Mason Plumlee secured the bag.
On Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the 27-year-old center and the Denver Nuggets agreed to a three-year, $41 million deal. That means Denver will owe Plumlee, whom it acquired at the trade deadline last season for Jusuf Nurkic, an average of $13.67 million per season through the 2019-2020 season.
That feels like a lot for a backup center, especially on the heels of big men such as Nerlens Noel (one-year, $4.1 million) and Nene (three-years, $11 million) inking cheap deals this summer.
Plumlee wound up playing 27 games in Denver last season. He averaged 9.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He's an excellent passer for a big man and should allow Denver to continue playing a similar style of free-flowing basketball when Nikola Jokic sits. Perhaps that was part of why Denver brought him back on such a big deal.
It will be interesting to see how much the Nuggets try to play Jokic and Plumlee alongside each other going forward. The two logged 175 minutes of floor time together last season. Denver posted a 0.9 net rating in those minutes, meaning it outscored opponents, but by a small margin.
Plumlee wrote on his personal website that he was "thrilled to a be a Denver Nugget" after the deal was announced.
"I am grateful that we got a deal done and excited for the challenge of the season to come," Plumlee wrote. "I meant what I said when I was traded here last year. This is an exciting, talented young team with a bunch of high character guys and I’ve always admired the loyalty and dedication of Nuggets fans. With some of the big additions this summer and another year of experience for the young guns, I believe this team can compete with anyone in the league."
The Nuggets' Oct. 18 regular-season opener is one month away.
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