Free agency lulled Nuggets fans to sleep, only to jolt them awake at last.
Croatian big man Dario Saric and the Nuggets have agreed to a two-year, $10.6 million contract with a player option on the second year, league sources told The Denver Post on Saturday. An eight-year NBA veteran, Saric has played with five teams, most recently averaging 8.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists for the Golden State Warriors last season.
Saric, 30, has also reprised his national team role this summer at Croatia’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. He registered a 19-point triple-double in a group stage win over Slovenia last week, while Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth was in attendance for the tournament in Piraeus, Greece.
After defeating the Dominican Republic on Saturday, Croatia will face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Greek national team in Sunday’s final with a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics on the line.
Six days after the beginning of the NBA’s free agency moratorium period, Denver was one of the last remaining teams that hadn’t acquired a new player yet this offseason. Part of the delay with Saric was his own dilemma. The Nuggets viewed him as a top-priority target, but he was in the process of deciding whether he wanted to play in the NBA or Europe next season, according to a league source. Multiple NBA teams showed interest in him, as well as the Greek club Panathinaikos. Denver, a source said, felt confident about Saric even while other free agents were taken off the board throughout last week.
Saric spent two years under contract with the Turkish club Anadolu Efes after he was drafted 12th overall in 2014. When he finally debuted with Philadelphia, he finished second in NBA Rookie of the Year voting for the 2016-17 season. He has played stints with the 76ers, Timberwolves, Suns, Thunder and Warriors.
In 2016, Saric was on the Croatian Olympic squad that got eliminated by Nikola Jokic and Serbia in the Rio de Janeiro quarterfinals. Now Saric is coming to Denver to contribute to a crowded frontcourt behind Jokic. He joins a center depth chart that currently includes Zeke Nnaji and DaRon Holmes II.
Nnaji has been in and out of the rotation for his entire four-year career, so Nuggets coach Michael Malone and the front office may envision Saric as a more reliable veteran option to play small-ball center with the second unit. And Booth has made clear that he views the first-round draft pick Holmes as more of a four than a five — one key reason the Nuggets still saw it necessary to pursue another bench big in the free agent market. They can also lean on positional size more if Holmes plays the four and Peyton Watson is able to play the three, his more natural fit.
Saric should provide another floor-spacing option for Denver’s second unit. Since returning from an ACL injury that sidelined him for the 2021-22 season, he has made 38.1% of his 3-point attempts the last two years.
If the Nuggets bring back frontcourt free agents Vlatko Cancar and DeAndre Jordan, the acquisition of Saric will leave them with one roster spot left. Backup point guard is their biggest remaining need. Denver has shown interest in Russell Westbrook as a possible solution at that position behind Jamal Murray, according to a league source.
Westbrook is under contract with the Clippers after picking up his $4 million player option in June, but the team is reportedly looking for trade partners or could buy out his contract. The Nuggets no longer have their taxpayer mid-level exception after signing Saric, but that doesn’t rule out a Westbrook move.
Within the frontcourt, Saric is likely to push Jordan farther out of the rotation next season. Jordan alternated with Nnaji at backup center in 2023-24, but assuming he returns to Denver for his age-36 season, his role will be more centered on locker room leadership.
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Originally Published: July 6, 2024 at 5:13 p.m.
