Joe Straface

Earlier this week Nuggets two-way guard Collin Gillespie suffered a lower left leg fracture. Gillespie underwent surgery last night in Philadelphia, PA to repair the fracture. He will be out indefinitely and updates will be provided when necessary.

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Collin Gillespie Medical Update

Kroenke Sports Charities hosted a luncheon on Thursday afternoon to celebrate its Signature Community Partner grantees

Thursday afternoon was all about gratitude as Kroenke Sports Charities hosted its Signature Community Partner grantees for a luncheon to celebrate the partnership and initiatives that better the Denver community.&nbsp;

The grantees in attendance that receive annual funding from Kroenke Sports Charities were the Colorado Adaptive Sports Foundation, the Denver Police Foundation, the Denver Public Schools Athletics, the Gold Crown Foundation, Playworks Colorado, Special Olympics Colorado Unified Schools Program and Young Americans Center for Financial Education.&nbsp;

Thursday afternoon’s luncheon marked the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic struck back in March 2020, that an in-person event was able to take place. As a result, there was an abundance of smiles and overwhelming mutual appreciation from the grantees and members of the Kroenke Sports Charities and Community Relations department, including Deb Dowling, the Vice President of Community Relations of Kroenke Sports &amp; Entertainment.&nbsp;

As grantees arrived at the lunch and caught up with representatives from each foundation, Dowling remarked on the importance of the first in-person reunion for the grantees and Kroenke Sports Charities since the pandemic as it served as an opportunity for not just mingling, but for meaningful connection into how these important local foundations can continue their respective tremendous work and intertwine with one another to continue their efforts into bettering the Denver community.&nbsp;

As the luncheon continued and grantees took their seats, each representative was presented by Dowling on behalf of Kroenke Sports Charities with a commemorative poster and an opportunity to share with the group what the additional funding has afforded their respective foundation to accomplish in the past year.&nbsp;

For the Colorado Adaptive Sports Foundation –&nbsp;which strives to bolster independence, improve self-confidence, elevate social interaction and heighten one's quality of life by providing financial and organizational support, so that people of all ages with physical disabilities have the opportunity to participate in organized sports programs and has been a partner with Kroenke Sports Charities since 1995 – they provided updates on their successful programs; Colorado Avalanche Sled Hockey, Rolling Nuggets, Colorado Rolling Mammoth and Rapids Power Soccer, which utilize their funding to reserve time slots on the ice, field and court.&nbsp;

They also celebrated the accomplishment this past April as the Avalanche Adult Sled Hockey team were crowned national champions. Dowling provided an update that Kroenke Sports Charities would be supplying the Rolling Nuggets with new uniforms for the upcoming season.&nbsp;

For the Denver Police Foundation, they shared the importance of utilizing their funding for their Back to School Backpack Distribution, which aims to bridge the gap between the community and the Denver Police Department by supporting those communities most in need. Their grant allowed them to provide nearly 10k students in low income, high crime areas of Denver with a backpack filled with school supplies.&nbsp;

For the Denver Public Schools (DPS) Athletics – which has shared a partnership with Kroenke Sports Charities since 1997 –&nbsp;their grant as allowed them to implement organized after-school activities in 33 schools, reaching 6,600 students with the opportunity to participate in 17 sports throughout the school year and summer.

Impressively, they also celebrated the accomplishment of Denver East High School hockey team’s historic run as they not just won the 5A Colorado State Championship, but also claimed the 2022 Chipotle-USA Hockey High School National Championship title and were proud to confirm that 18-of-23 players on that victorious roster started their hockey careers with an introduction via floorball – one of the programs offered by the grant for DPS – at school.&nbsp;

For the Gold Crown Foundation –&nbsp;which provides a variety of programs built on the principles of participation, sportsmanship, and community –&nbsp;they were proud to share how their news location of their Enrichment Program located in Edgewater provides free, after-school programs for youth ages 12-18 with a focus on interest-based learning and emphasis on teaching technology through exploration, creativity, and self-expression.

For Playworks Colorado, they were able to continue implementing their mission to help elementary school children stay active and build valuable social and emotional skills through play and build a culture of play that enables kids to feel a real sense of belonging.&nbsp;

For the Special Olympics Colorado Unified Schools Program, they’re able to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendships with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.&nbsp;

And for the Young Americans Center for Financial Education, funding from Kroenke Sports Charities enables their foundation to further its mission of developing the financial literacy of young people through real-life experiences and hands-on programs purposefully designed to enable them to prosper in our free enterprise system. Their Young AmeriTowne is a unique program that introduces young people between the ages of 10 to 12 to the free enterprise system through, experiential learning platform and instills crucial financial skills and workplace readiness aptitudes in 5th graders.&nbsp;

The funding from Kroenke Sports Charities supports the sports venue in Young AmeriTowne, which allows students to understand the importance of budgeting for entertainment.&nbsp;

While each respective foundation was recognized and celebrated for the immense and positive impacts, they each create towards their individual missions, they also all celebrated their joint efforts to better the Denver community and how they’re able to expand that reach with the support from Kroenke Sports Charities in its mission “to improve lives through the spirit and power of sports.”

For more information on Kroenke Sports Charities and how to get involved or donate, please click here.

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Kroenke Sports Charities Celebrates Signature Community Partner Grantees

DENVER, July 19, 2022 – The Denver Nuggets have signed forward Jack White to a two-way contract, General Manager Calvin Booth announced today.

White, 6-7, 222, appeared in five games (one start) for the Nuggets 2022 Las Vegas Summer League entry, averaging 7.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks on 69.6% shooting in 17.1 minutes per game.

The Canberra, Australia native went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft after spending four years at Duke University where he appeared in 103 games (10 starts) and averaged 2.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game. The 24-year-old has also played three seasons professionally in the Australian NBL league, appearing in two games for Cairns in 2015-16 and playing for Melbourne United from 2020-22 following his time at Duke. Most recently White appeared in 26 games (23 starts) for Melbourne, averaging 9.4 points and 6.9 rebounds in 23.4 minutes per game.

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Nuggets Sign Jack White to Two-Way Contract

DENVER, July 17, 2022 –&nbsp;The Denver Nuggets have signed guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a multi-year contract extension, General Manager Calvin Booth announced today.

Caldwell-Pope, 29, was recently acquired by Denver via trade from Washington. He appeared in 77 games (all starts) for the Wizards last season, averaging 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.10 steals per game on 39.0% shooting from three and 89.0% from the charity stripe in 30.2 minutes per game. In four of the past five seasons, the sharpshooting guard has shot 38%-or-better from beyond the arc while ranking in the top 10 in catch and shoot three-point percentage over the past two seasons (41.0%) and in the top 10 on open three-pointers last season (44.8%).&nbsp; &nbsp;

Caldwell-Pope has appeared in 683 career games (541 starts) for Detroit, L.A. Lakers, and Washington, owning career averages of 11.6 points, 3.1 rebounds 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 42.1% from the field and 36.0% from three in 29.2 minutes per game. Caldwell-Pope was an integral part to the Lakers championship run in 2020, starting all 21 playoff games and averaging 10.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 29.0 minutes per game. The nine-year NBA veteran was originally selected with the eighth overall selection in the 2013 NBA Draft by Detroit after spending two seasons at the University of Georgia.

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Nuggets Sign Caldwell-Pope to Contract Extension

Denver, July 12, 2022 – The Denver Nuggets have signed center DeAndre Jordan to a contract, General Manager Calvin Booth announced today.

Jordan, 6-11, 265, appeared in 48 games (20 starts) for the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers last season, averaging 4.3 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 64.3% from the field in 13.0 minutes per game. He also played in three playoff games for the Sixers (two starts), averaging 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 10.3 minutes.

The 14-year NBA veteran has appeared in 980 career games (776 starts) for the Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas, New York, Brooklyn, Los Angeles Lakers, and Philadelphia. He holds career averages of 9.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 assists in 26.7 minutes per game. Jordan has been named All-NBA First Team once (2015-16) and All-NBA Third Team twice (2014-15, 2015-16) while being named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team twice (2014-15, 2015-16). He earned an All-Star selection as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers in 2017 as well.

The 33-year-old native of Houston, TX was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers with the 35th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft after playing one season at Texas A&amp;M.

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Denver Nuggets Sign DeAndre Jordan

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2022-23 Denver Nuggets Dancers Auditions

LAS VEGAS — As Nuggets Summer league coach Ryan Bowen put it, Peyton Watson was no worse for the wear after a first game in which he wished he played better.&nbsp;

Watson never lost bounce in his step. He simply insisted to Bowen that he’d elevate his performance in the next game.&nbsp;

Sunday, Watson did that and then some.&nbsp;

Watson played with plenty of bounce and with mounds of energy. He was the driving force behind the Nuggets’ 84-76 win over Cleveland at Cox Pavilion, scoring 19 points with seven rebounds.

“I came in wanting to win,” Watson said. “Definitely wanted to get my game going with rebounding and being in the mix, and my defense.”&nbsp;

Watson was active early. He crashed the offensive glass. He finished around the rim with ferocity on a few big dunks. He dove on the floor to secure 50-50 basketballs. On defense, he stayed in front of ball handlers and snagged two steals. Watson also had a blocked shot.&nbsp;

“He was terrific,” Bowen said. “I ran the first play (of the game) for him, and he made a nice play for a dunk and that kind of got things going. He’s a competitor. He wants to go out and play…it was just a lot of fun.”

For a while in the third quarter it looked as if the Nuggets would run away with the victory. They built a 12-point lead before Cleveland clawed its way back. But the Nuggets never relinquished the advantage, leading the entire second half and pulling away in the final minutes.&nbsp;

Defensively, they held Cleveland to 42 percent shooting and just 27 percent from the 3-point line. They outrebounded the Cavaliers 55-41, and that was due in large part to forward Jack White, who had a monster game on the boards, grabbing a game-high 15.&nbsp;

Scoring-wise, Collin Gillespie added 17 points, and the Nuggets got 10 points apiece from Christian Braun and Ismael Kamagate. &nbsp;

The Nuggets now get two days off before returning to action on Wednesday against the L.A. Clippers.

KAMAGATE IMPRESSES.&nbsp;Rookie center Ismael Kamagate has proven to be a quick study. He’s only practiced twice, but is improving by leaps and bounds each game. Sunday, he made 5-of-6 shots to finish with 10 points and nine rebounds. He attacked the offensive glass, grabbing five offensive boards. Defensively, he made his presence felt with two blocks. But it is his ability to continue to play well despite minimal practice time that has been most impressive.&nbsp;

GILLESPIE’S AGGRESSIVENESS.&nbsp;After the first game, Collin Gillespie said he wanted to be a more aggressive scorer. On Sunday, he was exactly that. Gillespie took 17 shots, 10 of them from the 3-point line (making four), and finished with 17 points. He hit a couple of threes late in the fourth quarter to help put the game away. And he filled the stat sheet with seven rebounds and six assists as well.&nbsp;

“He’s a gamer,” Nuggets summer league coach Ryan Bowen said. “It’s great to have a point guard like that, that’s so experienced and can kind of manipulate the game the way he wants to.”

MPJ GIVES GOOD NEWS.&nbsp;Michael Porter Jr. has been a fixture at the first two summer league games in support of his brother, Jontay — and it looks like he’s ready to be a fixture back in the Nuggets’ lineup next season. Asked how he was feeling, he beamed.&nbsp;

“I’m doing really well,” he said. “I’m feeling good. I just continue to give all the glory to God. I’m feeling great. I’m able to workout as much as I want. No pain or anything. I’m in a really good spot. I’m excited to get back with the team…just feeling good and I’m happy.”

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Watson Shines as Nuggets Beat Cleveland

LAS VEGAS — Though the result of the first game wasn’t what they had hoped, on Saturday Nuggets summer league coach Ryan Bowen reminded the team that there were still plenty of positives.&nbsp;

He leaned into those as they also corrected mistakes in advance of their second summer league game against Cleveland, 5 p.m. today at Cox Pavilion.

“We did some good things,” Bowen said. “Just to let them know how close we were to winning that game.”&nbsp;

The Nuggets went through a light practice session on Saturday. The top priorities to be corrected were turnovers — they had 17 in the loss to Minnesota — and defensive coverages. After the Nuggets cut a 14-point lead down to one with 1:18 left in the game against the Timberwolves, Minnesota outscored them 8-2 to seal the win, going 3-for-3 from the field in the process.&nbsp;

Cleveland enters the game having won its first contest, 99-90 over the San Antonio Spurs. Nuggets first-round pick Christian Braun will face his former Kansas Jayhawks teammate, Ochai Agbaji. Agbaji had 16 points and made four 3-pointers in the victory over San Antonio.&nbsp;

Today’s game is another opportunity for growth for Braun and all of the Nuggets draft picks. Each had areas in which they displayed a lot of promise for the future, and they’ll look to build on that foundation.&nbsp;

“It’s definitely more about development and growing,” Bowen said. “Obviously, we all want to win, but at the end of the day that’s more important.”

Meanwhile, the team got a boost from the presence of some of the veterans on the roster. Jamal Murray, Zeke Nnaji, Davon Reed, and Bones Hyland were all in attendance at Saturday’s practice and did some scrimmaging with the summer league players. 

“It was great, obviously, to have our guys here,” Bowen said.&nbsp;

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Nuggets Back in Action Against Cleveland

Presented by

Western Union

Come out to the Denver Nuggets 2022-23 Draft Party Thursday, June 23rd @ 6:00 p.m. at Tom's Watch Bar, presented by Miller Lite! 

Watch your Denver Nuggets make their pick, win team signed gear, and meet Super Mascot Rocky! For more information <a href="https://www.nba.com/nuggets/watch-parties">Click Here</a>