Free Agency and Trade Rumors are flying amid the lead up to the NBA’s opening of the new league year for 2025-26.
It was expected that the Nuggets would be quiet entering free agency and focus on signing bench players rather than exploring the trade market; however, it appears that Denver is still exploring ways to improve their roster in a more creative way.
According to Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype, the Denver Nuggets and Chicago Bulls previously registered trade interest in young Houston Rockets wing Cam Whitmore.
Houston Rockets swingman Cam Whitmore has drawn trade interest from the Chicago Bulls (before the Isaac Okoro acquisition) and Denver Nuggets, among others, league sources told HoopsHype.
It’s worth noting Whitmore was nearly traded to the Phoenix Suns in the Kevin Durant trade, league sources told HoopsHype. Instead, Phoenix opted for more future second-round draft pick compensation, HoopsHype has learned.
The Rockets are interested in moving Whitmore for the right price, and while the Nuggets may not be the team that ultimately acquires him, it’s notable that they reached out. How close they are/were to acquiring Whitmore is another story entirely, but it’s encouraging that the Nuggets are getting creative.
Whitmore turns 21 in July and has played two seasons in the NBA. The Rockets may not be interested in his bench scoring for a variety of reasons, particularly Rockets head coach Ime Udoka’s demanding personality when it comes to young players. Still, Whitmore has averaged 10.8 points in just 17.4 minutes per game in his young career. He averages 30.1 points per 100 possessions, which would have ranked second on the 2024-25 Nuggets behind only Nikola Jokic.
None of Christian Braun, Julian Strawther, and Peyton Watson are the scoring prospects that Whitmore is, and that should be incredibly intriguing to a Nuggets team that has a void in second unit scoring.
Whether the Nuggets can come to terms on a trade is another concern entirely. They don’t have extensive draft pick assets, and the Rockets are under a roster and salary cap crunch to try and fit in their own free agents, plus their reported pursuit of Dorian Finney-Smith from the Los Angeles Lakers.
In addition to Whitmore, the Nuggets have registered interest in free agency shooting guard Luke Kennard, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein line Substack.
In addition to its well-chronicled interest in Dorian Finney-Smith, Houston wants to explore the feasibility of signing Luke Kennard.
The Hawks and Nuggets, sources say, also have interest in Kennard. Atlanta landing both Kennard and Nickeil Alexander-Walker would mark noted boosts to its wing rotation.
Luke Kennard has long been one of the better three-point shooters and spacers in the entire NBA. He has posted five straight seasons of 100+ made three-pointers on higher than 43% from three-point range. That is prolific, and he’s also a decent enough playmaker for others off the dribble. Unfortunately, it comes at the cost of defensive viability in both the regular season and the playoffs.
Kennard is a candidate for the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception. It would be surprising if he got more based on the market and the kinds of teams he’s drawing interest from.
A possible solution: Denver trades Strawther and Hunter Tyson to the Rockets for Cam Whitmore and signs Kennard to the TP-MLE. Houston signs Finney-Smith to the Non-Taxpayer MLE, gets Strawther to be their shooter, cuts Tyson, and still has space to sign their own free agents.
That’s of course wishful thinking on Denver’s part, but the Nuggets would certainly improve their bench offense by adding both Whitmore and Kennard to the mix.
Lastly, Stein and Fischer also reported to Nuggets point guard Russell Westbrook is also trying interest from the New York Knicks, in addition to earlier reported interest from the Sacramento Kings.
Add the Pelicans, Knicks and Timberwolves to the ever-growing list of teams said to be in the market for veteran guards. The Knicks, in fact, are said to be a possible destination — in addition to Sacramento and a potential return to Denver — for Russell Westbrook.
This isn’t surprising. The Knicks are operating on a budget but need some addition bench depth behind an elite starting five. Westbrook and Brunson would be an interesting point guard platoon but would likely be able to coexist. Karl-Anthony Towns would also space the floor nicely for Westbrook drives to the paint.
The Nuggets will clearly have competition for retaining Westbrook’s services, which is perhaps why there hasn’t been much buzz about the Nuggets retaining the veteran guard.
