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Report: Teams offered 1st-round picks for Nuggets' Barton

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Will Barton's breakout 2015-16 campaign with the Denver Nuggets had opposing teams clamoring to acquire him over the offseason.

Working under an extremely reasonable three-year, $10-million contract he signed with the franchise last summer, teams were willing to send Denver a first-round draft pick to land him in a trade, according to the Denver Post's Chris Dempsey.

Barton finished fourth in NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting with 15 first-place votes after averaging 14.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists on 43.2 percent shooting in a full 82-game slate.

He's aware heading into the upcoming season that he will no longer be able to fly under the radar and catch people off guard with his play. Barton has established himself in the Mile High City, and he's ready for the challenges that lie ahead.

"People know I can play," Barton told Dempsey. "They won’t be surprised."

“I evaluate myself before I start touching a basketball in the summer. "I break down all of my film, looking at all of my offensive clips, all of my defensive clips, really trying to dissect what I can improve and things I did wrong, come up with a game plan and then attack the summer."

Denver is currently in the midst of a three-year postseason drought, finishing with a 33-49 record for 11th place in the Western Conference last season. Most of the team's core talent is under the age of 25, but even with their lack of experience, Barton is confident the Nuggets are well on their way to making some noise.

"We can be good," he added. "We’ve got some good individual talent, some good pieces. Now it’s all about meshing, coming together and finding the right way to play for each other."

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