The Nuggets will sign veteran point guard Russell Westbrook to a two-year contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Denver has long been the expected landing spot for the former MVP, but the details of Westbrook’s new deal hadn’t been reported until now. The 35-year-old earn the minimum salary of $3,303,771 in ..read more

The men’s basketball event at this summer’s Paris Olympics has a good chance to be the most competitive international men’s tournament of all-time, contends Brian Windhorst of ESPN. As Windhorst writes, just making the 12-team field is an accomplishment in itself, given that plenty of worthy clubs didn’t make the cut, such as Luka Doncic ..read more

The Nuggets will open their preseason schedule with a pair of games against the Celtics Oct. 4 and 6 in Abu Dhabi, tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. Denver will host the Suns Oct. 13 and the Thunder Oct. 15 before traveling to face the Timberwolves Oct 18 ..read more

JULY 24: Jordan’s new contract is official, the Nuggets announced in a press release. JUNE 29: Free agent center DeAndre Jordan plans to remain with the Nuggets on a one-year, $3.6MM deal, sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Jordan, 35, will be committing to a third season with the Nuggets after signing as a free agent in 2022, just in time for the team’s championship run. His on-court presence has diminished from his peak years, but he’s still a strong locker room presence who can provide rim protection and a lob threat when needed. Jordan appeared in 36 games ..read more

Two more nations have set their 12-man rosters for the upcoming Olympic games in Paris, with Serbia and Greece both officially announcing their squads (Twitter links). The Serbian roster is headlined by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and includes a few more NBA players beyond the Nuggets center. Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, Hornets guard Vasilije Micic, and Heat forward Nikola Jovic will also represent Serbia in Paris. Jovic’s inclusion is particularly notable, since there was some uncertainty earlier this month about whether he’d be healthy enough to play. He injured his ankle during an of ..read more

As part of a buyout agreement with the Jazz, veteran guard Russell Westbrook gave up exactly $1.7MM, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Utah waived Westbrook on Saturday. The buyout reduces Westbrook’s cap hit on Utah’s books from $4,027,525 to $2,327,525, giving the team a little extra salary cap flexibility. No team currently has more cap space than the Jazz, who still have about $33MM in available room. The Jazz also reportedly received $4.3MM in cash from the Clippers in their trade for Westbrook, so despite being on the hook for about $2.33MM of the guard’s salary, they’l ..read more

The Nuggets shouldn’t put Russell Westbrook in the starting lineup to fill Kentavious Caldwell-Pope‘s spot, Sean Keeler of the Denver Post opines. Westbrook is joining Denver after clearing waivers on Monday. Westbrook would be better off anchoring a mostly youthful second unit, providing leadership and a change of pace. He’d be a better backup at the point than Reggie Jackson, who was dealt to Charlotte, was last season, Keeler adds. Westbrook would still get chances to start when Murray is unavailable ..read more

The Nuggets will fill their open two-way contract slot by signing undrafted rookie free agent Spencer Jones to a two-way deal, reports Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link). A 6’7″ forward, Jones spent all five of his college seasons at Stanford from 2019-24, starting 139 of his 146 games during that time. As a super-senior last season, he averaged 11.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.4 steals in 29.1 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .438/.409/.645. Jones was a 39.7% three-point shooter on 5.4 attempts per contest across his five seasons with the Cardinal, setting ..read more

Suns star Kevin Durant, who is recovering from a strained calf, participated in Team USA’s practice in London on Friday, per Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic. It was the first time Durant has practiced with the team ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The United States will face South Sudan on Saturday and Germany on Monday in its last pre-Olympic tune-up games. Durant is day-to-day and is considered questionable to play in those contests. “I’m going to see how I feel after practice today,” Durant said. Here are some more notes ahead of the Olympics, which begin next week: Team ..read more

Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham, the No. 8 overall pick of last month’s draft, has been receiving advice from Mike Conley and John Wall as he prepares for his rookie season, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Dillingham said he reached out to new teammate Conley for defensive advice. As for Wall, the former All-Star point guard is a North Carolina native who went to Kentucky, just like Dillingham. “That’s my guy,” Dillingham said of Wall. “He been knowing me, texting me and stuff. At Kentucky, he came to all our games. I just hit him after the [Pelicans] game. I was super mad because I d ..read more