PHILADELPHIA — While the Nuggets struggle on the court stateside, they could be on the verge of bringing one of their most coveted overseas players into the fold.
A chain reaction of events has led to the Nuggets being in negotiations to bring 2013 acquisition Joffrey Lauvergne, a power forward, to Denver, according to a league source. The Nuggets have some logistics to work through, but they are hopeful they’ll be able to get him in uniform sooner rather than later.
Lauvergne was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies with the 55th pick in the second round and traded to the Nuggets along with Darrell Arthur on draft night in exchange for Kosta Koufos. Since then, the 6-foot-11, 23-year-old Lauvergne has spent his time playing overseas, most recently with a Russian team. But that situation went sour, and Lauvergne secured his release from the team, opening the door for the Nuggets to bring him over. And because the Nuggets never filled the 15th roster spot vacated by Timofey Mozgov in the Cleveland deal, they don’t have to make any moves to create space.
Last year, Lauvergne made waves playing well for Partizan NIS Belgrade. He signed a two-year deal in the summer with Khimki Moscow, but that apparently hasn’t worked out.
Nuggets coach Brian Shaw hasn’t seen much of Lauvergne.
“I saw him play a little bit this summer on film,” Shaw said. “Other than that, just a couple of YouTube things that I’ve seen. So I don’t know very much about him.”
Gallo improves. Not exactly lost in the fray, Danilo Gallinari’s 22 points on 5-of-11 shooting represented a bright spot. He was 10-of-11 from the free-throw line.
“I was just trying to be aggressive and go to the free-throw line,” Gallinari said. “That’s something that is a very important part of my game.”
