Reggie Jackson (7) of the Denver Nuggets takes a break against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second quarter at Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday, May 4, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
The Nuggets traded backup point guard Reggie Jackson and three future second-round picks to the Charlotte Hornets for cash on Thursday, part of a move that allows Denver to ease the salary cap ahead of free agency. NBA, a league source told the Denver Post.
Denver sent its 2025, 2029 and 2030 second-round picks as part of the trade.
Earlier this week, Jackson was awarded a $5.25 million player option to return for the 2024-25 season. The Nuggets originally signed him in February 2023 after Jackson reached a buyout agreement with Charlotte, where he had just been traded by the Clippers. The Nuggets then re-signed Jackson to a two-year deal last summer.
After trading three more second-round picks to Phoenix on Wednesday to move up to the first round of the 2024 draft for DaRon Holmes II, Denver’s only remaining future draft pick available for trade is a 2031 first-round pick.
Jackson, 34, played in every regular-season and playoff game in 2023-24, averaging 10.2 points and 3.8 assists. He shot 43.1 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from three, both of which dropped off after a stellar first two months of the season when Jamal Murray was injured. Before his struggles and ultimately limited minutes in the playoffs, Jackson’s finest moment in a Nuggets uniform came last November, when he and DeAndre Jordan led a short-handed team to an improbable victory over the Clippers. Jackson had 35 points and 13 assists in the win while Nikola Jokic and Murray were both out.
The Palmer High School alum won his first career NBA championship as a reserve for his hometown team in 2023. He has been in the league for 13 years, appearing in games for four teams.
Factoring in the Jackson trade, the addition of Holmes with the 22nd pick, the removal of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the likely upcoming one-year minimum contract for Vlatko Cancar, the Nuggets will have 12 roster spots filled with a payroll of about $172 million.
That’s just above the luxury tax threshold for 2024-25, putting Denver below the first tax apron and about $18 million below the second apron with free agency approaching. The Jackson trade in particular will provide some flexibility in Denver’s attempt to re-sign Caldwell-Pope, but perhaps more notably, it will also provide more cap space to sign other players if the Nuggets lose KCP.
Clemson and Creighton stars sign two-way contracts
The Nuggets also signed Creighton’s Trey Alexander and Clemson’s PJ Hall to two-way contracts on Thursday, a source told The Post. They are left with a two-way position.
Hall was a projected second-round pick who went undrafted after averaging 18.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game last season. The 2.03 power forward led Clemson to the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA Tournament and will now reunite with former college teammate Hunter Tyson, who the Nuggets drafted last year. Hall was No. 45 on The Athletic’s draft board.
Alexander led Creighton to the Elite Eight the year before, with a stint at Ball Arena along the way. In his third and final college season, the 1.93m guard averaged 17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He was number 44 in The Athletic’s rankings.
News Source : www.denverpost.com
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