Ranking Denver Nuggets free agents by likelihood to return next season
By Ben Handler
No. 4 - Justin Holiday
As much as I would love to see the Nuggets retain Holiday after the great playoffs and season he just had, I’m not sure it’s realistic. Holiday may have played too well for his own good and I fear he’ll garner more than a minimum contract on the open market.
This reminds me of the Jeff Green situation from last offseason; things went well enough in Denver that other teams wanted to bid on Green’s services. It hasn’t been that dramatic with Holiday but he was one of the Nuggets’ most reliable bench players in the playoffs and it’s hard to imagine he won’t have suitors this summer.
Sadly, the Nuggets and their finances will be tied up trying to salvage other situations and plug different holes along the roster. Holiday won’t be a priority and as a result, he’ll probably be lost on the open market. It’s a shame and the loss will be felt, but the team simply can’t afford him without making some larger sacrifices.
Full disclosure: the top 4 on this list were all jumbled pretty closely together and I wouldn’t be shocked to see any of these guys gone OR back next season. I hope I’m wrong about Holiday and the team can figure something out; solid defending and shooting veteran wing players on cheap contracts don’t grow on trees.