Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are "eager" to "shake things up" this season and despite their limitations, they are ready to offer power forward Zeke Nnaji, according to NBA Insider Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

Nnaji does not offer much, with a modest $8.9 million salary through 2027-2028 that decreases in value each season. However, the Nuggets are likely to "sweeten" deals with draft compensation, per Stein.

Nnaji has played in 14 games this season with the Nuggets, averaging 5.1 minutes, the lowest of his career, and recording 1.2 points per game while shooting 40 percent from the field.

The 23-year-old is the fifth-highest paid player on the Nuggets but has almost completely fallen out of Mike Malone's rotation as he has struggled to live up to his contract.

The 2020 first-round pick out of Arizona has a career average of 4.3 points per game, 2.3 rebounds and a field goal percentage of 50.8 percent.

The Nuggets are off to an 11-10 start to the season, losing their last two games in a row. Even with the addition of veteran presence Russell Wilson, the Nuggets are not looking like the 57-25 team they were last season, when they made it to the Western Conference Semifinals and won the 2023 NBA Championship.

Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic is averaging the most points per game of his career with 31.4 as he tries to lead the Nuggets in the right direction, but it's clear they will need more support for the superstar.

Jokić posted HISTORIC numbers for the Nuggets!

🃏 56 PTS (career-high)
🃏 16 REB
🃏 8 AST
🃏 3 3PM

He's the first player in NBA history to total 55+ PTS, 15+ REB, 5+ AST and 3+ 3PM in a single game. pic.twitter.com/7L0lM1e5bJ

— NBA (@NBA) December 8, 2024

Following Saturday night's 122-113 loss against the 3-18 Washington Wizards, where Jokic posted a career-high 56 points, he made it clear that the team needs to make some changes.

"In my country, where I'm coming from, after this kind of stretch, you're going to get paycheck that is a little bit less than you had hoped. Maybe that's what we need to do. Maybe a little motivation," Jokic told reporters after the game. "I think today and the last couple games were really bad for us. We are really going in the wrong direction. I think it's everybody's fault."

The Nuggets sit in ninth place in the Western Conference, six games behind first place Oklahoma City Thunder.

Nikola Jokić set a new career-high scoring total, but it wasn't enough to propel the Denver Nuggets to a win on Saturday night.

Jokić recorded a personal-best mark with 56 points against the Washington Wizards, although the Nuggets ultimately fell by the final score of 122-113.

THE WIZARDS SNAP THEIR 16-GAME LOSING STREAK DESPITE THE JOKER’S 56 PTS, 16 REB & 8 AST 🤯 pic.twitter.com/QLEfcZZSfL

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 8, 2024

The three-time MVP also pulled down 16 rebounds and dished out eight assists, shooting 22-38 from the field and 3-5 from behind the arc.

A NEW CAREER-HIGH FOR THE JOKER 🪣

53 POINTS AND COUNTING 👀 pic.twitter.com/r1x0BZynHI

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 8, 2024

Denver wasn't able to remain effective from three-point territory throughout the contest. Outside of Jokić, the Nuggets shot 2-19 on long-range attempts as a team.

The loss was a shocking result, especially given the fact that the Wizards entered the game with the worst record in the NBA at 2-18 and were in the midst of a 16-game losing streak. Washington also owns the worst net rating in the association (via NBA.com).

Fans praised Jokić but called out the Nuggets for the disappointing defeat.

Nuggets just had one of the worst losses of the season of any team. Nikola Jokic with 56 of Denver's 113 points. Don't care they were without two starters. Playing such garbage defense and losing to the Wizards is embarrassing. Played like a team that's given up.

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) December 8, 2024

as much as i complain about the lakers not giving ad and lebron enough help, what the nuggets are doing to jokic in his PRIME is criminal

— claire de lune (@ClaireMPLS) December 8, 2024

https://twitter.com/TermineRadio/status/1865584005870960871

Starting to feel real bad for Nikola Jokic.

— liv (@livmoods) December 8, 2024

Nikola Jokic scores a career high 56 points — in one of the most embarrassing losses that I can remember.

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) December 8, 2024

I honestly can't believe what I'm watching here. Jokic has been absolutely insane.

So have the rest of the Nuggets, but in the worst way possible.

— Ryan Blackburn (@NBABlackburn) December 8, 2024

imagine dropping 56 PTS, 16 REB, and 8 AST and your team still loses to give the wizards their first win in 16 games. jokić deserves a week of PTO and unlimited time frolicking with any horse of his choice

— Molly Morrison (@mollyhannahm) December 8, 2024

Nikola Jokic looking at his teammates right now…. pic.twitter.com/HVfI7EEE2L

— Jeremy Nicolls (@JeremyNicolls) December 8, 2024

What a complete joke. This entire team should be ashamed for wasting a player like Jokic

— Lyle Färly (@DenverNuggetsF6) December 8, 2024

For the Wizards, Jordan Poole led the way with 39 points and eight assists. He shot 46.2 percent from the field, hitting nine three-pointers.

Jonas Valančiūnas also chipped in with a double-double, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds to go along with five blocks.

Following a 7-3 start to the season, the Nuggets have now lost seven of their past 11 games.

When the Denver Nuggets take on the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, Nikola Jokić will have some of the most unique shoes in the NBA.

The star is expected to debut his Joker 1 signature shoe in a new "Joker" themed colorway. The shoes take inspiration from the iconic Batman character with a purple upper and green sole.

Nikola Jokic is expected to debut his Joker 1 signature shoe in this new “Joker” themed colorway tonight: pic.twitter.com/9My8jCdlaq

— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) December 3, 2024

Jokić debuted his first signature shoe with 361 earlier this year and wore a unique "Champagne" colorway back in November. The three-time MVP hasn't had a major marketing campaign for his shoe but has gained some attention for them throughout the year.

Nikola Jokic breaks out a new colorway of the 361 Joker 1 🃏 pic.twitter.com/X5azFdabDf

— Sole Retriever (@SoleRetriever) November 3, 2024

Jokić, now in his 10th season in the NBA, is having another outstanding year, putting up 29.6 points, 13.2 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game—all three of those numbers sitting inside the top five in the NBA so far this year.

If he can continue that kind of production through the rest of the season, it might be good enough to win him his fourth MVP award.

The Nuggets haven't had an ideal start to the season, heading into Tuesday's matchup at 10-8, but they can pick up some much-needed momentum with a win over Golden State.

Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook has been fined $35,000 for his "obscene gesture" during Monday's 145-118 loss to the New York Knicks.

Westbrook flipped off the Knicks bench in the fourth quarter of the loss.

The following has been released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/LG1psczc7q

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) November 29, 2024

The incident occurred after Westbrook was blocked by Knicks guard Josh Hart while driving to the basket.

Westbrook kept the ball as Knicks players attempted to call him for traveling. Moments later he made a three-point shot from the corner, then turned to gesture toward the New York bench.

He led the Nuggets with 27 points while coming off the bench in the loss.

This is not the first time Westbrook has been fined by the NBA. He has previously faced financial penalties for incidents including profanity usage during an interview in 2017, an on-court altercation with Rudy Gobert in 2018, and an incident with a Utah Jazz fan in 2019.

Westbrook is in his first season with the Nuggets after inking a two-year veteran minimum deal this summer. He is taking home $3.3 million this season with a player option for 2025-26, per Spotrac.

That pickup has so far proven to be a good one for the Nuggets as Westbrook has slotted in as the team's sixth man. He has averaged 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists through 17 games and has been able to show off his playmaking skills while passing to Nuggets star Nikola Jokić.

The Nuggets are meanwhile off to an underwhelming 10-7 start to the season. After opening November with a five-game winning streak, Denver lost to the Knicks amid a 3-4 stretch that has marred the latter half of the month.

Denver entered Monday's fourth quarter already trailing by 26 points. Westbrook responded to the deficit by recording the highest-scoring quarter of his career, scoring 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting, per StatMuse.

With one fifth of the 2024-25 season behind them, the Nuggets will hope a December resurgence can carry the team back toward the top of the West. Next up Westbrook and the Nuggets hit the road for a 10 p.m. ET road game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone made his frustrations known following the Nuggets' 145-118 home loss to the New York Knicks on Monday night.

When asked by a reporter if he intended to "flush" the loss and move on quickly due to its one-sided nature, he made it clear that the poor performance was something he would instead dwell on.

"F--k that man, no," Malone said. "No, we're not flushing. You don't flush when you get embarrassed, you don't flush when you gave up 145 points, you don't flush when you didn't play hard, didn't play with effort, physicality, I'm not flushing anything."

The Knicks raced out to a 12-point lead in the first quarter, and it ballooned to 23 by halftime, which was a deficit Denver never came close to overcoming.

New York dominated in essentially every facet, shooting a remarkable 60.9 percent from the field and 52.8 percent from three-point range, while also making 14 of its 16 free-throw attempts.

The Knicks also won the rebounding battle 43-33, had 45 assists to Denver's 23 and had nine turnovers to Denver's 11.

Malone gave veteran guard Russell Westbrook some credit for his play, but he also called out the team's two best and longest-tenured players in Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray:

"Well, yeah, I mean like Russell Westbrook, he's vocal—but we need more than Russell Westbrook. I need Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, I need guys that have been here in that starting lineup to be vocal. And you know tonight we got embarrassed.

"We're 16 games in and we're talking about effort, we're talking about toughness, we're talking about physicality. ... And regardless of who's in, who's out, who do we want to be as a team? So, yeah, leadership would be great, toughness would be great, physicality would be great, playing like you actually care would be great, and we didn't do that tonight."

Both Jokić and Murray played pivotal roles in the Nuggets winning the NBA championship two seasons ago, and Jokić is a three-time NBA MVP, but Malone didn't absolve them of blame.

While Westbrook led the team Monday with 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting, Jokić finished with 22 points on 9-of-20 shooting and Murray had 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting.

With the loss, Denver dropped to a disappointing 9-7 on the season, dropping it into a tie for seventh in the Western Conference with the Phoenix Suns.

After going on a five-game winning streak, the Nuggets have now lost four of their past six games. The end of the winning streak coincided with Jokić missing three games due to personal reasons, but he has been back for the past three games, two of which have been losses.

The Knicks, who are now 10-7, turned in perhaps their best showing of the season, and they have now won five of their past six games, making them one of the hottest teams in the NBA.

Denver will have one more chance to get back on track prior to a three-game break for Thanksgiving, as it will go on the road to face the 4-12 Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić will return to his team's lineup on Friday evening against the Dallas Mavericks after missing the past three games due to personal reasons.

Per ESPN's Shams Charania, Jokić and his wife Natalija Jokic recently welcomed their second child, a newborn son.

Sources: Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic – out since Nov. 10 due to personal reasons – will return to the lineup tonight vs. the Dallas Mavericks (10 pm ET, ESPN). Jokic and his partner welcomed a newborn son Thursday night. pic.twitter.com/OVPsT0f6ET

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 23, 2024

The three-time NBA MVP is averaging 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 11.7 assists this season.

His return is obviously a welcome sight for the Nuggets, who went 1-2 without him. Denver averaged just 92.0 PPG in its two losses.

The Nuggets have also been without Aaron Gordon, who is dealing with a right calf strain.

Denver will play a Mavericks team that's without superstar Luka Dončić, who suffered a right wrist strain and will be re-evaluated in one week, per Charania.

Jokić's last game was on Nov. 10, when the Nuggets beat the Mavs 122-120. Jokić put up a 37-point, 18-rebound, 15-assist triple-double, while Kyrie Irving dropped a game-high 43 points on 17-of-22 shooting.

Tipoff for this NBA Cup battle will go down at 10 p.m. ET in Denver's Ball Arena.

The Russell Wilson experience appears to be going well for the Denver Nuggets.

During an appearance on the Brian Windhorst and the Hoop Collective podcast, Tim MacMahon of ESPN reported that the Nuggets aren't "dissatisfied" with the role Westbrook has played off of the bench and that he has made some solid contributions thus far.

"They are not dissatisfied with Russell Westbrook in Denver," MacMahon said."There's a lot of stuff happening when he is on the floor but they will tell you he is playing a pretty major role in a few wins for them at this point."

Westbrook is averaging 10.5 points, six assists and 4.5 rebounds in 13 games while playing 24.8 minutes per night. His shooting percentages are a bit low at .357 on field goals and .326 from three-point range, but he has been able to produce from the bench and has helped the team start the season 8-5.

Denver is still in a championship window with Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray, so getting solid production from Westbrook can take some pressure off of the major stars. He also only has a cap hit of $3.3 million for 2024-25, so he has some value there as well.

His shooting efficiency should go up, as he hasn't shot under .400 on field goals since his rookie season, so his contributions should continue to be strong. If he can stay healthy and remain in his current role, he could have a solid shot at earning his first career NBA title with this Denver team.

Denver Nuggets point guard Russell Westbrook was called for a technical foul after staring down a member of the Memphis Grizzlies following a layup during Tuesday's 122-110 League Cup win.

Russ was called for a tech after a stare down 👀 pic.twitter.com/vpnl64qCL2

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 20, 2024

Russell Westbrook got a tech for this staredown 😅 pic.twitter.com/30lHirFmAq

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 20, 2024

On Wednesday, the NBA announced that Westbrook's technical foul was rescinded.

Outside of that controversial—and since-reversed—technical foul, the night was also memorable for Westbrook after he became the first player in NBA history to record 200 career triple-doubles, posting 12 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in the win.

"It's a blessing," Westbrook told reporters about hitting that milestone. "I'm truly grateful to be able to play the game [well enough] to do that. But I'm also appreciative of the ones who came before me."

200 triple-doubles 👏

Russell Westbrook made history in the @nuggets’ West Group C win! Keep up with the #RaceForTheEmiratesNBACup with NBA League Pass!

➡️ https://t.co/rmlsIACily pic.twitter.com/uobPlzNgoN

— NBA (@NBA) November 20, 2024

"It's hard to put into words," Nuggets guard Julian Strawther added. "Two-hundred triple-doubles is a lot. I don't even know if I've got 200 career games."

In the NBA, at least, Strawther is only at 63 career contests.

Westbrook, 36, has largely come off the bench for the Nuggets this season as the backup point guard to Jamal Murray, averaging a solid 10.8 points, six assists and 4.8 rebounds across 24.6 minutes.

It's a role he's been asked to embrace later in his career after being a nine-time All-Star, two-time scoring champion and one-time MVP during his prime years. His willingness to do so in Denver has been a contributing factor to the team's solid 8-5 start, adding important depth.

The second unit was a concern heading into the season, especially after the free agency loss of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope pushed Christian Braun into the starting lineup. Westbrook hasn't solved all of those issues, but he continues to contribute at a solid level.

Future Hall of Famer Russell Westbrook added quite the accomplishment to his resume Tuesday.

The Denver Nuggets guard became the first player in NBA history to record 200 triple-doubles when he helped lead his team to a 122-110 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies with 12 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds off the bench.

RUSS BECOMES THE FIRST PLAYER IN NBA HISTORY WITH 2⃣0⃣0⃣ TRIPLE-DOUBLES pic.twitter.com/TCq0c6kNs8

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 20, 2024

It was his first triple-double of the season, as he is coming off the bench and playing a smaller role than he did during his peak earlier in his career. However, Denver needed his production Tuesday to snap a two-game losing streak as it deals with some inconsistency to start the season.

Triple-doubles have become a calling card for the guard, as he became the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double for an entire season during the 2016-17 campaign. That earned him league MVP, but he wasn't done as he averaged a triple-double during the 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2020-21 seasons as well.

His 200 triple-doubles are 19 ahead of Robertson's 181 and 62 ahead of Magic Johnson's 138.

Westbrook's own teammate may be the only threat to catch his 200 triple-doubles, as Nikola Jokić is fourth on the all-time list with 136. The three-time MVP is just 29 years old and a threat to post a triple-double every time he steps on the floor, so it wouldn't be shocking to see him threaten the 200 mark later in his career.

For now, though, Westbrook stands alone as the triple-double king.

His resume includes two scoring titles, three assist titles, nine All-NBA selections, nine All-Star nods and a spot on the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team. He is one of the most impactful guards of his generation, and his ability to impact the game in so many ways largely made him unstoppable for much of his career.

While he has taken a step back since his days of dominance on the Oklahoma City Thunder, he proved Tuesday he can still do what he is best known for on the floor.

The Denver Nuggets made a play for Luka Dončić in the 2018 NBA draft, according to longtime Nuggets insider Mike Singer.

Singer, who's now working for the team, divulged on the newest episode of Brian Windhorst's Hoop Collective podcast that Denver "had designs on pairing Nikola Jokić with Luka Dončić."

Per Singer, the Nuggets reached out to the Sacramento Kings, who had the No. 2 overall pick, about trading up and offered a package of Gary Harris and two first-round picks.

With the benefit of hindsight, Sacramento would've been better off taking that deal instead of doing what it actually did. Selecting Marvin Bagley III was one of the biggest draft whiffs in recent memory considering Dončić, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Trae Young were the next three players off the board.

Denver's offer was arguably less attractive than what the Mavericks gave up to get Dončić, though. The Atlanta Hawks got Trae Young and a protected first-rounder in 2019, which they used on Cam Reddish.

Harris has been a solid two-way guard across his 11 years in the league but clearly not the franchise cornerstone that Young quickly became in Atlanta. First-round picks from the Nuggets were of limited value at the time, too, because they had emerged as a playoff contender no longer picking in the lottery.

Singer said "we have a hell of a what-if" if Denver had been willing to include Jamal Murray in negotiations.

During the 2019 offseason, Singer reported the team was also resistant to overtures from the New Orleans Pelicans to give up Murray in an Anthony Davis swap.

The Nuggets won a title in 2023 with Murray playing a critical role in the postseason. That alone is enough to justify the faith the front office had in the dynamic guard.

Still, it's impossible not to ponder what the franchise could've achieved if Dončić had arrived right as Jokić was ascending to elite status.