With five internal candidates and more than a dozen external ones to choose from, the Nuggets’ chances of coming back with the shooting guards they used last season are close to nil.
But with NBA free agency starting Friday, Denver is almost certain to build off draft pick Julius Hodge with another, more experienced player at his position.
“I still think two-guard is a situation we need to address, which we obviously will attempt to do our best at,” general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said Wednesday. “There are some positions that should be filled by veteran players.”
Until the NBA announces its new salary cap, the Nuggets won’t know how far under it they are, or whether they will be able to sit far enough under to outbid teams able to offer no more than the $4.9 million mid-level exception.
Whatever happens, Vande- weghe said he plans to be “very aggressive.”
Denver could cut its payroll to $42.6 million if Greg Buckner opts out of his contract and the Nuggets buy out the options on guards Voshon Lenard and Luis Flores. The new salary cap could climb as high as $49 million. However, the Nuggets will need to parcel off some of that money to sign Hodge and fellow first- round draft pick Linas Kleiza.
Their best hope to land an all-star-caliber player without giving up players in return could be signing Dallas guard Michael Finley, whom the Mavericks are almost sure to waive as part of the NBA’s one-time amnesty to help lessen the weight of the luxury tax.
Dallas would owe Finley $51.7 million, allowing the former all-star to take a discount rate elsewhere among what is expected to be a large group of suitors that includes his old team, Phoenix.
“Playing with Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash put him on the back burner,” said Buckner, Finley’s former teammate with the Mavericks. “But if you can add him as a two-guard, that only helps.
“We had problems scoring sometimes in the backcourt, and he can help.”
Buckner said returning to Denver is a “no-brainer” for him. He will not exercise the player option in his contract Friday but said Vandeweghe and coach George Karl have said they want to re-sign him.
“I think we signed the contract knowing there was a 99 percent chance I would become a free agent,” Buckner said. “Kiki knew that, and I knew that, from Day One. But I’m going to do everything in my power to come back. … I want to stay in Denver.
“I didn’t come to Denver to raise my value. I came because of Kiki.”
DerMarr Johnson and Wesley Person are also Nuggets free- agent shooting guards. Lenard would become a free agent if the team exercises its $250,000 buyout of his $3.5 million contract – though that would not prevent him from returning at a lower price.
There is also a sizable group of second-tier free agents around the league who could help play a complementary role. An example is Miami combo guard Keyon Dooling, who is not expected to exercise his player option.
Dooling has ties with Nuggets assistant general manager Jeff Weltman and guards Andre Miller and Earl Boykins from his days with the Los Angeles Clippers.
He is also friendly with Josh Kroenke, his former Missouri teammate and son of Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke.
Although teams can start wooing free agents Friday, they can’t start signing them until July 22.
“You don’t run in and go crazy,” Karl said. “I think some teams, the first couple of weeks, the high-end guys, the marquee guys, are going to have the spotlight.
“But there’s a lot of guys out there who, if we make the right decision, can help us be a good basketball team.”
Footnotes
Vandeweghe called Memphis assistant John Welch “a possibility” in replacing Rex Kalamian, who is due to join Dwane Casey’s staff at Minnesota by the end of the week. Kalamian said he loved working under Karl and Vandeweghe but could not turn down a chance to move back to the bench after serving as a player-development coach in Denver.
“I think everything is on the upswing and with the way we finished the season, it’s more difficult to leave,” Kalamian said. …
Flores will join the Nuggets’ four draft picks at the Las Vegas summer league next week. Vandeweghe hinted Tuesday that Hodge’s versatility would allow him to double as a third point guard, which could jeopardize Flores’ future with the team. Denver can buy out his contract for $150,000 by Aug. 31. …
Buckner will be in town to run his basketball camp from July 11-15.
Staff writer Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
Staff writer Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
