ways to win a championship, those two hours were so important.”

Losing guard Jamal Murray to injury was a huge blow for the Nuggets. It wasn’t a surprise to see their postseason hopes cut short.

Murray, Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. are all under contract at least through next season, while Will Barton has a player option this offseason. Paul Millsap and JaVale McGee are free agents.

Some thoughts on the upcoming Denver Nuggets offseason

Here’s the Denver Post with some key points on what this Denver Nuggets offseason may look like:

To begin, the Nuggets aren’t going to have much cap room, if any at all. That depends on what JaMychal Green ($7.5 million) and Will Barton ($14.6 million) decide to do with their player options. They should have access to their midlevel exception, which is worth $9.5 million annually. If I’m Nuggets executive Tim Connelly and I decide to spend that money in my backcourt, the free-agent names I’d consider are Derrick Rose ($7.6 million last season), Patty Mills ($12 million), Ish Smith ($6 million) and Wayne Ellington ($2.5 million). The reason the Nuggets may look to spend in the frontcourt, however, is because of P.J. Dozier, who missed the whole postseason with an adductor injury. If Dozier’s healthy, he might be in the starting lineup next season as the team waits out Jamal Murray’s return.

Free agents Paul Millsap, JaVale McGee and the aforementioned Green could leave the Nuggets extremely thin in the frontcourt. In that event, the Nuggets might bolster their bench with a guy like Reggie Bullock ($4.2 million last season), who can hit from outside, or a veteran like Jeff Green ($2.5 million). The problem with any potential forward options, though, is they’d inhibit the growth of Zeke Nnaji. Ultimately, if the Nuggets decide they don’t want to play small in their second unit, Denver’s biggest need might come at center. If McGee walks, there’s one name I’d keep an eye on: Boban Marjanovic, close friend of Nikola Jokic.

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic wins 2020-21 NBA MVP award

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić is the recipient of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 2020-21 NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced today.

With the first NBA MVP Award of his career, Jokić becomes the first player to earn the honor as a member of the Nuggets. He is also the first player from Serbia to be selected as the NBA MVP and joins Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) as MVP winners from Europe.

A second-round pick selected 41st overall by Denver in the 2014 NBA Draft, Jokić is the lowest-drafted player to be named NBA MVP with the exception of three-time MVP Moses Malone, who was not selected in the NBA Draft. The previous lowest-drafted players to win the award were two-time MVPs Antetokounmpo and Steve Nash, both selected with the 15th overall pick in their respective drafts.

Jokić received 91 first-place votes and earned 971 total points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters as well as the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award fan vote, making for 101 ballots. Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (586 points) finished in second place, followed by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (453 points) in third place, Milwaukee Bucks forward Antetokounmpo (348 points) in fourth place and Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul (139 points) in fifth place.

Players received 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five points for each third-place vote, three points for each fourth-place vote and one point for each fifth-place vote.

In his sixth NBA season, Jokić played all 72 games and averaged a career-high 26.4 points, 10.9 rebounds, a career-high 8.4 assists and 1.32 steals in 34.8 minutes. With his season averages, Jokić ranked 12th in the NBA in points, ninth in rebounds, sixth in assists and 22nd in steals. He is the third player in NBA history to average at least 26.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists in a season, joining Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook.

Jokić made an NBA-leading 732 field goals and shot 56.6 percent from the field, 38.8 percent from three-point range and a career-high 86.8 percent from the free throw line. He led the NBA in double-doubles with 60 and ranked second in triple-doubles with 16. Jokić set single-game career highs in points with 50 (vs. the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 6); rebounds with 22 (vs. the Suns on Jan. 23); assists with 18 (vs. the Rockets on Dec. 28); and steals with seven (vs. the Brooklyn Nets on Jan. 12).

Behind Jokić, Denver posted a 47-25 record and earned the third seed in the Western Conference for the 2021 NBA Playoffs. The Nuggets finished with the fifth-highest single-season winning percentage in franchise history (.653).

An NBA All-Star selection for the third consecutive season, Jokić was named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Month twice (December/January and March) and the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week three times (Weeks 5, 6 and 13).

Jokić, 26, has played all six of his NBA seasons with Denver, averaging 18.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 453 career games. This season, he broke the franchise records for career double-doubles and triple-doubles. He also became the first Nuggets player to start an NBA All-Star Game since 2011.

For the 12th consecutive season, fans had the opportunity to vote for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. The fan vote, conducted online and through Twitter, counted as one vote toward determining the winner.

The NBA Most Valuable Player Award trophy is named in honor of Maurice Podoloff, who served as the NBA’s first commissioner from 1946 until his retirement in 1963. Podoloff was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1974.

Nuggets sign Austin Rivers for remainder of season

The Denver Nuggets have signed veteran guard Austin Rivers for the remainder of the season, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Rivers, 6-4, 200, signed a 10-day contract with the Nuggets on April 20th and has appeared in six games for Denver, averaging 6.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.20 steals in 24.5 minutes per game.

The nine-year NBA veteran holds career averages of 9.1 points, 2.3 assists and 2.1 rebounds while shooting 41.8% from the field and 34.7% from long distance in 579 career games (151 starts) with New Orleans, L.A. Clippers, Washington, Houston, New York and Denver.

The 28-year-old, provides valuable postseason experience, playing in a total of 45 playoff games (six starts), averaging 7.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists, shooting 40.3% from the field in 20.2 minutes with Houston and the L.A. Clippers. Rivers has a total of 16 career postseason games scoring 10 or more points.

Rivers was drafted 10th overall by New Orleans in 2012 after spending one season at Duke University. In his lone season, he averaged a team-high 15.5 points on 43.3% shooting in 34 games, becoming the third freshman ever to lead Duke in scoring.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray undergoes ACL reconstruction surgery

Jamal Murray has undergone surgical reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache of the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute.

Murray will be out for the rest of the season.

This is a major loss for the Nuggets, who are 37-20 this season, good for 4th in the Western conference. After a slow start to the the season, the team has been on a serious roll lately. Losing Murray is brutal.

The team’s leading scorers this season are Nikola Jokic at 26.4 points per game, Murray at 21.2 ppg, Michael Porter Jr. at 17.7 ppg, Will Barton at 12.9 ppg, and new addition Aaron Gordon at 10.7 ppg.

Nuggets sign Austin Rivers to 10-day contract

The Denver Nuggets yesterday (Tuesday, April 20) signed veteran guard Austin Rivers to a 10-day contract, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced.

Rivers, 6-4, 200, appeared in 21 games (two starts) this season with the New York Knicks, averaging 7.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 43.0% from the field and 36.4% from three in 21.0 minutes per game. The nine-year NBA veteran holds career averages of 9.1 points, 2.3 assists and 2.1 rebounds while shooting 41.8% from the field and 34.9% from long distance in 573 career games (151 starts) with New Orleans, L.A. Clippers, Washington, Houston and New York.

The 28-year-old provides valuable postseason experience, playing in a total of 45 playoff games (six starts), averaging 7.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists, shooting 40.3% from the field in 20.2 minutes with Houston and the L.A. Clippers. Rivers has a total of 16 career postseason games scoring 10-or-more points.

Rivers was drafted 10th overall by New Orleans in 2012 after spending one season at Duke University. In his lone season, he averaged a team-high 15.5 points on 43.3% shooting in 34 games, becoming the third freshman ever to lead Duke in scoring.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray suffers major injury: torn ACL

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee.

Via the Denver Post:

When Jamal Murray crashed to the floor with less than a minute remaining in Monday’s loss to Golden State, his reaction suggested he knew something devastating had just happened.

Murray suffered a torn left ACL, The Denver Post first reported and was later anounced by the team early Tuesday morning, ending his season and compromising the Nuggets’ title hopes barely a month out from the postseason.

His recovery, according to a league source, is expected to be anywhere from 9 to 12 months.

Not only is Murray’s injury devastating to the Nuggets this season, but his recovery is expected to come near the end of next year’s regular season, when the NBA is back on its normal schedule.

Horrible news.

Nuggets sign Shaquille Harrison, waive Gary Clark and Greg Whittington

The Denver Nuggets have signed guard Shaquille Harrison to a two-way contract while subsequently waiving guard Gary Clark and two-way forward Greg Whittington, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Harrison, 6-4, 190, played in 17 games for the Utah Jazz this season, averaging 1.0 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 3.3 minutes per game. In four seasons, with Phoenix, Chicago, and Utah he holds career averages of 5.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 15.1 minutes. Harrison’s best season of his young career came in 2018-19 with Chicago where he played in 73 games (11 starts), averaging 6.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists, shooting 43.2% from the field in 19.6 minutes.

The 27-year-old went undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft and signed a contract with the Phoenix Suns in September 2016. He appeared in 133 games (all starts) in four years at The University of Tulsa, posting averages of 11.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.80 steals while shooting 44.4% from the field. He ranks second all-time at Tulsa with 461 career assists and third all time with 244 career steals.

Whittington, 6-8, 210, signed a two-way contract with the Nuggets on November 24th and appeared in four games totaling 12 minutes.

Clark, 6-6, 225, was acquired via trade by Denver from Orlando on March 25th, he appeared in a total of two games for the Nuggets.

Cavs trade JaVale McGee to Nuggets

The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired forward/center Isaiah Hartenstein and two second round draft picks in a trade with the Denver Nuggets for center JaVale McGee, Cavaliers General Manager Koby Altman announced from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

The draft picks acquired by the Cavs are the Nuggets’ 2023 second round pick (31-46 protected) and the Nuggets’ 2027 second round pick.

McGee, 7-0, 270, has appeared in 33 games for the Cavaliers this season, averaging 8.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.21 blocks while shooting 52.1% from the field in 15.2 minutes per game. The 13-year NBA veteran returns to Denver after spending four seasons as a Nugget from 2011 to 2015. McGee was drafted with the 18th overall pick by Washington in the 2008 NBA Draft and appeared in a total of 734 career games (318 starts) owning averages of 7.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.50 blocks on 57.2% shooting from the field.

The Flint, Michigan native is coming off a 2019-20 campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers that saw him win his third Championship in four seasons. He started 11 games for the Lakers in the NBA Bubble in Orlando during their Championship run and he played an integral role for the Warriors during their back-to-back Championship seasons in 2017 and 2018. McGee has appeared in a total of 58 playoff games (23 starts).

Hartenstein (7-0, 249) has appeared in 30 games for the Nuggets this season, averaging 3.5 points on .513 shooting and 2.8 rebounds in 9.1 minutes. He has played in 81 games in his three-year NBA career for Denver and Houston, compiling averages of 3.3 points on .559 shooting and 2.7 rebounds in 9.4 minutes. Hartenstein also played in parts of three seasons in the NBA G-League (2017-20) with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers where, in 2019, he was named All G-League First Team and G-League Finals MVP while leading his team to the G-League Championship. The 22-year-old Eugene, Oregon native was originally drafted by Houston with the 43rd overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Magic trade Aaron Gordon and Gary Clark to Nuggets for Gary Harris, R.J. Hampton and draft pick

The Orlando Magic have acquired guard Gary Harris, guard R.J. Hampton, and a future first round draft pick in a trade with the Denver Nuggets for forward Aaron Gordon and forward Gary Clark, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today.

“R.J. (Hampton) and Gary (Harris) will provide great depth to our backcourt,” said Weltman. “R.J. is a bright, young player that brings speed and athleticism, while Gary provides a solid veteran presence. We are happy to welcome R.J. and Gary to the Magic family.”

“We also want to thank Aaron (Gordon) for everything he has given to the organization during the last seven years, both on the court and in the community,” Weltman added. “We wish Aaron good luck as he continues his career.”

Hampton (6’6”, 176, 2/7/01) has played in 25 games this season with Denver, averaging 2.6 ppg. and 2.0 rpg. in 9.3 minpg. He was originally selected in the first round (24th overall) of the 2020 NBA Draft by Milwaukee, then acquired on draft night by Denver as part of a four-team trade for a conditional first round draft pick.

Hampton spent the 2019-20 season in Australia, playing with the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL. He played in 15 games, averaging 8.8 ppg., 3.8 rpg., 1.4 apg. and 1.18 stlpg. in 20.6 minpg. Hampton originally intended to play college basketball in 2019-20 after reclassifying into the 2019 high school recruiting class. He averaged 32.0 ppg., 9.7 rpg.. 6.4 apg. and 3.9 stlpg. at Little Elm High School in Little Elm, Texas. Hampton won gold medals with USA Basketball at the 2017 FIBA U-16 Americas Championship and the 2018 FIBA U-17 Basketball World Cup.

Hampton will wear #13 with the Orlando Magic.

Harris (6”4”, 205, 9/14/94) has played and started in 19 games this season with Denver, averaging 9.7 ppg., 2.5 rpg. and 1.7 apg. in 30.6 minpg. He has led (or tied) the Nuggets in scoring once and in assists once. Harris has scored in double figures 12 times and 20+ points once, including a season-high 21 points on Jan. 9 @ Philadelphia.

Originally selected in the first round (19th overall) of the 2014 NBA Draft by Chicago, Harris has appeared in 387 career NBA regular season games (325 starts), all with Denver, averaging 12.0 ppg., 2.6 rpg., 2.1 apg. and 1.23 stlpg. in 29.1 minpg., while shooting .801 (594-742) from the free throw line. He has also played in 28 career NBA playoff games (26 starts), averaging 10.8 ppg., 3.1 rpg., 2.0 apg. and 1.00 stlpg. in 32.0 minpg.

Harris will wear #14 with the Orlando Magic.

Gordon (6’9”, 235, 9/16/95) played and started in 25 games this season with Orlando, averaging 14.6 ppg., 6.6 rpg. and 4.2 apg. in 29.4 minpg., while shooting .375 (42-112) from three-point range. Originally selected in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2014 NBA Draft by Orlando, he has played in 428 career NBA regular season games (339 starts), all with the Magic, averaging 12.9 ppg., 6.4 rpg. and 2.5 apg. in 28.6 minpg.

Clark (6’6”, 225, 11/16/94) played in 35 games (11 starts) this season with Orlando, averaging 3.4 ppg. and 3.2 rpg. in 18.2 minpg. Undrafted by an NBA franchise, he has played in 128 career NBA regular season games (18 starts) with Houston and Orlando, averaging 3.3 ppg. and 2.6 rpg. in 14.4 minpg.