The Denver Nuggets don’t have much money to work with this summer. If they dip their toes into free agency, it’s mostly going to be minimum contract players that the Nuggets would take a realistic look at.
But those players have proved to be valuable for Denver in the past. Justin Holiday led the Nuggets in playoff +/- this past year and shot 38% from 3-point range. DeAndre Jordan has been a trusted locker-room leader for the last two years.
I see all of these free agents as candidates for minimum contracts this summer but some could garner more money.
Here we go.
Dario Saric
Last season’s averages: 17.2 mins, 8 pts (37% shooting from 3), 4.4 rebs, rotation caliber
Saric started the year strong for Golden State and then faded down the stretch of the season and eventually lost his rotation spot. He played well, especially against the Nuggets, and can still shoot the 3 and create some offense by himself. The Nuggets need a different option at backup center next season. Saric isn’t a defensive stopper or elite rebounder, but he still has some juice to his game.
Kris Dunn
Last season’s averages: 18.9 mins, 5.4 pts (36.9% shooting from 3), 3.8 asts, rotation caliber
Dunn has good size at the point and is a quality defender and table-setter. But he’s not the offensive option that the Nuggets are hoping to lead their second unit. That was a lot of the thinking behind Reggie Jackson this season. With how Michael Malone plays his bench unit, you’d like a capable scorer at point guard next to Christian Braun and Peyton Watson. But Dunn is steady and solid. He’s good enough to warrant a serious look.
Mason Plumlee
Last season’s averages: 14.7 mins, 5.3 pts (56.9% shooting from the floor), 5.1 rebs, rotation caliber
Plumlee is the best backup center of the Jokic era (honorable mention to DeMarcus Cousins who was good in Denver too.) I got the sense that Plumlee didn’t exactly enjoy his last year with the Nuggets, but maybe he’d be open to a reunion. This is definitely a backup center that Malone would stay committed to playing. I do wonder if he’s just going to re-sign with the Clippers.
Kyle Lowry
Last season’s averages: 28.2 mins, 8.1 pts (39.2% shooting from 3), 4.2 asts, rotation caliber
If Lowry’s willing to take a minimum contract, he’s going to have a ton of suitors ranging from the 76ers to the Clippers, and I’m sure other playoff-bound teams would get in the mix. He just averaged 30 minutes per game in the playoffs for Philadelphia and can still log heavy amounts of playing time. He’d be a steady presence in the Nuggets’ backcourt and on Denver’s second unit. But I’m guessing he goes back to Philly.
Aaron Holiday
Last season’s averages: 16.3 mins, 6.6 pts (38.7% shooting from 3), 1.8 asts, rotation caliber
Holiday could be one of the best available point guards on a minimum contract this summer. And he’s the younger brother of current Nugget (but also a free agent) Justin Holiday. Aaron Holiday isn’t flashy but he is solid. He’s durable too and played in 78 games for the Rockets last season. But Holiday isn’t the plus-sized rotation player that Calvin Booth typically targets.
Marcus Morris Sr.
Last season’s averages: 16.4 mins, 6.4 pts (40.3% shooting from 3), 2.3 rebs, rotation caliber
Morris landed in Cleveland as a buyout guy this season and all of a sudden found himself in the Cavs’ playoff rotation. He averaged 15 minutes per game in the playoffs and shot 39% from 3. Morris is probably a non-starter considering his brother’s history with Nikola Jokic though. He’s not to be relied on to play a full regular season’s worth of minutes, but in the playoffs, he’d carry a Jeff Green role.
Lonnie Walker IV
Last season’s averages: 17.4 mins, 9.7 pts (38.4% shooting from 3), 2.2 rebs, rotation caliber
It feels like Walker could get more than the minimum from Brooklyn but he’d add some juice to the Nuggets’ backcourt in Denver. If Kentavious Caldwell-Pope moves on in free agency, the Nuggets will need to add a scoring punch off the bench if Christian Braun steps into the starting lineup. There’s a chance Walker could give them something. If he plays well on a contender like the Nuggets for a year, Walker’s stock could skyrocket a la Bruce Brown.
Daniel Theis
Last season’s averages: 16.9 mins, 6.3 pts (36.6% shooting from 3), 4.1 rebs, rotation caliber
Theis is undersized for a backup center but can still play a little. However, he might be too similar to Vlatko Cancar to give a roster spot to. And Cancar is probably better.
Spencer Dinwiddie
Last season’s averages: 28.3 mins, 10.5 pts (33.7% shooting from 3), 4.7 asts, rotation caliber
I’d guess Dinwiddie’s getting a contract from the Lakers this summer — that’s how these things tend to work after a guy signs with a team in the buyout market — but he’s a minimum-contract candidate who can step in and play competent rotation minutes at point guard.
Patrick Beverley
Last season’s averages: 20.9 mins, 6 pts (36.1% shooting from 3), 2.6 asts, rotation caliber
Beggers can’t be choosers when shopping the minimum-contract bargain bin. Beverley is facing a four-game suspension to start next season and he comes with off the court (and on the court) distractions. But he showed last season that he can still defend and shoot the 3 on a playoff-caliber team. He’d give the Nuggets some more toughness but I wonder if he’d annoy Nikola Jokic too much to have on the roster.
Probably too expensive: Andre Drummond, Kevin Love, Eric Gordon, Delon Wright, Kelly Oubre Jr.
