The nuggets now have 3 players (Porter, Vanderbilt, IT) on their 15-man roster with injury concerns. Monte will probably be called upon, but it has to be hard not to be rewarded after the year that he has had. From Denver's side, it is probably a good deal to see if you luck out with IT for the minimum. They can probably eat his contract and sign Morris mid-season if it doesn't work out.
NBA: Monte Morris - Summer and the I. Thomas signing
- Thread starter I-stateTheTruth
- Start date
Denver front office got them back to 15 players by offloading Faried and Darrell Arthur. They got them back under the luxury tax giving them another $8M this free agency, they only gave up a pick that will likely be in the late teens or early 20s and increased the backcourt depth adding Isaiah Thomas on only a 1 year deal.
To say this front office is bad is just false. They know what they are doing. Monte was already on contract with the team as a two-way player. They have an opening where they can use the $8 and make their team better. Monte will get a chance at some point and that could still be this year.
To say this front office is bad is just false. They know what they are doing. Monte was already on contract with the team as a two-way player. They have an opening where they can use the $8 and make their team better. Monte will get a chance at some point and that could still be this year.
The Nuggets' SB Nation site - Denver Stiffs - had a roundtable discussion on the ramifications of signing Isaiah Thomas (link here: https://www.denverstiffs.com/2018/7...-thomas-trading-kenneth-faried-darrell-arthur)
Here's what they say about MM:
When Will Monte Morris get his shot at a rotation spot now?
Mikash: Worst case scenario, the Nuggets play the long game with Morris. They didn’t just sign him to a two year two way deal for nothing. Monte can to go back to Rio Grande Valley or Sioux Falls or wherever and be ready for the call any time a guard gets hurt or if the IT experiment fails. Denver’s only bringing Thomas on for one year so next season when Morris is an RFA he can follow a similar path as Torrey Craig.
Blackburn: I think there’s still a shot for him to play. Denver will need two players to man the backcourt when the bench comes in, and if Morris looks better than Beasley, Denver may play him and Thomas at the same time. That being said, Morris is a long term play. Thomas is a low-risk short term play. If he doesn’t work out, Denver cuts Thomas, guarantees Morris’ contract for the rest of the year, and they likely go with that. If not, Morris likely plays frequently in the event of an injury but not much otherwise. That’s okay. He’s still in just his second season.
Vogt: Denver has created a roster spot via the Brooklyn trade but it remains unclear if that’s reserved for Monte. Even if Monte is left on his two-way deal, he could still play this season. Ideally Thomas stays healthy and provides that much needed pop off the bench. But what if he doesn’t? Morris will be called upon. Regardless of how it shakes out this season, the team seems to like him and it’s reasonable to assume he is still in their long term plans as a backup point guard.
Fiala: Yeah, I think so. He certainly deserves a spot after grinding it out in the G-League last year and impressing literally everyone in Summer League. I’m not sure of who else is out there that could take it.
Olson: Does it bore everyone when we all agree? Probably so. Morris could and SHOULD absolutely see more court time this year with the big-league club, and I fully expect him to push Thomas to earn that backup spot. The Nuggets should hope they push each other. I’d love to keep them both in the mix with the open spot. We needed more depth in the guard slots, anyway. Why not bring everything you can to bear?
Poley: IT’s 4 month timetable for recovery would have him being at full strength very soon. If that holds up, he should be firmly implanted as the main guard off the bench by game 1. Unfortunately for Monte, unless the floor completely falls out from under IT or Beasley, or a major injury to a guard, I don’t think he gets his first full NBA contract until next year.
Here's what they say about MM:
When Will Monte Morris get his shot at a rotation spot now?
Mikash: Worst case scenario, the Nuggets play the long game with Morris. They didn’t just sign him to a two year two way deal for nothing. Monte can to go back to Rio Grande Valley or Sioux Falls or wherever and be ready for the call any time a guard gets hurt or if the IT experiment fails. Denver’s only bringing Thomas on for one year so next season when Morris is an RFA he can follow a similar path as Torrey Craig.
Blackburn: I think there’s still a shot for him to play. Denver will need two players to man the backcourt when the bench comes in, and if Morris looks better than Beasley, Denver may play him and Thomas at the same time. That being said, Morris is a long term play. Thomas is a low-risk short term play. If he doesn’t work out, Denver cuts Thomas, guarantees Morris’ contract for the rest of the year, and they likely go with that. If not, Morris likely plays frequently in the event of an injury but not much otherwise. That’s okay. He’s still in just his second season.
Vogt: Denver has created a roster spot via the Brooklyn trade but it remains unclear if that’s reserved for Monte. Even if Monte is left on his two-way deal, he could still play this season. Ideally Thomas stays healthy and provides that much needed pop off the bench. But what if he doesn’t? Morris will be called upon. Regardless of how it shakes out this season, the team seems to like him and it’s reasonable to assume he is still in their long term plans as a backup point guard.
Fiala: Yeah, I think so. He certainly deserves a spot after grinding it out in the G-League last year and impressing literally everyone in Summer League. I’m not sure of who else is out there that could take it.
Olson: Does it bore everyone when we all agree? Probably so. Morris could and SHOULD absolutely see more court time this year with the big-league club, and I fully expect him to push Thomas to earn that backup spot. The Nuggets should hope they push each other. I’d love to keep them both in the mix with the open spot. We needed more depth in the guard slots, anyway. Why not bring everything you can to bear?
Poley: IT’s 4 month timetable for recovery would have him being at full strength very soon. If that holds up, he should be firmly implanted as the main guard off the bench by game 1. Unfortunately for Monte, unless the floor completely falls out from under IT or Beasley, or a major injury to a guard, I don’t think he gets his first full NBA contract until next year.
Whitehead's career sure seems to be moving in the wrong direction: His first year in the NBA, he started about a third of the Net's game and averaged 7+. His 2nd year, he spent most of the time in the G League and now he's about to be waived. I saw him play quite a bit in college and he never seemed like such a great pro prospect to my amateur eye.
Hopefully, that spot will go to Monte, who will be more productive with it
The Nuggets are on ESPNU now but Monte has not played in the 1st quarter. Nor have Lydon or Welsh so I suspect that they're taking a look at other players in this final game.
Monte, on NBA.com, is basically called Denver's best player in the SL (no discussion of his love life herein):
I'd love to say "Good for him!"
~ but worried about a nice kid like Monte dating a Kardashian wannabe, which holds out the possibility of derailing an NBA career before it even starts...... Just thinking out loud. Hope it ends well for him
Define nice
