Minutes after the report dropped that the Denver Nuggets would be bringing back Will Barton on a two-year deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic has reported that JaMychal Green would also be getting a two-year contract from the Nuggets to return:
Green’s second year is a player option in this report, as was his last contract with Denver. He opted out of the second year of that contract (which had been for $7.5 million) to make around an extra million dollars this year and get a guaranteed extra year if he chooses to pick up that option.
From Denver’s point of view, this doesn’t cost them much more than if he’d picked up his option and now they have the veteran forward back with the team and culture he is familiar with. Whether this affects Zeke Nnaji’s role for the coming year is unknown, but Green is a veteran in the locker room who knows how to play with this team, and with Jamal Murray likely out until after the All-Star Break, the Nuggets are looking for players who can steady the ship and make sure Jokic doesn’t have to do everything.
Green, a very team-oriented player who put up 8 points and nearly 5 rebounds in 19 minutes a game last year, helps with all of that. It will likely also keep Michael Porter Jr. playing a lot of small forward minutes, with Aaron Gordon and Nnaji also available for power forward minutes.
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