The Nuggets‘ Summer League practice was enlivened Tuesday by the presence of Jamal Murray, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Murray participated in several drills and took part in some scrimmages. Summer League coach Ryan Bowen said practicing was Murray’s decision and although he wanted to keep playing while the media was present, that idea was vetoed.
Murray, who missed the entire season due to a torn ACL, was involved in some non-contact drills on Monday that sparked his competitive instincts, Bowen explained. The reviews on Murray were positive, and coach Michael Malone called it “probably the most serious 5-on-5” that Murray has played since the injury, tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports.
“He looked mobile, agile and hostile,” Malone said, via Wind. “He looked confident. That’s the most important thing to me. I wasn’t charting his makes and misses. I was trying to see the confidence level. How was he moving, defensively … he looked good.”
There’s more from Denver:
- Jontay Porter, who’s on the Nuggets’ Summer League roster, offered a positive update on his brother, Michael Porter Jr., whose season was cut short by back surgery, Singer states in the same story. Jontay said Michael “looks great” and they’ve been playing 1-on-1 and 3-on-3 games to get themselves back into shape. Jontay played for the Grizzlies last year, but was limited to 11 games because of a knee injury.
- In a press conference Wednesday welcoming free agent addition Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Malone said he was the main player the Nuggets focused on signing, Singer adds in a separate story. Malone likes having a 6’5″ guard who can play defense, and the team hasn’t forgotten the way that Caldwell-Pope shut down Murray in the 2020 Western Conference Finals. “He’s seen what it takes to win a championship,” Malone said.
- The Nuggets also introduced first-round pick Christian Braun, and Malone suggested that he might have a regular role as a rookie, Wind tweets. “I love his maturity. I love his IQ,” Malone said. “The things I really love about him the most are his toughness and physicality. Some guys shy away from physicality, Christian embraces physicality.”
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