Forward JaMychal Green has decided to run it back with the Denver Nuggets this season. After Declining his $7.5 million player option in late July, it was unclear if Green would be in a Nuggets uniform for the 2021-2022 season. Shams Charania of The Athletic now confirms that he will return on a 1 + 1 deal worth $17 million, with the second year being a player option.
Free agent forward JaMychal Green has agreed to a two-year, $17 million deal to return to the Denver Nuggets, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Deal includes player option in Year 2.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 2, 2021
Green securing an extra $1 million per year is no easy feat. Even though money has been flying around in the first few days of this NBA free agency, it’s always nice to see hard work paying off.
Grading the JaMychal Green Re-signing: Grade B
Shooting nearly 40% from deep this season and scoring 8.1 points per game, JaMychal Green provides depth at a position of need for the Nuggets; with Paul Millsap’s future still in the air, only Aaron Gordon and Jeff Green project to earn minutes in the rotation at JaMychal Green’s position. Last season, Green was a staple of Denver’s second unit.
The Nuggets had very limited cap space coming into the offseason. It now seems apparent that Paul Millsap will not be joining the roster for the upcoming season, re-signing JaMychal at a reasonable price was one of their only options. So it is pretty important that they could come to terms with Green early in free agency.
Playing roughly 20 minutes per game, I’d imagine those aforementioned scoring numbers will stay the same. Even though this isn’t a huge splash in the free-agent market, solidifying the roster with dependable contributors is always profitable.
The Nuggets also signed another Green in the last couple of days. Coming from the Brooklyn Nets, Jeff Green will be joining the squad. The addition of Jeff could see a drop in JaMychal’s minutes if they decide to play Jeff at the power forward slot. The Net’s split Jeff Green’s minutes between the power forward and center position quite frequently last season, and a small ball lineup with JaMychal at the four and Jeff at the five could be a very effective second unit.