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Report: Greg Whittington to sign Two-Way contract with Nuggets

By Quenton S. Albertie

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - JANUARY 13: Greg Whittington of the Kings reacts during the round 15 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Sydney Kings at Vector Arena on January 13, 2017 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - JANUARY 13: Greg Whittington of the Kings reacts during the round 15 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Sydney Kings at Vector Arena on January 13, 2017 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images) /
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The Denver Nuggets are taking a flyer on talented forward Greg Whittington.

Per the Denver Post’s Mike Singer, the Denver Nuggets will fill their last Two-Way spot with 27-year-old forward Greg Whittington. Whittington, who went undrafted in 2015 after a troubled college career, has made stops in the NBA G League and played for multiple teams overseas.

The red flags for Whittington in the past were character concerns.

A highly-touted recruit out of Maryland, Whittington wasn’t a particularly hard worker, preferring leisure and the company of his friends over sacrificing his time to put in extra work at the gym. While at Georgetown, Whittington received an academic suspension as a freshman before being dismissed from the team in his junior year for unspecified reasons. Whittington then opted not to transfer to Rutgers, where he was originally supposed to enroll, for unspecified reasons.

However, despite his early troubles, Whittington managed to carve out quite a career while playing abroad.

Starting out with a training camp deal that saw him playing the 2015-16 preseason and Summer League with the Miami Heat, Whittington was named to the G League’s All-Rookie first team after a strong campaign with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

From there, Whittington continued to prove himself as a dynamic power forward, starting his international career with NBL’s Sidney Kings and helping them earn their best record in six seasons (13-15). After leaving Australia, he averaged 18.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 41.0% from 3-point range in 2018-19 while playing for Israel.

Last season, Whittington averaged 12.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 50.7% from 3-point range for Turkey’s Galatasaray.

Offensively, Whittington showed himself to be a fluid athlete capable of making plays off the dribble and scoring from all three levels. His body control and soft touch are perhaps his best skills, so while he brings to mind a certain ex-Nugget (cough cough, Jerami Grant), he could be even more dynamic offensively if he should get a chance to play during the regular season.

Defensively, Whittington has the length and athleticism to guard at least both forward spot. However, his hands, timing, ability to guard in space and to recover on the ball-handler is promising in terms of his potential as a plus-defender.

While the Nuggets could never see what Whittington looks like with the regular rotation, he’s a smart player to take a flyer on. If his focus is on basketball and he’s matured, he has the talent level of a rotation player.

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A team with limited financial resources, Denver made their most shrewd move since the Facundo Campazzo signing by bringing him in.