NBA Rumors: Denver Nuggets Add Two Players, D-League MVP Jarnell Stokes Among Five Players Competing For Final Roster Spot
The Denver Nuggets have one open roster spot and are seemingly adding more competition to the mix each week. The Nuggets just added two more players, Robbie Hummel and Jarnell Stokes, to their training camp roster the last couple of days,.
Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post reports that the Nuggets officially inked Stokes to a non-guaranteed contract on September 5. With Stokes in tow, Denver has reached the 20-player limit that teams are allowed to carry into training camp.
Stokes has moved around the league a considerable amount since being selected with the No. 35 overall pick in the 2014 draft by the Utah Jazz. The 22-year-old was traded by the Jazz to the Memphis Grizzlies on draft day. He spent all of the 2014-15 campaign with the Grizzlies organization between the D-League and the big league club.
Stokes started this past season with Memphis but was dealt to the Miami Heat along with Beno Udrih in exchange for Mario Chambers and James Ennis on November 10. After spending part of the season between Miami and Sioux Falls, he was shipped to the New Orleans Pelicans for a conditional 2018 second-round selection on February 18. The Pelicans waived the six-foot-nine power forward the next day.
On February 27, Stokes re-joined Sioux Falls. He helped the SkyForce to a D-League best-40 win regular season mark, and was named the league’s MVP after posting 20.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game in 28 appearances. Stokes led the D-League in field goal percentage (66.5 percentage) and player efficiency rating (28.7).
Stokes has appeared in 26 NBA games for his career, compiling 2.5 points and 1.5 caroms while shooting 57.1 percent from the field.
Stokes’ signing comes a day after the Nuggets agreed to terms with Robbie Hummel. According to NBC Sports, Hummel’s pact is for two-years and is partially guaranteed.
Hummel spent last season in Italy after playing two years with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2013-14 and 2014-15. The 26-year-old has appeared in 98 NBA games for his career, which includes nine starts, totaling 3.9 points and 2.7 boards while shooting 41.8 percent from the field as well as 34.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Jakarr Sampson, D.J. Kennedy and Axel Toupane are the other players battling for the final roster spot.
Sampson joined the Nuggets late last season after being waived by the Philadelphia 76ers. The six-foot-nine forward averaged 5.2 points and 2.3 boards in 26 games, including 22 starts, for Denver. He averages 5.2 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 23.7 percent from the three-point line in 147 games over two years. Sampson is slated to make $980,431 this season, but his salary does not become fully guaranteed on January 10.
Kennedy signed a three-year partially guaranteed deal in early August after spending last season in Russia. The six-foot-six wing has two games of NBA experience, playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011-12. Kennedy is scheduled to make $874,636 this season with $50,000 guaranteed.
Toupane joined Denver in March last year, earning a 10-day contract after beginning the season with the Raptors 905. The six-foot-six Frenchman appeared in 21 games with the Nuggets in 2015-16, averaging 3.6 points and 1.5 rebounds over 14.5 minutes of action while shooting 35.7 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from long-distance. Toupane will make $874,634 this season, if he makes the team though the contract doesn’t become fully guaranteed until January 10.
Sampson likely has the best chance of the five players to make the team due to his NBA experience and versatility as he can guard four positions. Stokes has the most potential and is a better rebounder and scorer than Sampson. Hummel is the most natural scorer and best shooter of the bunch, but the big question is can he guard at the NBA level? Kennedy is an athletic scorer while Toupane is the most intriguing of the prospects due to the unknown potential.
[Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Images]
