Denver Nuggets – Page 12 – North Platte Post Archive

Former Nugget Billups tells Yahoo Sports He’s Retiring

Posted on September 10, 2014

DETROIT (AP) — Chauncey Billups tells Yahoo Sports he is retiring after 17 NBA seasons.

The 2004 NBA Finals MVP says his desire is still strong, but he can’t ignore the fact that he’s had a hard time staying healthy. The 37-year-old Billups has played only 61 games over the last three seasons.

Billups tells Yahoo on Tuesday: “It’s just time. I’m happy, excited. The game was very, very good to me.”

Billups played this past season for the Detroit Pistons after returning to the team he led to the 2004 title. He was the third pick in the 1997 draft by the Boston Celtics. He also played for Toronto, Denver, Minnesota, New York and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Nuggets Sign G Erick Green

Posted on August 1, 2014

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets signed guard Erick Green to a deal on Friday.

Green was the 46th overall pick in the 2013 draft and spent last season playing for Montepaschi Siena of the Italian League, where he averaged 11.3 points and 1.2 assists.

The 6-foot-4 Green led the NCAA in scoring his senior season at Virginia Tech.

On Thursday, Denver reached deals with first-round picks Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris.

Nuggets Sign 1st-Round Picks Nurkic, Harris

Posted on July 31, 2014

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets reached deals with first-round picks Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris on Thursday.

The team picked up the rights to both players in a draft-night trade with Chicago that sent high-scoring Creighton forward Doug McDermott to the Bulls along with forward Anthony Randolph, who was later dealt to Orlando.

The 7-foot Nurkic was the 16th overall pick in the draft. He averaged nearly 12 points and six rebounds for Cedevita Zagreb last season in the Adriatic League.

Harris was taken at No. 19. He averaged 16.7 points and 2.7 assists last season for Michigan State.

The 19-year-old shooting guard had a solid summer league for the Nuggets, leading the team with an 18.6 scoring average.

Nuggets Banking on Big Year from Arron Afflalo

Posted on June 30, 2014

DENVER (AP) — Arron Afflalo is looking forward to his return to the Denver Nuggets after being acquired from Orlando in a draft-day deal last week.

The 28-year-old shooting guard is coming off a season with the Magic during which he averaged a career-high 18.2 points.

In some ways, Afflalo feels like he never really left the Nuggets as he always kept close tabs on his former team.

And yet plenty has changed in his two-year absence. Namely, George Karl being replaced as coach by Brian Shaw. Afflalo is ready to take on whatever role Shaw has for him, whether it’s as a scorer or being Afflalo the leader.

Afflalo said his responsibility is to “make sure I’m capable of getting that job done. I have no problem doing whatever coach asks of me.”

Nuggets Use 16th Pick from Chicago to Take Nurkic, Chicago’s 19th to Take Harris

Posted on June 26, 2014June 26, 2014

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets used the 16th pick they received from Chicago in a draft-day deal to select Bosnian center Jusuf Nurkic.

The Nuggets gave the draft rights to Doug McDermott, whom they selected at No. 11, to the Bulls for the right to select the 6-foot-11 Nurkic and the 19th pick.

Nurkic has been playing for Cedevita Zagreb in the Croatian League. He averaged 11.2 points and six rebounds. The 19-year-old didn’t start playing basketball until he was 14.

The Denver Nuggets used the 19th pick acquired from the Chicago Bulls in a draft-day deal to get Michigan State guard Gary Harris.

The 6-foot-4 Harris was high on the Nuggets’ list and rather surprisingly slipped to No. 19. He averaged 16.7 points and 2.7 assists last season for the Spartans.

Denver acquired shooting guard Arron Afflalo earlier in the day from Orlando for guard Evan Fournier and the No. 56 pick in the draft.

The Denver Nuggets have taken Serbian forward Nikola Jokic (Knee-coe-lah yo-kitch) with the 41st pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night.

It’s the second international player the Nuggets have selected.

The 6-foot-10 Jokic played for Mega Vizura Belgrade in Serbia in 2013-14, averaging 11.4 points and 6.4 rebounds.

He also helped the Serbians capture a silver medal at the 2013 under-19 world championships.

Denver has had a busy draft day, trading the draft rights to Doug McDermott — along with Anthony Randolph — to the Chicago Bulls for two first-rounds picks, which they used to select Nurkic and Michigan State guard Gary Harris at No. 19.

AP Source: Bulls Deal Picks for Doug McDermott

Posted on June 26, 2014

DENVER (AP) — A person with knowledge of the situation says the Chicago Bulls have traded the 16th and 19th picks to the Denver Nuggets for the draft rights to Creighton small forward Doug McDermott.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the deal has yet to be announced.

Denver selected McDermott with the 11th pick.

McDermott led the nation in scoring last season with a 26.7 average while shooting 52.6 percent from the field, including 44.9 percent from 3-point range. He finished his college career as basketball’s fifth-leading scorer.

Earlier in the day, the Nuggets were reunited with Arron Afflalo, picking up the veteran guard from Orlando for guard Evan Fournier and the No. 56 pick.

AP Source: Nuggets Acquire Afflalo from Magic

Posted on June 26, 2014

DENVER (AP) — A person with knowledge of the situation says the Denver Nuggets have acquired guard Arron Afflalo from the Orlando Magic for point guard Evan Fournier and the No. 56 pick in the draft.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the deal has yet to be announced.

Afflalo played for the Nuggets for three seasons before being dealt to Orlando on Aug. 10, 2012. He averaged 18 points for the Magic last season.

Fournier is an up-and-coming guard whose minutes increased late in the season after Andre Miller was traded and Nate Robinson went out with a knee injury. Fournier averaged 8.4 points and 1.5 assists in 2013-14.

The 21-year-old Fournier was taken 20th overall in 2011.

The deal was first reported by Yahoo! Sports.

Arthur, Robinson Exercise Player Options

Posted on June 23, 2014June 23, 2014

DENVER (AP) — Nuggets forward Darrell Arthur and point guard Nate Robinson have exercised their contract options for the upcoming season.

Denver general manager Tim Connelly announced the news Monday.

Arthur averaged nearly six points a game for Denver last season and knocked down a career-high 24 3-pointers. The Nuggets picked him up in a draft-night trade last June.

Robinson scored 10.4 points and dished out 2.5 assists last year for the Nuggets before a knee injury on Jan. 29 ended his season. In his career, the diminutive point guard has also played for Chicago, Golden State, Oklahoma City, Boston and New York.

Crawford’s 41 Points Leads Warriors over Nuggets

Posted on April 17, 2014

DENVER (AP) — Jordan Crawford scored a career-high 41 points and Harrison Barnes added 30 as a squad of Golden State backups beat the Denver Nuggets 116-112 Wednesday night.

Crawford beat his previous career high of 39 points set against Miami on March, 30, 2011, when he was with Washington. He surpassed it with a runner that put the Warriors ahead for good at 110-108.

Randy Foye, who led Denver with 32 points, raced downcourt in response but his finger-roll rimmed out and Golden State corralled the rebound.

With 30 seconds left, Barnes sank a free throw and Draymond Green swooped in to tip in his errant second shot, giving the Warriors a 113-108 lead.

Crawford and Steve Blake each missed a free throw over the next 14 seconds, giving the Nuggets an opening. Green was whistled for goal-tending on Foye’s 3-pointer with seven seconds left but the call was overturned upon review, leaving the Nuggets trailing 115-112.

Clippers Beat Nuggets 117-105 for Record 57th Win

Posted on April 16, 2014

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Blake Griffin scored 24 points while picking up his 16th technical, and the Los Angeles Clippers led all the way in beating the Denver Nuggets 117-105 on Tuesday night for their franchise-record 57th victory of the season.

Chris Paul had 21 points and 10 assists, and J.J. Redick added 18 points in the Clippers’ finale at home, where they went 34-7 for another franchise mark. DeAndre Jordan had 13 points and 16 rebounds.

The win kept the Clippers in the hunt for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They would need to win at Portland and Oklahoma City would need to lose to Detroit on Wednesday night for the Clippers to claim the second spot. Otherwise, they will remain the third seed.

Los Angeles will have to get by without Griffin on the road since his 16th tech triggered a league-mandated one-game suspension.