Thank goodness for anytime minutes.
NBA team officials continuously work the phones in the first week of July to inquire about free agents, and such has been the case with Eduardo Najera, who has already received inquiries from Dallas, San Antonio, Milwaukee and Seattle. But after four seasons with Denver, Najera remains loyal to his stance from last season — he wants to play for Denver next season.
“Right now, that would be my first choice,” Najera said Wednesday. “But I do have a lot of teams very interested. . . . Not a whole lot of details yet, but a lot of interest from a lot of teams.”
Now, the unrestricted free agent will wait for an offer from Denver, which is expected to come by Wednesday, the first day teams can begin signing free agents. The key for Najera is a multiyear deal.
“If it’s a multiyear deal, most of the time you’ll have to take a pay cut,” said Najera, who made $4.5 million last season. “I just want to get a fair deal. I know the situation with Denver, being over the luxury tax. I’m not trying to take advantage at all, I’m just trying to get what my agent and I think that I deserve.”
Najera, who turns 32 on July 11, has been working out in his native Mexico this summer, improving, among other aspects of his game, his 3-point shooting. Last season, coach George Karl gave him the green light — or at least a yellow light — in regards to shooting 3s, and Najera shot 36.1 percent, second-best of Nuggets regulars.
Nuggets gearing for Vegas.
The Nuggets announced their summer league roster, which includes Taurean Green, Bobby Jones and acquired draft pick Sonny Weems.
Denver’s Las Vegas summer league team will be coached by assistants Chad Iske and Jamahl Mosley, with Denver’s first game July 12 against Philadelphia.
On Wednesday, Weems was actually “drafted” by the Harlem Globetrotters, the famed exhibition team known for its dazzling dunks. Weems, who will try to make the Nuggets’ roster, is a Globetrotter-esque dunker and winner of the NCAA slam-dunk contest this past April during the Final Four.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
