According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Denver Nuggets are adding G League call-up Davon Reed to their roster.
The Nuggets are adding Reed to the roster despite having 15 fully guaranteed contracts due to a hardship exception. This is an exception granted to a team that has suffered a number of serious injuries and won’t have the capacity of close to their full roster.
Many identified former NBA star Lance Stephenson as a candidate to be brought up, but the Nuggets decided to pick Davon Reed instead. This is a good call as Reed is having an excellent start to the G League season and gives the Nuggets a bit of what they need: size, shooting, and defense on the wing. Reed is a true 6’5” and is averaging 15.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.6 steals per game for the Grand Rapids Gold. His two-way abilities have been touted by Michael Malone and the Nuggets coaching staff. He makes a lot of sense to fill in for the Nuggets off the bench.
With Michael Porter Jr. and P.J. Dozier out for the season in all likelihood, Denver’s wing depth is going to be at a permanent disadvantage for the remainder of the season. Will Barton is the starting shooting guard, and Aaron Gordon has moved over to small forward to fill in for Porter. That has worked with Jeff Green as the nominal power forward, but the bench has remained a major question mark. The Nuggets are constantly playing three small guards and are usually outmatched physically, and that problem isn’t going to go away.
Reed gives the Nuggets an option to deploy in bench units to guard bigger wings. His defensive tools and instincts are sound. He has a good mentality for on-ball defense. He will be very helpful while he’s on the roster.
The hardship exception isn’t a permanent solution. It will go away when the Nuggets injured and absent players return. Still, this is a good opportunity for Reed to prove what he can do. His role will be simple, and if he can defend while hitting shots, there may be a permanent spot for him when it’s all said and done.
