Nuggets Waive Nick Johnson: Reaction, Impact for Rest of Roster

The Nuggets decided to waive recently acquired shooting guard Nick Johnson Saturday, per Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski.

Johnson, who Denver obtained from the Houston Rockets in the Ty Lawson trade, was the last player Denver received in the trade remaining on the roster. The Nuggets had already cut point guard Pablo Prigioni, small forward Kostas Papanikolaou and center Joey Dorsey, who were also part of the deal.

While the 6’3″ Johnson is only 22 and has great potential, many thought the Nuggets would be afraid to try sending him to the D-League for fear of him being signed elsewhere.

Yet, the guard had a dreadful preseason averaging 2.2 points and 1.7 turnovers in 17.7 minutes per game, missing the only free throw he took.

With the trade, it is clear the team wanted to get rid of Ty Lawson.

The Nuggets may still have Houston’s protected 2016 first-round pick from the deal, but seems much happy simply to be moving on from the former Tar Heel.

As the Denver Post’s Christopher Dempsey also noted, the cut of Johnson means fellow guard Erick Green has likely made the team’s final roster for the 2015-16 season.

Many saw Johnson and Green as the two players who would compete for the final spot but gave Johnson the edge because of his superior athleticism, potential and better contract situation.

We here at Nugg Love also believed Johnson to be the better player heading into the preseason, slotting him at No. 15 in our player rankings, one spot above Green at No. 16.

Per HoopsRumors, the Nuggets will have to pay Johnson approximately $1.8 million over the next two years, unless another team picks him up off waivers. Meanwhile, only $100,000 of Green’s deal remains guaranteed.

Green impressed Nuggets head coach Michael Malone throughout training camp, per Dempsey to earn the spot and contract.

In five preseason games, the 24-year-old averaged 6.8 points, 2.0 assists and just 0.8 turnovers in 18.4 minutes per game.

Green will now look to improve on his 2014-15-rookie season in Denver.

After playing overseas with the Montepaschi Siena team of Spain his first year after being drafted, he alternated between the Nuggets’ official roster and D-League last year, playing 43 games and starting one at the highest level.

He’ll settle in behind Emmanuel Mudiay and Jameer Nelson in the point guard rotation this season, probably getting around 10 minutes per game.

However, he is great insurance and is a rare young point guard who can avoid turnovers. Green’s 7.7 turnover percentage would have tied him for 10th-lowest in the NBA last season had he qualified for the statistic.

Johnson was a combo guard, so him being cut creates two clear three-man rotations in the backcourt. Mudiay, Nelson and Green are the 1’s, and Gary Harris, Will Barton and Randy Foye are the 2’s.

Note: All statistics are from RealGM unless otherwise indicated.