Since Axel Toupane’s first 10-day contract with Denver, many Nuggets fans have been clamoring for him to be offered a contract like JaKarr Sampson received: the rest of this year guaranteed, and next year as a non-guaranteed second season. According to Shams Charania at Yahoo, that’s what’s happening:
Denver and forward Axel Toupane have agreed to a two-year deal, league sources tell The Vertical. Non-guaranteed next season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 24, 2016
The 23-year-old Toupane has been a mixed bag since his signing, but has shown glimpses of the kind of offensive and defensive prowess that would make a nice bench addition for this Nuggets team going forward. He's shown some good on-ball defense and flashed a nice three-point shot but has struggled mightily to drive and finish around the rim while make expected rookie mistakes against the kind of athletes that stock the NBA game.
After watching Sean Kilpatrick find his sea legs with Brooklyn however, the Nuggets were unwilling to let Toupane show the same sort of progress in another uniform and loathe to look for someone else to fill minutes at the small forward position with Gallo out injured.
With two or even three first-round draftpicks in June's draft, the Nuggets will likely have to choose between Sampson and Toupane, but since both men have non-guaranteed contracts that's a competition that can wait for training camp. In the meantime it gives Toupane some financial safety and allows him to continue to find his footing over the last ten games of the season.
In the end, it's a win for both parties and a good step by the Nuggets to get a longer look at an interesting player.
