The Denver Nuggets have signed F/C Chris Andersen, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.
Andersen, 6-10, 228, returns to the Nuggets, the team he began his NBA career with as the first-ever “call-up” from the NBA Development League in 2001. He averaged 4.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 1.31 bpg in three seasons with Denver from 2001-2004.
During the 2007-08 season, Andersen averaged 1.2 ppg and 1.8 rpg in five games for the New Orleans Hornets.
The six-year NBA veteran has posted career averages of 5.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg and 1.34 bpg in 258 appearances with Denver and New Orleans.

Guards J.R. Smith, a restricted free agent who played the last two seasons for the Denver Nuggets, and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City NBA), the No. 4 draft choice in the 2008 NBA Draft,will join the 2008 USA Basketball Select Team for the squad’s final day of training against the 2008 USA Men’s Senior National Team, USA Basketball announced today.
Previously announced members of the USA Basketball Select Team roster include: LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trail Blazers); Jerryd Bayless (Portland Trail Blazers); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City NBA); Jeff Green (Oklahoma City NBA); Luther Head (Houston Rockets); Al Horford (Atlanta Hawks); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers); Robin Lopez (Phoenix Suns); Kevin Love (Minnestoa Timberwolves); Kevin Martin (Sacramento Kings); O.J. Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls) and Rodney Stuckey (Detroit Pistons).
As was the case last summer, Oklahoma City head coach P.J. Carlesimo, who served as an assistant with the 1992 U.S. Olympic “Dream Team” and who has been a head or assistant coach of six other USA Basketball teams, is serving as head coach of the USA Select Team and assisting Carlesimo for a second straight summer is Toronto Raptors assistant coach Jay Triano.

The Los Angeles Clippers today acquired forward Marcus Camby from the Denver Nuggets. In return, Denver will have the option to exchange second round picks with the Clippers in 2010. As a result of the trade, the Nuggets receive a $10,000,000 trade exception, which can be used until one year from the completion of the trade. See the full report.
Super-quick, unedited, initial InsideHoops.com reaction: This is an interesting move for the Clippers. They already have Chris Kaman at center. Camby is up there in age, too and will be a free agent in a couple of seasons. Between Camby and Kaman, Camby is quicker if one has to guard power forwards, but he’d be out of position. They’ll sure be big up front, at least. Also, by taking Camby on this basically means the Clippers gave up on getting any of the league’s good restricted free agents, like Josh Smith, Andre Iguodala, Luol Deng and others. Which is surpising. You’d think they’d sign one of those guys to an offer sheet, even if the original team winds up matching the offer. Maybe the Clippers did their homework and found out that basically every good player was going to be matched by their original team.
On the plus side, this gives the Clippers a pretty damn good twin towers frontcourt. And Camby will be a free agent in a couple of seasons, so the team can maintain cap room if they want, or trade Camby when he’s an expiring contract.
So the core of the Clippers is now Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton, Kaman and Camby. Extremely exciting backcourt, huge guys up front, and Thornton.
As for the Nuggets, creating more cap space is always a good thing, but Camby was their main defender, rebounder and shot-blocker. They traded him away for cap relief. Again, he’s old, but still, it would have been nice to get something useful back for him. Apparently that wasn’t going to happen. The team must have felt that what they’ve have gotten back wasn’t any better than some additional salary flexiblity and that big exception.
InsideHoops readers are discussing the news here. Go there and post your opinion.

The Los Angeles Clippers today acquired forward Marcus Camby from the Denver Nuggets. In return, Denver will have the option to exchange second round picks with the Clippers in 2010. As a result of the trade, the Nuggets receive a $10,000,000 trade exception, which can be used until one year from the completion of the trade.
More info and a link to our initial reaction is here.

The Rocky Mountain News (Chris Tomasson) reports: “I cannot play in Denver because they question my drive to finish my career off strong and not embarrass my family,” Artest wrote Sunday night. “Any player wants to win a championship is low risk.” So what’s that all about? I can’t remember anybody on the Nuggets criticizing Artest. So Artest was sent another e-mail on Monday asking who on the Nuggets might have spoken ill of him. The e-mail also asked if his thinking means he won’t consider Denver when he becomes a free agent next summer. Artest’s answer wasn’t specific. But he’s definitely down on playing for the Nuggets.

The Rocky Mountain News (Aaron J. Lopez) reports: Not only was Eduardo Najera an ambassador in the community, but he was the true definition of a team player, something the Nuggets lack far too often. He was one of the team’s best pick-and-roll defenders and never worried about how many points he scored. Not that Najera was invisible on offense. He ran the court as well as any big man on the roster and became a dangerous three-point shooter — much to the delight of coach George Karl, who would love to have three Najeras on his bench every season.

The  National  Basketball  Association today announced  that  the  Salary  Cap  for  the  2008-09 season will be $58.680 million.   The  new  Cap  goes  into  effect  immediately  as  the league’s “moratorium  period”  has ended and teams can begin signing free agents and making trades.
The  tax level for the 2008-09 season has been set at $71.150 million.  Any team whose team salary exceeds that figure will pay a $1 tax for each $1 by which it exceeds $71.150 million.
The  mid-level  exception  is $5.585 million for the 2008-09 season and the minimum  team  salary,  which  is  set at 75% of the Salary Cap, is $44.010 million.
For  the 2007-08 season, the Salary Cap was set at $55.630 million, the tax level was $67.865 million and the mid-level exception was $5.356 million.

The Denver Post (Benjamin Hochman) reports on Carmelo Anthony: As for his “we quit” comment after a playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers: “I didn’t think there was anything wrong with me saying that. I didn’t call anybody out. I said we all quit. Myself quit also. As a team, as an organization, we quit. (Being politically correct), that’s not always right, either.” …  Melo on the Boston Celtics’ NBA championship: “They had to come together and get theirs as a group. I don’t think I can win one by myself. There’s no way I can win one by myself. They came together as a group. I’ve only got five years in the NBA and I’m only 24 years old. Hopefully, I have at least 11 more years. People act like I’m 30, and I just turned 24.” …  Melo on his offensive success for Team USA: “It ain’t easy! It looks easy. But when I’m on the court with Jason Kidd, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, somebody’s got to be open.”

The Denver Nuggets have made a qualifying offer to restricted free agent J.R. Smith, Nuggets Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today. Per team policy, terms of the offer were not released.
In accordance with the league’s collective bargaining agreement, in order for a team to retain its right of first refusal with respect to a restricted free agent, the team must tender the player a qualifying offer prior to June 30. A restricted free agent may sign an offer sheet with any team, but is subject to a right of first refusal with the team for which the player last played.
Smith, 6-6, 220, has averaged 12.6 ppg while shooting .396 (306-772) from three-point range in his two seasons with the Nuggets since being acquired in a trade with Chicago on July 20, 2006. This past season, he averaged 12.3 ppg in 19.2 minutes in 74 regular season contests and 18.3 ppg in 27.0 minutes in four playoff games.

The Denver Nuggets have traded their first round draft pick (the 20th overall) in the 2008 NBA Draft to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for a future protected first round draft pick, Nuggets Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today.
The Nuggets now currently have no picks in tomorrow’s draft.
The Bobcats now own the ninth and 20th picks in the first round, along with the 38th overall pick in the second round. ESPN’s live coverage of the 2008 NBA Draft begins at 7:00 p.m. ET tomorrow.