The Denver Nuggets have been busy remaking their bench this summer -- and in the process, quietly said goodbye to a young forward with promise. PJ Hall has moved on to another team this offseason.
The work that the Nuggets have done this summer was substantial and loud. Rather than rest on their laurels, as they have done in recent offseasons, this summer was about change. Specifically, a number of players from last year's team were not retained, and most in very prominent ways.
Michael Porter Jr. was traded to the wasteland of the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson. Russell Westbrook opted out of his player option and yet had nowhere to go, continuing to languish on the open market. The disastrous contract given to Dario Saric was flipped to the Sacramento Kings for Jonas Valanciunas. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown signed on as added depth.
In the midst of all of those loud transactions, however, one went under the radar. One of the team's three two-way contracts last season went to former Clemson big man PJ Hall, a college teammate of Hunter Long and a versatile stretch big. He had the profile of someone who could really help the Nuggets if he could develop.
The jury is still very out on Hall just one year into his NBA career. He shot just 25 percent from 3-point range last season, but that came on just eight attempts from deep in his 66 minutes. He was efficient inside the arc, shooting 12-of-16 from 2-point range, and he pulled down 22 rebounds as his strength and positioning shone through even as an undrafted rookie.
There is still very real optimism for Hall's future, especially as he dominated in the G League with the Grand Rapids Gold. He averaged 19.2 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, had 59.7 true-shooting and held his own on both ends of the court. He shot 83.3 percent from the free-throw line, another underlying number that suggests there is room for his shot to develop. Stretch bigs often take multiple seasons to hit their stride. Hall may still be an NBA rotation player.
The Nuggets moved on from PJ Hall
If so, that will happen for another team, not the Denver Nuggets. They declined to bring him back on another two-way contract, instead going guard-heavy with their three slots. Hall stayed on his feet, however, putting together a strong Summer League performance and signing a two-way contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Nuggets-to-Grizzlies pipeline is alive and well after Denver moved on from Jay Huff and he blossomed into an NBA player in Memphis. Could the same happen for PJ Hall? It is hard to say, and Hall does have real limitations given his size at just 6'8". If anyone can help him develop into a long-term backup big, however, it's the Grizzlies.
With Denver focused on maximizing the prime of Nikola Jokic, they moved on from Hall very quickly. Whether they end up regretting that move is undecided, but his future will be written elsewhere. In the midst of moving on from some big-name players, they also called it quits with PJ Hall.