<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-michael-malone-unusual-clash-nuggets-front-office');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Michael Malone facing ‘unusual’ clash with Nuggets front office');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/NBA-rumors-Michael-Malone-facing-unusual-clash-with-Nuggets-front-office.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Michael Malone facing ‘unusual’ clash with Nuggets front office</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-05T13:29:11-07:00">September 5th, 1:29pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-05T13:29:39-07:00">September 5th, 1:29pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Not too long ago, the Denver Nuggets were at the top of the NBA world for the first time ever. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray led the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-nikola-jokic-denver-wins-first-championship-game-5-demolition-heat">Nuggets to their first championship in 2023</a>, guiding many to the assumption that Denver could be the next dynasty in the NBA. Well, Bruce Brown left last offseason, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left this offseason. Despite Jokic and Murray still remaining as the Nuggets’ focal points, there are now discussions being had about head coach Michael Malone and the front office not seeing eye to eye with one another as a result of the roster changes made.</p><p>The Nuggets’ front office has put a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-expect-major-internal-roster-upgrade-after-disappointing-playoff-exit">point of emphasis on player development</a> pertaining to their recent draft picks, which has many scratching their heads seeing as Denver is in a position to compete for more titles right now with Jokic being a three-time MVP. Whether or not this is a storyline or a headline is something that will be discovered during the 2024-25 season, but ESPN’s Zach Lowe certainly added fuel to the fire that there could be some <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/4wKyusqm26xvzkwo02Gg5V?si=02acfb46760d4079" rel="noopener">issues</a> brewing in the Mile High City.</p><p>“There are rumblings, rumblings, that the coaching staff and front office, or at least the head coach and the front office, aren’t exactly seeing eye to eye in Denver,” Lowe stated on a recent episode of The Lowe Post. “To a degree even unusual for the NBA.”</p><p>Malone has been with the Nuggets since the start of the 2015-16 season after spending two years with the Sacramento Kings. Over the last nine seasons in Denver, Malone has posted a 424-295 record, taking his team to the playoffs in six straight seasons with at least 46 wins each of these last six years.</p><p>As a result of his accomplishments and recent championship in 2023, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-michael-malone-contract-extension">Nuggets gave Malone a contract extension</a> near the start of the 2023-24 season that keeps him on the sidelines through the 2026-27 season. This deal made Malone one of the highest-paid coaches in the league.</p><p>It would be quite the turn of events if the Nuggets’ front office and Malone were batting heads with one another given all of the success this organization has seen. While the roster has gone through some minor tweaks through the years, the same core group of Jokic, Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Michael Porter Jr. remains. As long as they are healthy, Denver will be a team at the top of the Western Conference standings competing for a spot in the NBA Finals.</p><p>Of course, Caldwell-Pope departing Denver for Orlando this offseason certainly made Malone feel a certain type of way because of the value and stability the veteran brought. Every championship team needs experienced guys like Caldwell-Pope, which is why he was so important to their championship run.</p><p>Now, all of the Nuggets’ attention will be cast on their rising talents, such as Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, and 2023 first-round pick Julian Strawther. Malone will certainly utilize all three recent draft picks in his main rotations during the 2024-25 season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Michael Malone facing ‘unusual’ clash with Nuggets front office

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nuggets-rumors-christian-braun-declined-give-russell-westbrook-0-jersey');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rumor: Christian Braun declined to give Russell Westbrook No. 0 jersey');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Christian-Braun-Denver-Nuggets-Russell-Westbrook-2.jpg"></figure><h1>Rumor: Christian Braun declined to give Russell Westbrook No. 0 jersey</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-08-26T20:19:26-07:00">August 26th, 8:19pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-08-26T20:19:49-07:00">August 26th, 8:19pm</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his off time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The biggest news of the day for the Denver Nuggets was thought to be star Nikola Jokic being named the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-2k-releases-top-10-player-ratings-for-nba-2k25">highest rated player in NBA 2K25</a>. As the day has gone on, all folks have been talking about is the jersey fiasco between Nuggets guard Christian Braun and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-russell-westbrook-6-8-million-contract">new teammate Russell Westbrook</a>.</p><p>NBA stars joining a new team usually get the jersey number they want, assuming it isn’t retired or worn by another veteran on the team. That’s why the rumors involving Westbrook and Braun are a bit surprising.</p><h2><b>Christian Braun declines to give Russell Westbrook No. 0</b></h2><p>Westbrook, who has worn the jersey number 0 in the NBA whenever possible, asked Braun if he could wear No. 0.</p><p>According to Denver Nuggets reporter Harrison Wind, Braun declined to give his <a href="https://twitter.com/HarrisonWind/status/1828074316459872729" rel="noopener">No. 0 jersey to Russell Westbrook</a> when asked about it.</p><blockquote>“More uniform news: Hunter Tyson will wear #5 this season after giving #4 to Russell Westbrook. There was an inquiry by Westbrook into wearing #0, I’m told, but Christian Braun didn’t budge. Tyson gave Westbrook #4 free of charge.”</blockquote><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">More uniform news: Hunter Tyson will wear #5 this season after giving #4 to Russell Westbrook. There was an inquiry by Westbrook into wearing #0, I’m told, but Christian Braun didn’t budge. Tyson gave Westbrook #4 free of charge. <a href="https://t.co/7WK6L6C0GD">pic.twitter.com/7WK6L6C0GD</a></p><p>— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) <a href="https://twitter.com/HarrisonWind/status/1828074316459872729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Instead, Wind reports that Hunter Tyson will switch to jersey No. 5, giving his old No. 4 jersey to the former All-Star guard instead.</p><p>Westbrook wore jersey No. 0 throughout his entire Oklahoma City Thunder tenure. He also wore 0 with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, and LA Clippers. The one place in his professional career that Westbrook wasn’t able to wear No. 0 was in Washington, when he spent a year with the Wizards. In the nation’s capital, Westbrook donned the No. 4 jersey playing alongside Bradley Beal.</p><p>While it was never official, there were reports that the Wizards have quietly set aside jersey No. 0 for good since Gilbert Arenas wore it. Known as “Agent Zero,” Arenas’ ended his tenure with the Wizards in ugly fashion, and the jersey has not been worn since.</p><h2><b>Christian Braun, Russell Westbrook, or Julian Strawther at shooting guard?</b></h2><p>Christian Braun, who is entering his third year in the NBA, has had a couple of strong seasons for Denver. He’s expected to be thrust into a much larger role this upcoming season with the departure of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.</p><p>In 82 games for the Nuggets last season, 78 of which came off the bench, Braun averaged 7.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists on 46 percent shooting from the field and 38.4 percent from three. The Kansas guard recorded a career-high 25 points in 30 minutes off the bench during a November loss against the Pelicans last season. He also recorded 27 games of 10 or more points.</p><p>During NBA Summer League, head coach Michael Malone said the open shooting guard position is going to be a <a href="https://twitter.com/JoelRushNBA/status/1811986829241111010" rel="noopener">competition between Christian Braun and Julian Strawther</a>.</p><p>“Well, obviously KCP, he’s hell of a player, a big part of us winning a championship, a big part of our culture,” Nuggets coach Malone told NBA TV. “He will be missed and I love KCP. And now with him leaving, we have an open spot. We have Christian Braun, who as you mentioned helped us win a championship. He’s won at every level he’s been at. His energy, his toughness, all the intangibles are things that I love with Christian.</p><p>“And then I’ll tell ya, I’m not giving that spot to anybody. It’s gonna be a competition. I told Julian Strawther, “man like push each other. Let’s see who’s gonna win that spot.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Michael Malone on the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nuggets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nuggets</a> starting shooting guard position:</p><p>"I'll tell ya, I'm not giving that to anybody. It's gonna be a competition.</p><p>I told Julian Strawther, man like push each other. Let's see who's gonna win that spot."</p><p>Also praises Christian Braun. <a href="https://t.co/aI0vzb2vaD">pic.twitter.com/aI0vzb2vaD</a></p><p>— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoelRushNBA/status/1811986829241111010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>At the time, Russell Westbrook was not yet on the Nuggets roster, so it remains to be seen if his addition changes anything. It would, however, make a lot of sense to simply slide Braun into the starting lineup given they’ve been preparing him for the position since he was drafted.</p><p>The Denver Nuggets are set to tip of the 2024-25 regular season at home against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 24, 2024. After a few weeks of training camp, the Nuggets should be able to provide clarity on who won the starting shooting guard sweepstakes.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rumor: Christian Braun declined to give Russell Westbrook No. 0 jersey

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-nuggets-linked-trade-nikola-jokic-friend-catch');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Nuggets linked to trade for Nikola Jokic’s friend, but there’s a catch');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Nuggets-linked-to-trade-for-Nikola-Jokics-friend-but-theres-a-catch.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Nuggets linked to trade for Nikola Jokic’s friend, but there’s a catch</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-08-18T11:01:59-07:00">August 18th, 11:01am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-08-18T11:01:59-07:00">August 18th, 11:01am</time><address><a>Preston Byers</a>Preston Byers is an experienced writer and journalist who currently serves as an associate editor for ClutchPoints and as a staff writer at The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, where he covers sports in the Mahoning Valley. Previously, Preston worked as an associate editor for Dot Esports and a site expert for FanSided's Union and Blue.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After winning the 2023 NBA Championship, Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets fell well short of preseason expectations in 2024, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-nikola-jokic-perfect-admission-championship-timberwolves">falling in the second round</a> of the playoffs to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The offseason has been a mixed bag so far for the Nuggets, with the team losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope but<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-russell-westbrook-6-8-million-contract"> adding Russell Westbrook</a>. But it seems Denver is eyeing another potential backcourt piece down the line.</p><p>While Jamal Murray has solidly positioned himself as the team’s starting point guard, who can provide the ever-valuable bench minutes at the two guard positions is always a question for the Nuggets. Westbrook, a former league MVP who transformed into an energetic reserves leader with the Los Angeles Clippers, could very well provide the same role, although the Nuggets are reportedly interested in adding a player who has a strong connection with Jokic.</p><p>Vasilije Micic, currently of the Charlotte Hornets, recently <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/olympics-news-nikola-jokic-serbias-ecstatic-reaction-to-bronze-medal-finish">earned an Olympic bronze medal</a> alongside Jokic as part of the Serbian national team, and Micic could provide an interesting option for the Nuggets. Micic and Jokic played together on Mega, a club in Belgrade, from 2012 to 2014 before Micic departed for Bayern Munich. Jokic left the club a year later to join the Nuggets.</p><p>According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Nuggets <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/all-the-latest-around-the-league?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=147819504&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">could be a destination</a> for Micic, although Denver may not make the move due to the salary implications.</p><p>“With a salary of $7.7 million this season and an $8.1 million team option in 2025-26, Vasilije Micić continues to be mentioned as a potential down-the-road trade target for Denver given Micic’s close relationship with Nuggets star Nikola Jokić,” Stein reported. “Bear in mind, though, Denver is just $5 million or so shy of the second luxury tax apron and thus couldn’t absorb Micić’s contract without dreaded second-apron complications. The Hornets could also elect to keep Micić around to play behind former All-Star LaMelo Ball.”</p><h2><b>Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and Hornets’ Vasilije Micic MVP roots</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Micic.jpg"><figcaption>Scott Kinser-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>In addition to their common background, Nikola Jokic and Vasilije Micic are also each former MVPs; Jokic a three-time winner of the NBA MVP, while Micic won the 2021 EuroLeague MVP and won the Final Four MVP in 2021 and 2022 while leading Anadolu Efes to back-to-back titles.</p><p>Micic, 29 at the time, decided to make a move to the NBA in the 2023 offseason and signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder, to whom the Philadelphia 76ers traded his draft rights. Despite inking a three-year deal worth more than $23 million, Micic saw little playing time with the Thunder, who surprisingly became one of the top teams in the Western Conference.</p><p>After averaging just 12.0 minutes per game in Oklahoma City, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-okc-trade-hornets-gordon-hayward">Micic was traded to Charlotte</a>, where he began to prove his value to an NBA team. With the Hornets, Micic assumed a starting role in LaMelo Ball’s absence and averaged 10.8 points and 6.2 assists in 27.2 minutes per game.</p><p>Micic again starred during the Olympic Games, where he was Serbia’s third-leading scorer (behind Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic) and averaged the second-most assists (behind Jokic). Serbia gave the United States its toughest test of the tournament, nearly defeating the Americans in the semifinals, a game in which Micic underperformed (8 points, 3 assists, 3/10 FG, 2/7 3PT). Micic was on his game in the bronze-medal meeting with Germany, though, scoring 19 points, the same as Jokic, who <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nikola-jokic-triple-double-bronze-medal-germany-fans-freaking-out">capped off the tournament with a triple-double</a>.</p><p>Micic has one guaranteed year left on his deal with the Hornets, who can choose to exercise a club option in 2025.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Nuggets linked to trade for Nikola Jokic’s friend, but there’s a catch

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-kentavious-caldwell-pope-declined-nuggets-return-free-agency');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope declined Nuggets return in free agency');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NBA-rumors-Nuggets-fans-feeling-pain-after-Kentavious-Caldwell-Pope-contract-offer-leaks.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope declined Nuggets return in free agency</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-26T08:46:36-07:00">July 26th, 8:46am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-26T08:46:36-07:00">July 26th, 8:46am</time><address><a>Preston Byers</a>Preston Byers is an experienced writer and journalist who currently serves as an associate editor for ClutchPoints and as a staff writer at The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, where he covers sports in the Mahoning Valley. Previously, Preston worked as an associate editor for Dot Esports and a site expert for FanSided's Union and Blue.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>A year ago, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-2024-nba-free-agency-grades-for-every-signing">Denver Nuggets were</a> on top of the world. Having just won the NBA Championship with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray leading the way, it appeared the Nuggets could be primed for a title repeat in 2024. However, Denver watched its season end in the second round of the playoffs and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-kentavious-caldwell-pope-bombshell-lakers-admission-2024-playoff-series">then Kentavious Caldwell-Pope</a>, a pivotal player during the team’s championship quest, walk in free agency.</p><p>Caldwell-Pope, while possibly the least important starter offensively for the Nuggets, was likely the team’s best perimeter defender since his arrival to Denver in 2022. A prototypical 3-and-D guard that fit well next to the more offensively-minded Murray and Jokic, it was assumed Caldwell-Pope would draw interest from teams around the league as an unrestricted free agent. Unfortunately, that interest — or more accurately, the price — proved to be too great for the Nuggets, as the team reportedly offering KCP a contract before he signed with the Orlando Magic.</p><p>In his latest ESPN article, Zach Lowe <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/40640611/lowe-jokic-russ-huge-warning-sign-denver-nuggets-team-once-primed-nba-dynasty" rel="noopener">explored which team</a> in the Western Conference is most likely to make it to the NBA Finals.</p><p>“For some, the conversation then circles all the way back one calendar year: Why isn’t it Denver again? As long as the world’s best player is healthy, be wary of discounting the Nuggets,” Lowe wrote. “They have been labeled offseason losers after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope bolted for a three-year, $66 million deal with the Orlando Magic.</p><p>“Denver made Caldwell-Pope an offer, but there was a sizable gap in annual salary, sources said. Denver could have tried compensating with a longer deal averaging a little north of Caldwell-Pope’s $15 million player option number — say a 5-year, $90 million contract — but the Magic’s offer might have rendered the conversation moot.”</p><h2><b>Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Magic contract</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Kentavious-Caldwell-Pope-playing-against-the-Magic-.jpg"><figcaption>Feb 9, 2023; Orlando, Florida, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) passes the ball around Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-biggest-mistake-in-2024-nba-free-agency">Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has earned</a> more than $100 million in salary during his NBA career, but at 31 and with defense being his most important asset, this offseason may have been KCP’s final chance to sign a big, multiyear deal.</p><p>While the Denver Nuggets reportedly offered a “pretty similar” deal to the one he eventually signed with the Orlando Magic, there is no confirmation he would have earned as much money or have the flexibility the Magic offered. By signing in Orlando, Caldwell-Pope is guaranteed $66 million over three years, and if he so chooses, he can opt out of the final season and become an unrestricted free agent in 2026.</p><p>Caldwell-Pope’s annual salary is at its highest this coming season when he is set to make $22.8 million, the largest salary of KCP’s career by $5 million. KCP’s cap hit is set at $21.62 million for each of the next two seasons after that.</p><p>After being traded to the Nuggets two years ago from the Washington Wizards, Caldwell-Pope signed a two-year, $30.15 million extension with Denver. He had a $15.4 million player option he could have elected to exercise for this season, but he took a chance on himself — something that didn’t work out particularly well in 2017 negotiations with the Detroit Pistons — and this time it paid off in the form of a $66 million deal.</p><p>The Nuggets hope to replace Caldwell-Pope’s production with the likes of Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jazz-news-how-much-did-russell-westbrook-give-up-utah-buyout-join-nuggets">and Russell Westbrook,</a> although Westbrook’s signing has not been made official.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope declined Nuggets return in free agency

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-nuggets-considered-paul-george-trade-with-michael-porter-jr-package');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Nuggets considered Paul George trade with Michael Porter Jr. package');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Nuggets-considered-Paul-George-trade-with-Michael-Porter-Jr.-package.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Nuggets considered Paul George trade with Michael Porter Jr. package</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-15T20:20:41-07:00">July 15th, 8:20pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-15T20:20:41-07:00">July 15th, 8:20pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Suffice to say, this offseason is shaping up to be a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-best-move-2024-nba-free-agency">less-than-ideal one</a> for the 2023 NBA champion Denver Nuggets. Not only did they lose Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency after the 3-and-D wing signed a three-year, $66 million deal with the Orlando Magic, they also lost 2024 first-round pick DaRon Holmes II to a season-ending Achilles injury. The Nuggets, however, set their sights on a blockbuster move earlier in the offseason that could have changed the whole dynamic of the team.</p><p>The Nuggets reportedly “flirted with” the idea of trading away Michael Porter Jr. in an <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/the-new-cba-has-changed-the-game-and-teams-are-adjusting-to-a-new-landscape-222524885.html" rel="noopener">opt-in and trade scenario</a> with the Los Angeles Clippers for Paul George, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. George would have provided an upgrade over Porter on the defensive end, while the 34-year-old wing also shot the ball better from beyond the arc last season. Clearly, however, a trade did not materialize, what with George signing with the Philadelphia 76ers on a four-year, $212 million deal.</p><p>Porter’s contract will be worth around $35.9 million for the 2024-25 season, and it’s his huge contract that continues to take up a considerable chunk of the Nuggets’ cap space. His huge deal played a huge part in complicating the Nuggets’ bid to retain Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, so it’s understandable why they entertained the idea of trading him away in a bid to get a two-way upgrade.</p><p>At the end of the day, Fischer noted that the Clippers may not have been too keen on taking on Michael Porter Jr.’s contract anyway. The Clippers did not want to trade George to the Golden State Warriors so they could <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-paul-george-breaks-silence-near-trade-golden-state">maintain financial flexibility</a>. Acquiring Porter and his contract would have meant that they would exceed the second tax apron.</p><p>The Nuggets will still be one of the best teams in the association next season; this will be the case for as long as Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are on the team. But it’s evident that the team got around them worse. Can the Nuggets front office bounce back?</p><h2>Is Michael Porter Jr. overpaid?</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Michael-Porter-Jr.-looking-down.jpg"></figure><p>When the Nuggets signed Michael Porter Jr. to a <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/26980/michael-porter-jr" rel="noopener">five-year, $179 million extension</a> in September 2021, he was coming off a very impressive season in which he averaged 19 points per game on 54/45/79 splits — stellar efficiency numbers. His true shooting percentage was at 66.3 — a marvelous number usually reserved for big men. Porter, meanwhile, is a perimeter player who took nearly half of his shots that season from beyond the arc, making that feat all the more impressive.</p><p>Thus, the Nuggets were well justified in handing out that contract to Porter at the time. He was only entering his age-23 season; player progression may not be linear, but Porter was improving at a rapid rate, and playing alongside an all-time great playmaker in Nikola Jokic would only serve to make the game that much easier for him.</p><p>However, Michael Porter Jr. has a long history of back problems, which caused him to slide in the 2018 NBA Draft to the Nuggets in the first place. He missed the entirety of the 2018-19 season due to these back issues, and to start the 2021-22 season, Porter’s injury woes resurfaced. His back problems limited him to nine games during that season, and since then, he hasn’t been able to replicate the heights of his stellar 2020-21 campaign.</p><p>Porter is still one of the most efficient gunners in the association, which makes him very valuable in a league that remains heavily-reliant on outside shooting. But the other facets of his game haven’t developed as much; he remains a shoot-first, shoot-second player, so his impact off the bounce is limited, and his defense, while he tries hard, isn’t the greatest. Porter is not overpaid, per se, but he certainly <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-why-michael-malone-forcefully-pushed-back-michael-porter-jr-blame-timberwolves-loss">has to do more</a> for the team given the Nuggets’ financial commitment towards him.</p><h2>Assessing the Nuggets’ roster</h2><p>The Nuggets, in losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, will have to start Christian Braun. Braun is an athletic guard who can move his feet well defensively, but he doesn’t have nearly as much gravity as Caldwell-Pope does from the perimeter. There will be less space for the Nuggets offense to operate in, although Braun is an eager mover off the ball, so it’s not like the Nuggets’ offense will be completely hamstrung. Teams can only do so much against a Nikola Jokic-led offense after all.</p><p>The bench, however, is a major concern. Peyton Watson figures to have a bigger role in Year 3, and Dario Saric should provide some playmaking and shooting, but aside from those two, there are plenty of question marks for the Nuggets. Is Julian Strawther ready to step up in his sophomore campaign? Will Zeke Nnaji prove himself worthy of the contract extension he signed?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Nuggets considered Paul George trade with Michael Porter Jr. package

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nuggets-news-jamal-murray-rumored-209-million-contract-extension-unexpected-snag');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nuggets star Jamal Murray’s rumored $209 million contract extension hits unexpected snag');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/b0b22742-3d69-11ef-8a7c-127f490d6a29.avif"></figure><h1>Nuggets star Jamal Murray’s rumored $209 million contract extension hits unexpected snag</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-08T13:48:29-07:00">July 8th, 1:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-08T13:48:29-07:00">July 8th, 1:48pm</time><address><a>Matt Wadleigh</a>Matt Wadleigh is the lead NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball editor for ClutchPoints, and he also specializes in MLB and NFL coverage. He was born and raised in Oceanside and resides in Fresno with his wife and two dogs. Matthew is a huge Southern California sports fan and a retired member of the Fresno State drumline.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>NBA free agency has been <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/how-spurs-won-3-team-trade-kings-bulls">full of trades</a> and big <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-agrees-contract-extension">contract extensions</a>. One player who has been hoping to sign a new deal is Denver Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray. Reports surfaced that Murray was going to attempt to sign a $209 million extension.</p><p>However, there are <a href="https://x.com/NBABlackburn/status/1810391221279641999" rel="noopener">some snags</a> in those negotiations, per a report from Ryan Blackburn of Mile High Sports.</p><p>‘The Nuggets and Jamal Murray have not yet agreed to a contract extension. Negotiations are still ongoing, and there’s a possibility that this becomes a bigger story than anticipated after Shams declared an expected deal on draft night. It’s very possible that this gets done over the next few days, but from everything that I’ve heard, both sides are protecting themselves in negotiations, and a straight up, plain max extension offer without any stipulations has not been offered by the team.’</p><p>At the end of June, reports swirled that Murray and the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-jamal-murray-209-million-contract-extension">Nuggets were working towards</a> a four-year deal worth $209 million, but as of now, that has not happened with the Nuggets star. Murray has been a huge part of the Nuggets’ success since entering the NBA in 2016. This past season he averaged 21.2 PPG with 6.5 assists as the starting point guard, so keeping him paired with Nikola Jokic for the future is important.</p><h2><b>Nuggets’ extension with Jamal Murray should happen at some point </b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Denver-Nuggets-guard-Jamal-Murray-27-controls-the-ball-against-Los-Angeles-Lakers.jpg"><figcaption>© Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Jamal Murray was the 17th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft out of Kentucky and has been nothing but a star since coming to the league. So, the Nuggets want to make sure they can agree to keep him in town.</p><p>While nothing has happened yet, other reports state that the expectation is a <a href="https://x.com/HarrisonWind/status/1810401675468751147" rel="noopener">deal will get done</a>, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports.</p><p>‘On Jamal Murray’s upcoming extension: I expect Murray to sign a new max contract with the Nuggets once the Olympics are over in mid-August. Murray’s playing for Team Canada in Paris.’</p><p>Murray is gearing up to play for Team Canada in the upcoming Summer Olympics, so that could be a reason for the pause in negotiations. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/magic-news-kentavious-caldwell-pope-leaving-nuggets-for-orlando">Nuggets lost</a> Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the Orlando Magic but brought in Dario Saric and have been rumored to have <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-nuggets-still-pursuing-russell-westbrook-trade-with-clippers">some interest in acquiring</a> Russell Westbrook. Other than that, there haven’t been major changes for the Nuggets roster this offseason, which isn’t a bad thing since they finished as the #2 seed in the Western Conference.</p><p>The 2024 Summer Olympics are set to end on August 11, and that could be the timeframe for a deal getting done between Murray and the Nuggets.</p><p>The Denver Nuggets lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals in a thrilling seven-game series, so they are hoping they can piece together another NBA title run in the next few years. In order to do so, they will need Jamal Murray to be a big part of that, especially with losing some other players. Only time will tell if the two sides can work out the extension.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nuggets star Jamal Murray’s rumored $209 million contract extension hits unexpected snag

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-nuggets-still-pursuing-russell-westbrook-trade-with-clippers');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Nuggets still pursuing Russell Westbrook trade with Clippers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Nuggets-still-pursuing-Russell-Westbrook-trade-with-Clippers.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Nuggets still pursuing Russell Westbrook trade with Clippers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-05T09:48:25-07:00">July 5th, 9:48am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-05T09:48:25-07:00">July 5th, 9:48am</time><address><a>Gerard Angelo Samillano</a>Gerard Angelo Samillano is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints, with his focus primarily on the NBA, NFL, MLB and Gaming. When he's not writing for CP, Gerard can often be seen playing VALORANT or playing pick-up basketball. He's also working on his BS Mathematics degree.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Denver Nuggets might need a point guard for their team. While Jamal Murray is a fine starter, their depth at the position is completely shot at this point. Reggie Jackson <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-reggie-jackson-traded-hornets-accepted-player-option">has left the team</a>, leaving them with very few options as the backup point guard. With that in mind, Denver is looking at a former MVP as the solution to their woes.</p><p>Despite taking his player option with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Nuggets <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/the-latest-nba-free-agency-and-trade?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=146281657&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">are still reportedly working</a> on a Russell Westbrook trade, per Marc Stein. The former MVP <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-russell-westbrooks-4-million-nba-free-agency">accepted his $4 million player option</a> to stay in LA. However, that has not deterred the former champions from working on a trade.</p><p>“The most tangible known interest in Russell Westbrook continues to come from Denver, league sources say, with the Clippers openly exploring their trade options with Westbrook even though the league’s 2017 MVP recently exercised his $4 million player option for next season.”</p><p>Why are the Clippers working on a trade with the Nuggets with Westbrook involved? Well, the team has been preparing for a new backup point guard with Kris Dunn and Kevin Porter Jr. It seems more than likely that LA moves on from Russ after a season and a half with the team.</p><p>“The Clippers are poised to finalize agreements to sign guards Kris Dunn and Kevin Porter Jr. after the moratorium is lifted in addition to their agreed-upon deals with Jones and Nicolas Batum and are thus widely expected to move on from Westbrook after a season and a half.”</p><p>The Nuggets were looking to win back-to-back championships after a magical championship run in 2023. Unfortunately, key departures in free agency turned out to be much more important than they anticipated. As a result, they were bounced out of the second round by the upstart Minnesota Timberwolves.</p><h2><b>Nuggets’ quest for second ring</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Russell-Westbrook-dunking-over-Nuggets-Michael-Porter-Jr.jpg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>After their disappointing campaign last season, the Nuggets are looking for redemption. Nikola Jokic is still at the peak of his powers, so wasting his prime would be unacceptable. That being said, though, they have their work cut out for them. Yet another key player is set to leave in free agency. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s free agency means that the guard is more than likely leaving the team.</p><p>In addition, the loss of Reggie Jackson means that there will be no true backup point guard. The Nuggets are experiencing the problem that most championship teams face: their players price themselves out of the team. Now, they need to find a way to rebuild that oh-so-important bench with their limited cap space.</p><p>Westbrook should at least help with regards to their bench problems. While the former MVP is not playing at, well, an MVP level, he has transitioned quite well to becoming a bench general. Westbrook garnered 6MOY consideration while with the Clippers. It’s unclear how Russ’ playstyle as a ball-dominant guard will work with a player like Jokic, but the Nuggets will surely <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-nikola-jokic-pushing-nuggets-russell-westbrook-trade">want to make it work</a>.</p><p>The road to the top of the West is not easy. The Nuggets saw that firsthand last season. Can they avenge their loss and give Joker his second ring?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Nuggets still pursuing Russell Westbrook trade with Clippers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-nikola-jokic-pushing-nuggets-russell-westbrook-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Nikola Jokic ‘pushing’ Nuggets on Russell Westbrook trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NBA-rumors-Nikola-Jokic-pushing-Nuggets-on-Russell-Westbrook-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Nikola Jokic ‘pushing’ Nuggets on Russell Westbrook trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-02T09:08:15-07:00">July 2nd, 9:08am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-02T09:08:15-07:00">July 2nd, 9:08am</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Today’s NBA moves quickly. While the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/magic-news-kentavious-caldwell-pope-leaving-nuggets-for-orlando">Denver Nuggets topped the totem</a> pole just two years ago, the squad could use some extra punch after losing in the second round and losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the Orlando Magic.</p><p>Nobody knows this better than superstar center Nikola Jokic, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&amp;v=hyple2NuSM0&amp;embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2F&amp;source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&amp;feature=emb_title" rel="noopener">who is campaigning</a> for a Russell Westbrook trade behind the scenes, via DNVR Sports’ Harrison Wind.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>“I’ve been told that Nikola Jokić actually has been pushing behind the scenes to get Westbrook to Denver,” Wind said. “I’ve been told that Nikola Jokić wants Westbrook in Denver. He wants to play with him. It’s not the first time he’s wanted to play with him.”</p><p>Westbrook opted in to his $4 million player option with Los Angeles, but the club is <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1807546370523324578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1807546370523324578%7Ctwgr%5E5bdab9f20b234224476a306fa530aabe37bb4b4e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F10126740-russell-westbrook-rumors-clippers-working-to-find-trade-after-4m-contract-picked-up" rel="noopener">still looking to move him</a>, via The Athletic’s Shams Charania.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The Clippers are actively working on trades to move Russell Westbrook, sources say. More on NBA Free Agency Special on <a href="https://twitter.com/Stadium?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Stadium</a>: <a href="https://t.co/UzzmWYRXTM">https://t.co/UzzmWYRXTM</a></p><p>— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1807546370523324578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“The Clippers are actively working on trades to move on from Russell Westbrook, sources say,” Charania tweeted.</p><p>How much would the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-russell-westbrooks-clippers-future-gets-cryptic-update-contract-decision">former MVP help Denver</a>? What would it take to fetch him in a trade?</p><h2><b>Westbrook would greatly improve the Nuggets’ second unit</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Clippers_guard_Russell_Westbrook_and_Timberwolves_center_Rudy_Gobert.webp"><figcaption>Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>After losing both Bruce Brown and Caldwell-Pope the last couple years, it’s time for Denver to add another significant bench piece. Christian Braun, Reggie Jackson, and Justin Holiday aren’t enough to keep up with the West’s upper echelon, as that trio averaged just 11.5 points per game combined last season.</p><p>Meanwhile, Westbrook alone averaged 11.1 points on 45.4% shooting, with five rebounds and 4.5 assists across 22.5 minutes per game last season. The 35-year-old still has enough gas in the tank to be a reliable sixth man.</p><p>Furthermore, the Nuggets have the assets to pull off a potential deal. The organization has first-round picks in 2026, 2028, 2030, and 2031, as well as second-rounders in 2025, 2026, 2029, 2030, and 2031. Giving up at least one first-rounder and a bench player should be enough value to fetch “Russ.”</p><p>As for the nine-time All-Star’s on-court fit, expect him to be Jamal Murray’s backup if he does land in the Mile High City. Westbrook’s rim-attacking style off the bench would provide a balance with Murray and Jokic’s two-man game, especially considering his intensity and high motor. Defending the two stars is already difficult, but it’d be even more taxing on the defense to have to deal with the former Houston Rocket’s slashing when either of them take a breather.</p><p>Regardless, the Nuggets have to be proactive, especially with Klay Thompson’s recent move to the Dallas Mavericks. The level of parity in today’s NBA is at an all-time high, so Denver can’t get too full of themselves simply because they won a ring recently.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Nikola Jokic ‘pushing’ Nuggets on Russell Westbrook trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-nuggets-fans-pain-kentavious-caldwell-pope-contract-offer-leaks');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Nuggets fans feeling pain after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contract offer leaks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NBA-rumors-Nuggets-fans-feeling-pain-after-Kentavious-Caldwell-Pope-contract-offer-leaks.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Nuggets fans feeling pain after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contract offer leaks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-30T17:28:11-07:00">June 30th, 5:28pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-30T17:28:11-07:00">June 30th, 5:28pm</time><address><a>Peter Sampson</a>Peter Sampson is ClutchPoints' Portland Trail Blazers reporter and also serves as an Associate Editor. He has been covering all things sports (with a focus on the Blazers) for more than a decade, most recently hosting "The Pulse with Peter Sampson" in Afternoon Drive for 750 The Game. Prior to that, he hosted an NBA wrap-up show that aired immediately at the conclusion of every Trail Blazers game. Peter had previous stops at Blazer's Edge and XRAY.FM - where his show "Blazer's Edge Radio" was named "Portland's Best Sports Radio" in the 2017 Willamette Week reader's poll. When he's not telling the stories of your favorite sports team, Peter can be found recording the next garage rock classic in his basement studio, whipping up an authentic Italian meal in the kitchen, or trying to figure out the appeal of Minecraft with his 9-year-old son in the living room.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After helping the Denver Nuggets win the championship in 2023 and delivering another productive season in 2023-24, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope set himself up for a nice payday in free agency. He got exactly that after the Orlando Magic <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/magic-news-kentavious-caldwell-pope-leaving-nuggets-for-orlando">signed him</a> to a lucrative three-year, $66 million deal.</p><p>The Nuggets were in a tough spot this offseason, salary cap-wise, but reportedly <a href="https://x.com/Tjonesonthenba/status/1807560411614446005" rel="noopener">offered KCP a similar deal</a>, per Tony Jones of The Athletic:</p><p>“Denver offered KCP a salary pretty similar to what he ended up getting from Orlando and I’m told the Nuggets offered three years. The Nuggets definitely tried here”</p><p>Nuggets fans are reacting to the news.</p><p>Nico – “Why would he choose Orlando if Nuggets offered same years and money? He has everything in place in Denver”</p><p>Jeff Groton – “So basically he chose the state with no income tax.”</p><p>Kristian – “Probably has something to do with Booth’s comments about the KCP situation and how it came off as “he’s replaceable”. Cause I just dont see why he gets offered a very similar contract but chooses to sign with the Magic.”</p><p>Royal – “Damn them taxes really be moving em”</p><p>Ch3wy – “There GM comments closed the door”</p><p>Jsut – “”Pretty similar” is not “the same” or “more”, both of which are the minimum when you have a 3x MVP on a thin roster”</p><p>Before he signed with the Magic, Caldwell-Pope has also been linked to the 76ers. Philadelphia made the playoffs this past season but ultimately ended up exiting the first round against the New York Knicks. They could have really used a player like KCP who brings so much stability, shooting and high-level experience, but unfortunately, he chose to sign with Orlando.</p><h2><b>KCP joins a Magic team ready to contend</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Paolo-Banchero.jpg"><figcaption>© Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>In the 2023-24 season, Caldwell-Pope averaged 10.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists on 40.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc. He helped the Nuggets make it to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in seven games.</p><p>He was a difference-maker for Denver in their 2023 NBA Championship run. That 2022-23 campaign, KCP actually played 76 regular season games and started in all of them, tallying 10.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game all while shooting 42.3 percent from deep on 4.1 average attempts.</p><p>The Magic feature a young, talented roster paced by big man Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. With a glut of talent and a young, affordable roster, Orlando needed shooting more than anything else this offseason after they fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. They accomplished their goal by bringing KCP on to the roster.</p><p>While it’s not clear whether or not the Magic will make the leap this coming season, they’re still so young that their window is just beginning to open.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Nuggets fans feeling pain after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contract offer leaks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-russell-westbrooks-clippers-future-gets-cryptic-update-contract-decision');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Russell Westbrook interested in Nuggets as Clippers look for trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Russell-Westbrook-Nikola-Jokic-Denver-Nuggets-Los-Angeles-Clippers.jpeg"><figcaption>CP</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Russell Westbrook interested in Nuggets as Clippers look for trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-30T16:22:40-07:00">June 30th, 4:22pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-30T16:40:31-07:00">June 30th, 4:40pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Perhaps no team is under more pressure this NBA free agency period than the Los Angeles Clippers, who are currently holding their breath after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sources-warriors-failed-paul-george-pursuit-nba-free-agency">Paul George declined his player option</a> earlier this weekend and is now set to hit unrestricted free agency. George has been the less impactful but more reliable of the pairing between himself and Kawhi Leonard that was formed in 2019, and that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-76ers-renewed-hope-paul-george-sweepstakes">Clippers duo is now at risk</a> of disbanding without much to show for it if George chooses to take his talents elsewhere.</p><p>Another storyline emerged for the Clippers earlier this offseason when it was revealed that guard Russell Westbrook had accepted his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-russell-westbrooks-4-million-nba-free-agency">$4 million player option</a>. However, that <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/what-were-hearing-as-nba-free-agency?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=146062721&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">didn’t mean</a> that Los Angeles was still interested in retaining his services, with ClutchPoints’ Tomer Azarly confirming that the Clippers are <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1807549109613830450" rel="noopener">working to find a trade</a>. Azarly had reported over the weekend that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-after-nba-draft-focus-shifts-paul-george-james-harden-russell-westbrook">Westbrook wasn’t expected</a> to be in a Clippers uniform next season.</p><p>With a Westbrook trade on the horizon, where could he go? Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer noted earlier Sunday that the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-nuggets-offseason-plans-kentavious-caldwell-popes-possible-exit">Denver Nuggets were interested</a> in adding Westbrook as a free agent and suggested this could still be a trade option after The Athletic’s Tony Jones reported the <a href="https://x.com/Tjonesonthenba/status/1807546101068947745" rel="noopener">guard’s interest</a> in teaming up with Nikola Jokic. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/magic-news-kentavious-caldwell-pope-leaving-nuggets-for-orlando">The Nuggets just lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope</a> to the Orlando Magic and will be looking to make some additions to help with depth, especially at guard.</p><p>With Westbrook on his way out, Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry could be potential Clippers backup point guard options. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-chris-paul-hits-free-agency-after-warriors-30-million-contract-decision">Paul was just waived</a> by the Golden State Warriors and is an unrestricted free agent, as is Lowry.</p><h2><b>What should the Clippers do?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Westbrook-vs-the-Mavericks.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Neither Russell Westbrook, Kyle Lowry, nor Chris Paul are currently anywhere close to the players they were during their respective prime years. However, all are still capable of at least contributing in spurts to winning basketball. After all, it was just one season ago that Lowry played a pretty decently sized role in the Miami Heat’s run all the way to the NBA Finals.</p><p>As for Westbrook, the former NBA MVP still brings a lot of hustle and energy to the table, and can occasionally explode to the basket and get by defenders, but the 35 year-old has continued to see his shooting numbers plummet and is still disregarded by opposing defenses as a threat from beyond the arc, something that played out in real time during the Clippers’ loss to the Dallas Mavericks in this year’s postseason.</p><p>The fit with Westbrook alongside Leonard, George, and James Harden was always going to be awkward, but the severe limitations in Westbrook’s game made it a near impossibility for head coach Ty Lue to play the four together despite how much pressure they are each capable of putting on opposing defenses on an individual level.</p><p>In any case, a lot more dominoes will fall into place after Paul George makes his decision. The star can begin taking meetings on Sunday night and is sure to have interest from plenty of suitors around the league. Meanwhile, the Clippers will continue working on a Russell Westbrook trade after also <a href="https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1807553510558302474" rel="noopener">agreeing to a deal</a> with Kevin Porter Jr., per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Russell Westbrook interested in Nuggets as Clippers look for trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-nuggets-offseason-plans-kentavious-caldwell-popes-possible-exit');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Nuggets’ offseason plans amid Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s possible exit');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NBA-rumors-Nuggets-offseason-plans-amid-Kentavious-Caldwell-Popes-possible-exit.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Nuggets’ offseason plans amid Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s possible exit</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-30T12:28:00-07:00">June 30th, 12:28pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-30T12:28:00-07:00">June 30th, 12:28pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Denver Nuggets are currently in the midst of what would figure to be a crossroads offseason as for the future direction of the franchise following their shocking loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of this year’s postseason. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-pacers-kentavious-caldwell-pope-suitor-free-agency">Nuggets had been</a> coming off a first round series vs the Los Angeles Lakers in which the team wasn’t exactly dominant, and the loss <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-nuggets-mavericks-join-list-potential-klay-thompson-suitors">vs the Timberwolves</a> called into question whether Denver would ever turn into the dynasty some had predicted after their championship victory in 2023.</p><p>One of the <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/how-paul-george-remains-the-key-to-the-free-agent-market-164152629.html" rel="noopener">many players who</a> struggled vs the Timberwolves this year was Nuggets shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who played solid defense but couldn’t throw a rock into the ocean for large stretches of the matchup. However, that probably isn’t going to stop the former Los Angeles Lakers guard from commanding a hefty salary in free agency this year, which he is set to enter after declining his player option with the team.</p><p>There is a real chance that Caldwell-Pope does indeed leave the team in free agency, making fans wonder what Denver might opt to do to replace him.</p><p>“Denver is currently prepared to lose the veteran two-way wing, sources said, who was an integral fifth starter for the Nuggets’ 2023 NBA title,” reported NBA insider Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. “…”The Nuggets are also engaged in trade scenarios for backup big man Zeke Nnaji, sources said. Denver had given the 23-year-old out of Arizona an opportunity to claim a clear-cut reserve role behind Nikola Jokić, but traded up in Wednesday’s NBA Draft to select a foreseeable replacement in Dayton center DaRon Holmes II. Nnaji’s $8 million salary could be an outgoing package, for example, to bring back Serbian point guard Vasilije Micić from Charlotte, who’s been a target for Denver, sources said. If Denver moves Nnaji that gets the Nuggets under the second apron, and it would have access to that $5.2 million taxpayer MLE. One player the Nuggets were considering for that role was Russell Westbrook, sources said, before the veteran opted into his $4 million with the Clippers. Another veteran to consider in that ballpark is Dario Šarić, sources said, whom the Nuggets have coveted for some time.”</p><h2><b>A big decision</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Caldwell-Pope-drives.jpg"><figcaption>Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>This could be the second straight offseason that the Nuggets lose a key contributor to their championship team after seeing Bruce Brown walk out the door last offseason for the bag that the Indiana Pacers threw at him.</p><p>With teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, and of course the Timberwolves on the rise out west, it’s certainly fair to wonder just how long the Nuggets can continue to lose key players before they fall a step behind the competition, despite the continued brilliance of Nikola Jokic and what figures to be a bounce back season from Jamal Murray.</p><p>In any case, NBA free agency is slated to begin on Sunday evening at 6:00 PM ET. The Nuggets could certainly look a whole lot different by the time next season gets underway in October.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Nuggets’ offseason plans amid Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s possible exit

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-pacers-kentavious-caldwell-pope-suitor-free-agency');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Pacers after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Pacers-a-Kentavious-Caldwell-Pope-suitor-in-free-agency.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Pacers after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-30T09:12:00-07:00">June 30th, 9:12am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-30T09:17:17-07:00">June 30th, 9:17am</time><address><a>Preston Byers</a>Preston Byers is an experienced writer and journalist who currently serves as an associate editor for ClutchPoints and as a staff writer at The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, where he covers sports in the Mahoning Valley. Previously, Preston worked as an associate editor for Dot Esports and a site expert for FanSided's Union and Blue.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Denver Nuggets could be losing another major piece of their championship core this offseason. A year after hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy and watching Bruce Brown sign with the Indiana Pacers, the same thing may happen to the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-nuggets-serious-danger-losing-kentavious-caldwell-pope">Nuggets with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope</a>.</p><p>Caldwell-Pope, the Nuggets’ best perimeter defender, is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-kentavious-caldwell-pope-hits-free-agency-with-15-4-million-decision">drawing interest from multiple teams</a>, including the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, and Pacers, <a href="https://x.com/msinger/status/1807424307057844514" rel="noopener">according to former</a> Denver Post reporter Mike Singer.</p><p>“I’ve mentioned Indiana before as a team to watch for KCP, &amp; I heard it again yesterday,” Singer wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Would keep an eye on Pacers, among Sixers and Magic as teams that could lure him out of Denver. Have heard — &amp; it makes sense — that he’d be looking for a longer deal at this point in career.”</p><p>Caldwell-Pope is an unrestricted free agent this offseason after declining a $15.4 million player option, which was a part of the two-year, $30.1 million contract extension he signed with Denver in 2022. KCP earned $14.7 million last season, the second-highest salary of his 11-year NBA career.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">🔮Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 2023/2024 Defensive Highlights. <a href="https://t.co/ks6mWwzvGy">pic.twitter.com/ks6mWwzvGy</a></p><p>— Rayshard❼ ( TDS SZN👑 ) (@Rayshard07) <a href="https://twitter.com/Rayshard07/status/1806915746468892869?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Could Nuggets lose Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to Pacers?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Atlanta-Hawks-at-Denver-Nuggets-2.jpg"><figcaption>Michael Ciaglo-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Shortly after their championship parade, the Denver Nuggets lost Bruce Brown to the Indiana Pacers. A key part of the Nuggets’ championship team’s rotation, Brown averaged 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists as the team’s sixth man. To lure Brown away from Denver, which could only offer him a starting salary of $7.8 million or less, the Pacers threw a two-year, $45 million at Brown’s feet.</p><p>Brown ultimately signed and earned $22 million last year, but his production was not such that he was indispensable to Indiana. Therefore, Brown became a key part of the trade that saw Pascal Siakam be acquired by Indiana. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/raptors-news-toronto-23-million-decision-bruce-brown-free-agency">Brown landed with the Toronto Raptors</a>, where he still remains and will make $23 million, and the Pacers emerged the big winner, having advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in a decade just months after acquiring Siakam.</p><p>The Pacers’ salary cap situation is more complicated now than it was one year ago, though. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-tyrese-haliburton-drops-tampering-joke-mikal-bridges-trade">Tyrese Haliburton’s max</a> rookie extension begins this season, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pacers-news-pascal-siakam-verge-lucrative-long-term-extension">Siakam has reportedly agreed</a> to a similarly sized max contract extension from Indiana. In addition to Haliburton and Siakam, whose combined salaries will exceed $80 million in 2024-25, the Pacers are on the hook for Myles Turner at $19.9 million and Aaron Nesmith at $11 million.</p><p>The Pacers could realistically offer Caldwell-Pope their full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which could be worth about $55 million over four years, or offer a higher annual salary and negotiate a sign-and-trade with Denver. At 31 years old and with defense being his biggest asset (and typically the first thing to go with aging players), KCP would likely strongly consider a four-year deal considering it would take until age 35. Of course, the Nuggets could pay him that much or more to retain the defensive stalwart. Denver may be hesitant to do so, however, as the highly restrictive second apron looms.</p><p>Whether Caldwell-Pope lands in Indiana, back in Denver, or in Philadelphia or Orlando, he will be key a free agent to watch as up-and-coming teams and contending teams alike try to bolster their rosters.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Pacers after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-nuggets-mavericks-join-list-potential-klay-thompson-suitors');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Nuggets, Mavericks join list of potential Klay Thompson suitors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NBA-rumors-Nuggets-Mavericks-join-list-of-potential-Klay-Thompson-suitors.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Nuggets, Mavericks join list of potential Klay Thompson suitors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-28T11:29:50-07:00">June 28th, 11:29am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-28T13:40:46-07:00">June 28th, 1:40pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The likelihood of Klay Thompson returning to the only NBA home he has ever known is seemingly becoming more precarious by the day. While the Golden State Warriors try to figure out how to acquire Paul George, two Western Conference contenders are now open to possibly courting the four-time NBA champion in free agency. The Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks may view him as a valuable roster piece.</p><p>It is unclear what Thompson’s market value will be, but his marksmanship should net him some suitors. In what was widely considered a down year, the five-time All-Star still shot a dangerous 38.7 percent from behind the 3-point line last season. He can be an intriguing supplementary scoring option for those looking to take the next step.</p><p>Teams with money to burn like the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic have already been identified as potential landing spots, and now the list of interested franchises appears to be growing. The Nuggets are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5599073/2024/06/28/nba-free-agency-paul-george-warriors-klay-thompson-kevin-durant/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=twhq&amp;source=twitterhq&amp;utm_source=substack" rel="noopener">looking at contingency plans</a> in the event that arguably their most important role player jumps to another squad.</p><p>“If the Nuggets lose free-agent-to-be Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who has decided to decline his player option and enter the market, a league source said Denver has pegged Thompson as a possible replacement,” The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Anthony Slater reported.</p><p>Dallas is also motivated to shore up its roster after winning the West this past postseason. Remaining in the fray is not a guarantee in this grueling conference, a fact that the front office seems keenly aware of based on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-grading-dallas-pistons-tim-hardaway-jr-quentin-grimes-trade">its latest trade</a>. The Mavs could be <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/the-latest-on-klay-thompson?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=146082322&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">on the hunt</a>.</p><p>“Improving their outside shooting, meanwhile, is one of the Mavericks’ offseason priorities after they made the third trip in franchise history to the NBA Finals,” NBA correspondent Marc Stein wrote in his substack.</p><h2><b>Klay Thompson might be slipping further out of Warriors’ grasp</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Klay-Thompson-drives-down-the-court.jpg"><figcaption>Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Golden State continues to reiterate its goal of re-signing Thompson. He is entrenched in Warriors franchise history and inextricably linked to Splash Brother Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and head coach Steve Kerr. His potential exit would be challenging for the organization and painful for the San Francisco Bay Area.</p><p>Kerr does not want to accept that reality and is <a href="https://x.com/jimrome/status/1805690652115759488?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">holding out hope</a> that a new deal is inked before <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/best-klay-thompson-destinations-leaves-warriors-free-agency">Thompson gets scooped up</a> by the 76ers, Magic, Nuggets, Mavericks or another surprise candidate.</p><p>“I want him back desperately,” the future Hall of Fame coach told Jim Rome earlier in the week. “We will have our conversations, and he’s got to make whatever decision he makes, but we really want him back. He’s Klay Thompson.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“We really want him back. He’s Klay Thompson.” </p><p>Warriors HC Steve Kerr on resigning the 5 time all-star. <a href="https://t.co/RfYVWhEWgN">pic.twitter.com/RfYVWhEWgN</a></p><p>— Jim Rome (@jimrome) <a href="https://twitter.com/jimrome/status/1805690652115759488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Thompson has averaged 19.6 points while shooting 45.3 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from distance in 11 seasons with the Warriors. He has provided fans with many memories and thrills during that span, pushing his way through two devastating injuries and handling a lesser workload on offense in 2023-24. Despite some of the recent turbulence, seeing the 2011 first-round draft pick in a different jersey is so strange to fathom.</p><p>But much of Dubs Nation has already begun that unpleasant process. There is a chance that both the Warriors and Klay Thompson benefit from a change. This could be the sacrifice needed to launch Golden State back into title contention, and the fresh start that rejuvenates No. 11’s career.</p><p>Or, maybe the front office <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-klay-thompson-could-possibly-reunite-with-golden-state">will find a way</a> to keep the Thompson-Bay Area love affair going strong. That will not be easy, though, if the Nuggets and Mavericks decide to aggressively pursue the all-time great shooter.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Nuggets, Mavericks join list of potential Klay Thompson suitors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-nuggets-serious-danger-losing-kentavious-caldwell-pope');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Nuggets in serious danger of losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NBA-rumors-Nuggets-in-serious-danger-of-losing-Kentavious-Caldwell-Pope.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Nuggets in serious danger of losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-28T11:10:11-07:00">June 28th, 11:10am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-28T11:21:20-07:00">June 28th, 11:21am</time><address><a>Andrew Meyers</a>Andrew Meyers is an avid sports fan with a fondness for Philadelphia teams that rarely love him back. He has two degrees from Quinnipiac University, including a master's in sports journalism. Outside of ClutchPoints, Meyers does play-by-play broadcasting for various colleges in the northeast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It’s hard to keep a championship core together for a while, especially in the NBA where contract terms seem to skyrocket for role players and non-stars more than other leagues. The Denver Nuggets, champions of the NBA two seasons ago, lost a starter from that title-winning squad last offseason and are on the verge of losing another one.</p><p>It’s becoming increasingly likely that veteran shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will leave the Nuggets via free agency. He is expected to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-kentavious-caldwell-pope-hits-free-agency-with-15-4-million-decision">decline his $15.4 million player option</a> and hit the open market when NBA free agency begins on Sunday.</p><p>Caldwell-Pope is a fantastic 3-and-D player who will have plenty of teams calling for his services. Based on general manager Calvin Booth’s comments on Wednesday, the Nuggets appear ready to <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/man-in-demand-kentavious-caldwell" rel="noopener">let him go</a>.</p><p>“When you look at some of the teams that have been good in the past, they had to find a way to replace fourth [and] fifth starters, sixth men off the bench and still keep rolling,” Booth said, per Marc Stein. “It would be nice if he’s back; we’d have a lot of continuity together. But all the stuff I’ve looked at with lineup stuff and everything, Christian Braun is one of the best net rating guys in the league — as is KCP. So I think if [Braun is] to step into the starting lineup, I would project that we’ll be OK if KCP doesn’t return.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-fans-flame-anthony-edwards-amid-christian-braun-lockdown-game-7-defense">Booth’s mention of Christian Braun</a> sounds more like an endorsement than a possibility. Braun’s numbers improved with increased playing time as he saw over 20 minutes per game in his sophomore NBA campaign last season. He played in all 82 games, starting four, adding 7.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.</p><h2><b>Nuggets gearing for KCP departure</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/KCP-Caldwell-Pope-Nuggets.jpg"><figcaption>Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Although they’re preparing for life without Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, there is a world in which the Nuggets can retain the 31-year-old.</p><p>The Nuggets are trying to free up the salary cap and did so by <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-reggie-jackson-traded-hornets-accepted-player-option">shipping Reggie Jackson</a> to the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday. The news of the trade came mere hours after reports surfaced that Denver and guard Jamal Murray are <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-jamal-murray-209-million-contract-extension">nearing terms on a $209 million contract</a>.</p><p>With that set to hit the books starting in 2025-26, Caldwell-Pope would undoubtedly have to take a team-friendly discount to stick in Denver. Several teams might not hesitate to offer more than KCP’s market value to get a surefire starter on their roster, especially if they see it as a move that can put them over the edge.</p><p>Stein mentioned the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-76ers-weighing-kentavious-caldwell-pope-as-free-agency-option">potential landing spots for Caldwell-Pope</a>. All three were playoff teams last season with the Mavs making a run to the NBA Finals, taking the Nuggets’ place as the Western Conference representative.</p><p>Other teams will inquire, giving Caldwell-Pope more options while limiting Denver’s negotiation tactics. Maybe the Nuggets already presented him with their best offer, showing their hand before free agency begins.</p><p>Regardless of what uniform he’s wearing in four months, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will be a hot commodity next week and could earn one of the richer free agency deals of the summer.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Nuggets in serious danger of losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-reported-nuggets-draft-promise-cold-water-dumped-on-it');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Reported Nuggets draft promise gets cold water dumped on it');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NBA-rumors-Reported-Nuggets-draft-promise-gets-cold-water-dumped-on-it.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Reported Nuggets draft promise gets cold water dumped on it</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-24T18:19:47-07:00">June 24th, 6:19pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-24T18:19:47-07:00">June 24th, 6:19pm</time><address><a href="https://nextmanupblog.medium.com/">Jay Postrado</a>Jay Postrado is a sports writer for ClutchPoints, with expertise in covering the NBA, NFL, MLB, Tennis, and Formula 1. He is a lifelong motorsports and tennis fan. Jay's need for speed may no longer be on the grid or courts but has stayed with him through writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The NBA Draft is fast approaching and with no clear-cut top-end talent in it, there are some steady risers on front-office boards. One of them just so happens to be an NBA Draft target of the Denver Nuggets. He goes by the name of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-nuggets-linked-2024-draft-promise">DaRon Holmes II and he has been phenomenal</a> with the Dayton basketball squad. The Minnesota Timberwolves are also in the running to acquire him as well due to their situation with Kyle Anderson.</p><p>DaRon Holmes II is <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/aggregate-2024-nba-mock-draft-paul-george-tyrese-maxey-free-agency-zach-lavine-trade-talks/" rel="noopener">projected to go higher</a> than 28th in the NBA Draft, per HoopsHype. This is bad news for the Nuggets fans. They have no other picks in the first round and will have to give up a lot of assets to notch the Dayton basketball star.</p><p>Holmes was reportedly promised by the Nuggets front office that they would pick him up in the NBA Draft. As a result, he did not go back to Dayton during the withdrawal deadline. Moreover, he also allegedly canceled six workouts with other squads due to that assumption. Apparently, there is not much truth to these reports which ran rampant throughout the media world prior to the NBA Draft.</p><p>The Nuggets can still pick him up if he does fall down that low. However, a looming competitor presented itself with the Timberwolves. Chris Finch and their front office have a significant interest in acquiring him. They have the 27th overall pick and have good reason to acquire the prospect out of Dayton.</p><p>The Timberwolves are concerned with the luxury tax that they will incur with Kyle Anderson on their squad. If he does decide to walk and test free agency, Holmes would be the solution to their gaping hole at forward. He is nimble and also able to produce the same way that Anderson has for the Timberwolves. There might be some growing pains at the start of his stint but that could be a risk that they are willing to stomach if it means that the front office gets more financial flexibility.</p><h2><b>How good is this NBA Draft prospect that the Nuggets and Timberwolves want to acquire?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Dayton-Flyers-forward-DaRon-Holmes-II-15-reacts.jpg"><figcaption>© Gabriel Mayberry-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Holmes is not at all a slouch and is one of the better forwards in this draft class. His accolades actually speak for himself because he notched consensus All-American honors, a three-time All-A10 team selection, an A-10 tournament Most Valuable Player, and an A-10 Defensive Player of the Year.</p><p>If that is not enough to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2024-nba-mock-draft-4-0-hawks-donovan-clingan-zaccharie-risacher">convince front offices in the NBA Draft</a>, he averaged 20.1 points on a 54.4% clip from all three levels of scoring in his junior year. Not to mention, his shot from outside also saw the bottom of the net 38.6% of the time. Scoring is not his only strong suit. He was able to grab an insane 8.5 rebounds in his last year with Dayton.</p><p>Another staple of his game is the rim protection that he brings. Holmes averaged a massive 2.1 blocks in the recently concluded college basketball season. The 6-foot-10 forward can surely chase an opponent down or learn the intricacies of their shot mechanics such that he meets them at the apex.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Reported Nuggets draft promise gets cold water dumped on it

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-nuggets-linked-2024-draft-promise');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Nuggets linked to 2024 draft promise');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Nuggets-linked-to-2024-draft-promise.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Nuggets linked to 2024 draft promise</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-19T11:13:22-07:00">June 19th, 11:13am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-19T11:14:50-07:00">June 19th, 11:14am</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>There is exactly one week until the 2024 NBA Draft. As is the case every year around this time, teams around the league are scrambling for last-minute details and information on every single prospect that they could potentially target. That is why <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2024-nba-mock-draft-3-0-donovan-clingan-to-rockets-amid-trade-rumors">plenty of rumors</a> pertaining to the draft are flying off the handle. However, one team that always seems confident heading into the draft, even though they usually have a late first-round pick, is the Denver Nuggets.</p><p>Evaluating and finding talent that fits their system near the end of the first round is nothing new for the Nuggets. Prior to landing Julian Strawther in a trade with the 29th overall pick in 2023, the Nuggets selected Christian Braun at 21st overall in 2022, as well as Bones Hyland 26th overall in 2021. Denver always tends to find talent in this position, which is why DaRon Holmes II could be the value pick this organization makes in the NBA Draft.</p><p>Holmes is a stretch big man who is an avid rebounder in the paint. At 6’10” and having the ability to be a power forward or a center in the league, he could wind up being the perfect complimentary piece for Denver to add to their frontcourt next to two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. It appears as if Denver’s front office is already thinking about this scenario, as many teams are operating under the assumption that Holmes has <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/page/NBADraft24-40343667/2024-nba-mock-draft-all-58-picks-trade-talks-heat-30-teams" rel="noopener">received a promise</a> from the Nuggets, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.</p><p>The talk surrounding Holmes throughout the pre-draft process has been fixated on him receiving a promise from a team picking in the first round because he canceled all of his pre-draft workouts right after the NCAA withdrawal deadline passed on May 29. As Givony states, this is a similar approach to what happened with Jalen Pickett last year, who was eventually drafted 32nd overall by the Nuggets.</p><p>There has been a buzz surrounding Holmes throughout the pre-draft process. Outside of Alex Sarr and Donovan Clingan at the top of many teams’ draft boards, Holmes stands out in that second tier of big men along with the likes of Yves Missi, Kel’el Ware, and Kyle Filipowski due to his shooting abilities from the perimeter. It is not hard to believe that Holmes is the best all-around offensive big man in this draft class because of his three-point shooting tendencies.</p><p>This is why other teams ahead of the Nuggets in the first round of the draft may consider selecting Holmes.</p><h2><b>Thunder could steal DaRon Holmes from Nuggets</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Thunders-Sam-Presti.jpg"><figcaption>NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK</figcaption></figure><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder are always one of the most unpredictable teams when it comes to the NBA Draft and who they will end up selecting. Executive Sam Presti is a mastermind when it comes to evaluating talent, and he always tends to keep his organization’s intentions internal. With this said, the Thunder have had an eye for undervalued talent in the college ranks, and they will be targeting frontcourt depth next to Chet Holmgren this offseason.</p><p>Presti and the Thunder currently own the 12th overall pick. While there could be a few players Oklahoma City is targeting with this pick, a lot of their plans depend on what happens in the top 10 of this year’s draft. As a result, there is a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2024-nba-mock-draft-3-0-donovan-clingan-to-rockets-amid-trade-rumors">belief from some around the league</a> that the Thunder will target frontcourt help with the 12th overall selection, leading to rumors about whether Oklahoma City has secretly been the team to promise Holmes in this year’s draft.</p><p>Although he is not viewed as a lottery pick, nothing but good things have been said about the way Holmes conducts himself every day and during his individual workouts leading up to the draft. If Holmes was truly given a promise in the first round of the draft by the Nuggets with the 28th overall pick, then why would he cancel all of his remaining workouts instead of trying to become a higher selection in the first round?</p><p>Even though there have been whispers that teams inside the top 15, like the Thunder, have interest in Holmes, the Nuggets are still the team everyone points to as the team that makes the most sense for the Dayton product in this year’s draft.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Nuggets linked to 2024 draft promise

NBA fan mailbag: Hawks’ plans at No. 1 and latest NBA Draft rumors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lakers-upset-disappointed-over-viral-anthony-davis-comments');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Lakers ‘upset and disappointed’ over viral Anthony Davis comments');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lakers-upset-and-disappointed-over-viral-Anthony-Davis-comments.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Lakers ‘upset and disappointed’ over viral Anthony Davis comments</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-04-25T16:30:09-07:00">April 25th, 4:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-04-25T16:30:09-07:00">April 25th, 4:30pm</time><address><a href="https://nextmanupblog.medium.com/">Jay Postrado</a>Jay is a sports writer for ClutchPoints, with expertise in covering the NBA, NFL, MLB, Tennis, and Formula 1. He is a lifelong motorsports and tennis fan. Jay's need for speed may no longer be on the grid or courts but has stayed with him through writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>One would think that the adversary in an NBA Playoffs clash would be the opponents that the team is facing. While this is still true between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, there have been some internal issues with the squad. After Jamal Murray hit a big shot to sink the LeBron James-led squad to a two-to-zero hole, Anthony Davis went on to blast Darvin Ham. Since then, the two seem to have a relationship that needs mending. It may even look like the situation got worse.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-must-do-to-win-game-3-over-nuggets-after-shocking-collapse">Lakers organization reportedly</a> did not like when Anthony Davis directed blame at Darvin Ham. To be specific, they felt like going after the head honcho was disappointing for their <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1783622643591020721" rel="noopener">star big man,</a> via Jared Greenberg of NBA on TNT.</p><p>“From speaking with people within the Lakers’ organization, they were upset and disappointed quite frankly by AD’s comments. Publicly going out there and putting his coach out there like that. Particularly because the Lakers had a good enough understanding of the game plan on Monday,” the insider revealed.</p><p>The Lakers organization also did not find it particularly helpful when Anthony Davis pointed fingers at Darvin Ham. After going 11 for 12 in his field goal attempts in the first half, the big man then went on to go cold. He only launched one shot in the fourth quarter and still missed it.</p><h2><b>The Lakers star and coach exchange sentiments</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Angeles-Lakers-forward-Anthony-Davis-3-fouls-Denver-Nuggets-center-Nikola-Jokic-15.jpg"><figcaption>© Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>What did Davis say after they lost to the Nuggets? He outlined that the Lakers looked lost at times during this NBA Playoffs matchup but said that they could figure things out.</p><p>“We’ve shown we’re more than capable. We have stretches where we just don’t know what we’re doing on both ends of the floor and those are the ones that have cost us, we have two days to get it right and come ready to win Game 3 on Thursday,” Davis said.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-darvin-ham-anthony-davis-denver-nuggets-nba-playoffs-los-angeles">Lakers had all the opportunities</a> to hang on to their lead in Game 2. They then proceeded to blow it after some schematic mishaps and sloppy execution down the stretch. Ham saw these concerns and heard Davis’ comments. All he could do was agree to disagree with one of his star player’s sentiments.</p><p>“Sometimes the plays don’t turn out the way you think they should and the frustration sets in a little bit, but I don’t think it’s for us not being organized. We pride ourselves on being highly efficient and organized. So I just chalk that up to being frustrated it’s an emotional game and the way it ended and all of that. But I would agree to disagree on that one,” he said in response to those comments.</p><p>Now, it looks like the Lakers don’t have just to fix their woes in terms of sets, rotations, and execution. They have to set egos aside first. A move to compromise if they want to stay in contention for this year’s NBA Playoffs. The first thing they need to do is make sure there isn’t much bad blood between their big man and coach when they face the Nuggets.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Lakers ‘upset and disappointed’ over viral Anthony Davis comments

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-nuggets-linked-wizards-guard-search-backcourt-help');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Nuggets linked with Wizards guard amid search for backcourt help');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/nba-rumors-nuggets-linked-with-wizards-guard-amid-search-for-backcourt-help.webp"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Nuggets linked with Wizards guard amid search for backcourt help</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-05T01:39:56-08:00">February 5th, 1:39am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-05T01:39:56-08:00">February 5th, 1:39am</time><address><a>Brian Buyawe</a>Brian Buyawe is a sports aficionado with a passion for basketball, football and Formula One. His hobbies include running, reading and playing in recreational leagues. Back when he was a kid, Brian stumbled upon an old Larry Bird documentary among his family's collection of movies, which made him a lifelong Celtics fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Denver Nuggets are having a steady season so far. Sitting in fourth place in the Western Conference with a 35-16 record and winning seven out of their last 10 games, the Nuggets look poised to make another playoff appearance.</p><p>Still, rumor has it that the team is taking interest in available trade options just days before the deadline. Denver is said to be looking for backcourt reinforcements despite limited trade maneuverability, per NBA insider Marc Stein. At the moment, one name that the Nuggets could possibly land is Delon Wright.</p><p>The Washington Wizards guard is currently averaging 4.4 points and 2.8 assists per game. A potential deal involving Wright raises questions considering how Reggie Jackson and Christian Braun have provided support behind Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.</p><h2>What Reggie Jackson and Christian Braun bring to the Nuggets</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Reggie-Jackson-Los-Angeles-Clippers-Denver-Nuggets-NBA-Finals-NBA-Championship.jpeg"></figure><p>Jackson is currently averaging 11.1 points and 3.9 assists per game while Braun provides 7 points and 3.5 boards a contest. While it may make more sense to trade guards outside the rotation such as Justin Holiday, Collin Gillespie and Jalen Pickett, potentially removing Jackson or Braun can have consequences considering both have already embraced their roles with the season more than halfway done.</p><p>The biggest consequence could be chemistry issues, as inserting a new guard in the rotation requires time for adjustment even if that said guard has a similar playstyle to the ones being replaced. Going back to Jackson and Braun, both have had past experiences that show why they’re deserving of being in the lineup.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-reggie-jackson-deandre-jordans-revenge-game-sparks-flurry-of-clippers-insults" rel="noopener">Jackson was a key piece</a> for the Los Angeles Clippers before joining the Mile High City. Back during the 2021-22 season, Jackson averaged 16.8 points per game as the starting point guard for the Clippers. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-christian-braun-gets-brutally-honest-analysis" rel="noopener">Braun, on the other hand</a>, was part of the Nuggets’ main rotation last year when the team won the championship.</p><p>While plenty of rumors just stay as rumors and quickly die down, teams in the past have made surprising trades that no one’s ever expected. So to end, only the next few days will tell if the Nuggets are willing to take risks or not.</p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Nuggets linked with Wizards guard amid search for backcourt help

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-nuggets-interested-in-bruce-brown-reunion-but-theres-a-catch');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Nuggets interested in Bruce Brown reunion, but there’s a catch');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/NBA_rumors_Nuggets_interested_in_Bruce_Brown_reunion_but_there_s_a_catch.webp"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Nuggets interested in Bruce Brown reunion, but there’s a catch</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-01-22T16:05:59-08:00">January 22nd, 4:05pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-01-22T16:05:59-08:00">January 22nd, 4:05pm</time><address><a>Christopher Smith</a>Chris Smith is a writer and sports enthusiast from Aurora, Illinois. He currently serves as an Associate Editor, covering all sports at ClutchPoints. Smith earned a degree in philosophy from Creighton University, where he also competed as a Division 1 Cross Country runner. He is a devout distance runner and loves eating good food.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Denver Nuggets are having a stellar 2023-24 season. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-michael-malone-praises-nikola-jokic" rel="noopener">The Nuggets are</a> 30-14 and sit third in the Western Conference standings. Nevertheless, the team is caught in NBA trade rumors. Denver could have a reunion with Pacers-turned-Raptors forward Bruce Brown.</p><h2><b>The latest NBA rumors suggest Denver retains interest in former forward Bruce Brown </b></h2><p>Brown played an integral role in Denver’s 2023 NBA Finals run. During the regular season, he averaged 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He was a Swiss Army knife for the Nuggets and had <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/brownbr01/gamelog-playoffs/" rel="noopener">a breakout game</a> during Game 4 of the NBA Finals, which helped propel the team to victory.</p><p>However, the productive forward left Denver and inked a lucrative contract with the Indiana Pacers. Indiana then traded him to the Raptors in the middle of the season. Still, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sources-bruce-brown-dejounte-murray-trade-market-trade-deadline-rumors" rel="noopener">the Nuggets are interested</a> in bringing Brown back to the team, per ClutchPoints’ NBA Insider Brett Siegel.</p><p>While Denver would benefit from Brown’s services, his contract is the major issue keeping the team from fully pursuing him. He is making an annual salary of $22 million. As a result, the Nuggets would have to part ways with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Aaron Gordon to bring him back.</p><p>Gordon and Caldwell-Pope are vital to Denver’s success, so it is unlikely the team will make room to bring Brown back. Still, there is a chance he could return to the team once his contract is up if he is willing to take a pay cut.</p><p>In the meantime, the Nuggets will continue their march on the Western Conference as look to win another title in 2024.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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DenverNuggets RUMORS

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Denver
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