The reason the Nuggets are not pursuing Paul George

Paul George’s name is all over the rumor mill today, but one team hasn’t been linked with him at all: the Denver Nuggets. If you’re wondering why, here is the confirmation from Darren Wolfson, a reporter on the Minnesota Timberwolves beat who also does ESPN radio work. This is from a Reddit AMA today:

In case you can’t read the Nuggets part, here’s what it says:

“NBA source just now on George: ‘George will leave anywhere to go to L.A. Denver had a deal for him at the All_Star break and that ended the deal (when they heard he was off to L.A. summer 2018).’”

That was the rumor at the trade deadline as well: that the Denver Nuggets made a monster offer for George but changed their minds on following through when he made it clear that he was not interested in staying past next year - no matter what.

This is a clear statement that it was true, and I appreciate that honestly from him, actually. After the Andre Iguodala incident (abandoning ship to join Golden State after a year) it’s hard to buy in on the short-term deal players staying in Denver. Paul George was very clear that he would not stay, and the Nuggets saved their ammo for a future day.

Perhaps the San Antonio Spurs are willing to take that risk this summer but the Nuggets have made it clear that they believe him, and are not attempting to talk themselves into the risk. It would have been an interesting match but both parties have to be interested.

For the Nuggets, the search for a superstar to pair with Nikola Jokic goes on without Paul George.