The Nuggets were never players in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, but that doesn’t mean they won’t feel the fallout from his blockbuster trade to the Miami Heat. There have been some fears about whether or not Denver will be able to retain their sharp-shooting sixth man free agent, Tim Hardaway Jr., and on Sunday, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer revealed that the two names they keep hearing connected to Miami are Mike Conley and THJ.
And it makes perfect sense. After gutting their roster for Giannis, the Heat have a great defense, but limited financial flexibility, and a desperate need for shooting. Hardaway Jr. would help with that in a big way.
He came to Denver last summer on a veteran minimum deal and shot over 40% from three en route to a third-place finish for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award. Denver would love to retain him, but they have their own financial issues and won’t be able to offer more than another minimum.
Miami could likely get access to the taxpayer mid-level exception, which is almost $6 million in value, roughly double the minimum salary for Hardaway. Along with a raise, he’d get a more prominent role as he’d immediately be Miami’s best shooter and one of their featured offensive players, soaking up open looks off of Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
Losing Tim Hardaway Jr.’s shooting would be a brutal blow to Denver
But he’ll be badly missed in Denver. THJ was a home run of a signing and gave a huge boost to a team that was badly lacking three-point volume. With his looks and efficiency likely walking out the door, the Nuggets are going to be scrambling for a replacement, and there’s no way they’ll find one with a minimum contract to offer.
To make matters worse, the Nugegts may be forced to trade Cam Johnson this summer for cap relief, which would further weaken their shooting ability. Between the two, that’s over 11 long-range attempts per game, with both players hitting at an above 40% clip last season.
That’s going to be almost impossible to replace, and most of it is going to have to come internally. Jamal Murray led the team in attempts, but Hardaway and Johnson were right behind him in second and third. Peyton Watson is going to get a big payday and a bigger role; he is going to have to take and make far more threes.
Christian Braun must launch more, Aaron Gordon must launch more, and even Nikola Jokic needs to get up more attempts this season. Three-point volume has been a weakness that the team finally addressed last offseason. They can’t let it walk out the door so quickly with no backup plan.
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