In what has been a dry offseason for the Denver Nuggets, they have finally made their first move by agreeing to sign their own free agent Will Barton to a three-year, $11 million deal, according to multiple reports.
As this becomes Denver’s first off-season signing, the Philadelphia 76ers remain the only team to not sign a free agent yet.
Barton, 24, was part of the Arron Afflalo deal before the trade deadline that sent Alonzo Gee and Afflalo to the Portland Trail Blazers for Barton, Victor Claver, and a future lottery protected first and second-round pick.
Once joining the injury-ridden Nuggets, Barton immediately saw a major increase in his minutes, going from 10 minutes a game to 24.4. Earning more minutes helped Barton showcase his skills and produce much more than he ever did for the Blazers.
In 28 games for Denver, he averaged 11.0 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 44.3 percent from the field. For his size, Barton is a terrific rebounder and has great strength to finish around the rim. He is a solid scorer and a very aggressive defensive player.
In Portland, Barton, the 40th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, was buried deep in the rotation behind Wesley Matthews and C.J. McCollum, but the potential was always there.
Upon arriving to Denver and seeing more minutes, Barton became more content and uttered the desire to re-sign with the team in the offseason.
With Barton on board, the Nuggets may have solidified their two guard position with Randy Foye and Gary Harris also filling out the roster.
There are still many question marks for the Nuggets, though. They have been in the mist of many rumors highlighting some of their key players in Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, and Kenneth Faried.
After selecting Emmanuel Mudiay with the seventh overall pick in 2015 NBA Draft, many believe there is a Lawson trade looming. It’s assumed that the Nuggets may also trade some of the other aforementioned players to begin a full-on rebuilding process.