Skip to content

Report: Mason Plumlee agrees to 3-year, $41M deal with Nuggets

Chris Humphreys / USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets are banking on the hope that one of the league's best passing frontcourts can mitigate one of its most uncertain outlooks at point guard.

Restricted free-agent center Mason Plumlee has reportedly agreed to a three-year, $41-million contract to remain with the Nuggets, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Plumlee was acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers on Feb. 13 in a deal for center Jusuf Nurkic and a first-round pick. The Nuggets tendered Plumlee a qualifying offer worth $4.6 million in June. That made the four-year pro a restricted free agent, and gave the team the right to match any offer sheet presented to him. Had Plumlee signed his below-market qualifying offer for 2017-18, he would have been an unrestricted free agent next July.

Plumlee will almost certainly come off the bench, providing significant depth behind the presumptive starters: potential breakout star Nikola Jokic and recently acquired four-time All-Star Paul Millsap. Kenneth Faried fills out the Nuggets' primary frontcourt rotation with a dose of athleticism.

Plumlee averaged 9.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in just 23.4 minutes per game after joining the Nuggets. With Plumlee's above-average passing ability, along with that of Jokic (4.9 assists per game in 2016-17) and Millsap (3.7 assists per game with the Hawks last season), the Nuggets will be able to maintain some ball movement while they figure out how to move forward at point guard.

With no improvement on his jump shot, former blue-chip point guard Emmanuel Mudiay's development stalled last season. The team found greater success in 2016-17 with Jamal Murray taking on a heavier burden, but the rookie appeared to be more of a score-first combo guard than a prototypical point guard. Jameer Nelson is 35. The trifecta of Jokic, Millsap, and Plumlee gives the Nuggets some time to decide which of their young guards is the best fit for their future.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox