Doesn’t this happen every summer?
The Denver Nuggets have once again been linked to free-agent forward Mike Miller, a 35-year-old sharpshooter who had his contract bought out by the Portland Trail Blazers Sunday, per Yahoo Sports’ Sham Chanaria.
ESPN’s Marc Stein then reported Monday morning that Denver had taken its interest to a new level.
Word is that the Nuggets have offered Mike Miller a one-year deal he can accept afrer clearing waivers this week
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 28, 2015
Now, this says nothing about whether Miller is legitimately interested, but it would be a helpful deal for the Nuggets if they can work it out.
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The veteran wouldn’t provide more than spot minutes in Denver (he averaged 2.1 points per game on 32.5 percent from the field with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014-15), but he deserves all the cliche compliments people give to older players with leadership skills: “savvy veteran”, “great locker-room presence”, “mentor” and the like. The Nuggets would love to have a guy of his caliber providing a positive influence for promising youngsters such as Emmanuel Mudiay, Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris.
However, it may be tough to lure him from a contending team. Miller has played each of his last five seasons with playoff squads, including two title-winning Miami Heat teams and last season’s Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers.
Miller’s original list after being traded to the Blazers this summer to be bought out, per ESPN 92.9’s John Martin, was heavily saturated with teams with a chance a playoff run.
Soon-to-be free agent Mike Miller has a working list of six, source tells @929espn: Memphis, OKC, Houston, Denver, Dallas, and Miami.
— John Martin (@JohnMartin929) July 27, 2015
Dallas and Denver are the only two teams here that shouldn’t be near to the top of their conference in 2015-16, so the Nuggets’ pitch to Miller will have to be something special.
Stay tuned to Nugg Love for more updates on the Nuggets’ pursuit of Miller.