What the Nuggets waiving Nick Young has to do with their two remaining injured starters

After three weeks, four appearances in a Nuggets’ uniform and more than a few standing ovations from the Pepsi Center crowd, the Nick Young era in Denver is over. The Nuggets waived Young, who was signed to an injury hardship relief exception back on Dec. 10, Sunday, the team announced.

Young logged 37 total minutes for the Nuggets’ across four games. He came off the bench and played a season-high 13 minutes against the Clippers on Dec. 22 and scored six points on two three-pointers in Denver’s 109-98 win over the Thunder on Dec. 14.

“We want to thank Nick for coming to Denver on such short notice to give us some relief with our injury issues,” Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said in a statement. “He immediately fit in with our group and did everything that we asked of him by being the great teammate and consummate pro that he is.”

Injury hardship relief exceptions are granted by the league if a team has four players that they expect to be sidelined for at least two weeks. When that team no longer expects four players to remain out for a two-week span, it expires. Paul Millsap, one of Denver’s rostered players who was sidelined for the last two weeks, returned to the Nuggets’ lineup Saturday in Phoenix and came off the bench to score six points on 3-7 shooting in 14 minutes. Millsap will likely return to Denver’s starting lineup soon, potentially Tuesday when the Nuggets host the Knicks.

Denver parting ways with Young also means that it expects Gary Harris and Will Barton to return to the court sooner rather than later. Barton (hip/groin) went down in the Nuggets’ second game of the season against the Suns and underwent surgery to repair core and hip muscle injuries on Oct. 23. Harris (hip) has been sidelined since suffering an injury Dec. 3 in Toronto and has missed Denver’s last 11 games.

“Its been feeling good,” Harris said last Thursday, speaking with the media for the first time since the injury. “So they’ve been able to progress me a little faster than normal.”

“It’s a long season, and the guys are playing really well right now. No point in rushing back and prolonging the injury and or maybe not coming back healthy and tweaking something again,” said Harris. “I think the main focus for all of us is to make sure we’re 100 percent healthy.”

Harris could return to Denver’s lineup later this week against the Knicks. Barton’s return will likely come shortly after that.