As Shams Charania tweets below (and retweeted by the Woj-bomber himself), it appears JaKarr Sampson will be signing a two-year deal with the Denver Nuggets.
Philadelphia free agent JaKarr Sampson is finalizing a two-year contract with the Denver Nuggets, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 22, 2016
That means it's actually for a year and a quarter, but it's interesting that Tim Connelly wanted to lock up Sampson into next year with a roster spot. Terms have not yet been disclosed so there's no way to know whether the contract is fully guaranteed or not, but he was obviously a player the front office had interest in as they immediately swooped in once he was released.
JaKarr Sampson was most recently with the Philadelphia 76ers and was cut to accommodate Joel Anthony in a trade with the Detroit Pistons that also coincidentally sent Denver’s 2017 second rounder from Detroit to Philly. It looks to an outside observer like another moment where The Process in Philadelphia outweighed the people involved, especially since all indications are that they were planning to cut Joel Anthony as well. The 76ers planned to re-sign Sampson if possible but it looks like Denver made him a better offer and he took his chance to leave the 76ers behind.
Sampson is a 6'8 forward with a 7-foot wingspan, and is described in this Philly.com article about his release thusly:
He was perhaps the most beloved Sixer the last two seasons. With his limitations, the 6-foot-9 guard/forward would never be confused with any of the league’s upcoming elite players. But the second-year undrafted signee out of St. John’s was the epitome of what the Sixers want in a player: tough, hardworking, defensive- minded, relentless, and a great person.
The Sixers could have hung on to him as an end-of-the-bench player for seasons to come. His traits also made him a valued locker room guy.
Adding glue guys who have good defensive skills to a team struggling to play defense the way coach Michael Malone would like to see it played can only help. Especially when this particular glue guy has a chip on his shoulder about being dismissed from one of the worst teams in the league.
