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Marc Stein of the New York Times has tweeted that Denver’s push to unload a contract and avoid a hefty luxury tax penalty not only persists but the Nuggets are also considering adding another name to the trading block.
The Nuggets continue to make Wilson Chandler, Darrell Arthur and Kenneth Faried all available via trade to deal with their looming luxury-tax crunch, but one source close to the situation said Denver might have to expand its trading-block list to include Mason Plumlee
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 30, 2018
Mason Plumlee arrived in Denver via the much maligned Jusuf Nurkic trade in February of 2017. Plumlee was tasked with filling the back up center role on the final year of his contract and Denver decided to re-sign him the following summer. The details of that contract have not only kept Nuggets fans awake at night, but also contributed a great deal to the cap sheet hell that Denver now finds itself in.
Signed for three years and $41 Million, Plumlee is entering the second year of a brutal contract. Kenneth Faried, Darrell Arthur and Wilson Chandler—Plumlee’s companions on the block—are all on expiring deals. It was rumored that the Nuggets were considering parting with their 14th pick in the draft to move Kenneth Faried, and they may need to pay a similarly steep price to unload Plumlee.
This news becomes particuarly noteworthy on the heels of the latest Woj bomb, in which he reports that the Nuggets and Barton are gaining momentum on a new contract.