Tim Hardaway Jr. is gone, and that puts the Denver Nuggets in the market for another shot-maker.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Miami Heat have agreed to a one-year, $6.5 million deal with the former Nuggets guard. Hardaway’s move gives Miami more spacing and experience around a new-and-improved core led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, while Denver now has to figure out how to replace a veteran who mattered off the bench last season.
Hardaway finished in the top three in Sixth Man of the Year voting this past season and averaged 13.5 points while shooting 40.7% from three. With the Nuggets’ cap situation limiting what they can do this summer, landing another veteran minimum gem like they did before would be a tall ask. Still, there are a few names on the market who could give Denver some of the same floor-spacing punch.
One option is Gary Trent Jr., whose season with the Bucks was a step back by his standards. He posted his lowest scoring average since his rookie year in 2019 at 8.1 points per game and shot 36.0% from deep, a tick below his career mark of 38.7%.
That dip could make him a buy-low target for Denver on a minimum deal. Before last season, he had been a productive rotation guard for five straight years, and at 28, there’s a case that a better offensive setting could help him bounce back.
Cameron Thomas brings a different kind of appeal. His 2024-25 season was messy, as he split time between the Bucks and Brooklyn Nets and appeared in just 42 combined games after behind-the-scenes drama around his fit on the roster and in the locker room.
But when he gets a chance, he scores. Thomas has career averages of nearly 15 points per game, and while his career three-point percentage sits at 34.0%, he has had multiple seasons above 36% from long range.
With his value lower than it has ever been after being cut by two teams last season, Denver could try to grab him on a minimum contract and see if he can grow into a sixth-man scoring role.
Then there’s Seth Curry, the most familiar pure shooter of the bunch. He played only 10 games for the Warriors last season because of injury issues, and he’ll be 36 next season, so durability is part of the conversation.
But the shot is still there. Curry has hit better than 45% from three in each of the past two seasons, and he led the league in three-point percentage in 2024-25 while taking more than 2.5 attempts per game.
If Denver wants a low-cost veteran who can space the floor and bring experience, he fits the bill as a possible end-of-rotation addition.
In Other News...
Nikola Jokic Just Put A Massive New Spotlight On Denver's Future
Nikola Jokics next contract decision is already casting a long shadow over Denver, even with the Nuggets still trying to map out their immediate future. NBA insider Mark Stein has reported that Jokic is unlikely to sign a max extension this summer, a development that keeps the situation fluid and makes every front office move around him feel a little more loaded than usual.
For the Nuggets, the real issue is not just what Jokic does next, but how the ripple effects shape the broader market around him. The Los Angeles Lakers are already being mentioned as a team that may need to preserve enough flexibility to chase him through a sign-and-trade next summer, which is the kind of backdrop that keeps Denver in the spotlight whether it wants the attention or not. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Suddenly Have One Wild Chance To Save This Offseason
LeBron James has reportedly told the Lakers he intends to play elsewhere for a 24th NBA season, and that alone has pushed Denver into a conversation it probably did not expect to have this summer. If the Nuggets are looking for one last swing to reshape an offseason that has not delivered much certainty, the idea of adding James at least gives them a path to chase, with a player whose next move is expected to be driven less by money than by fit, role and the chance to keep winning.
For Denver, the appeal is obvious on paper. Pairing James with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray would give the Nuggets another elite layer in a championship equation that already has plenty of weight, even if there is no direct connection between the sides and no sign James is leaning their way. The possibility is enough to linger, though, because the league's biggest names do not often reach the open market in a way that leaves even a long shot looking like a real offseason lifeline. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Suddenly Have A Real Threat To Lose Peyton Watson
Peyton Watson has become one of the more interesting pieces of Denvers offseason, and not just because the Nuggets view him as a restricted free agent worth keeping. The expectation around the league is that Denver will come prepared with a substantial offer for the young wing, a sign of how much the organization values his upside and two-way potential as it tries to keep its core intact.
Marc Stein reported that there is at least one outside angle to watch, with cap space potentially shifting if the Clippers make a major move of their own. Even so, Denver still holds the key advantage here in Watsons restricted status, which gives the Nuggets the ability to match an offer sheet and make themselves the clear favorite to keep him in the fold. [Read more 🡒]