The Denver Nuggets have made some roster changes recently, and because of that they opened up some free spots to use on younger players. After trading Randy Foye and agreeing to buyouts with J.J. Hickson and Steve Novak the Nuggets are expected to bring JaKarr Sampson aboard, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports.
Sampson had been with the 76ers all year, but he was recently waived so that the 76ers could make room for Joel Anthony, whom they acquired in a trade at the deadline. The 76ers are not planning to hold onto Anthony and were hopeful to re-sign Sampson when they opened up that roster spot again, but that will not happen now.
Sampson was an undrafted free agent out of St. John's in 2014 before signing a multi-year deal with the 76ers. Over the past two seasons the 22-year-old forward has averaged 5.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 121 games for the 76ers. Philadelphia liked Sampson as a player, but he was the best choice to move on from as his minutes in Philadelphia had all but gone away.
Sampson is 6-foot-9, and he is a very versatile player. He was maybe the most well-liked player in Philadelphia, according to Keith Pompey of Philly.com, and was known as a guy who would do anything the coaching staff asked him to do. Sampson does have a lot of potential, but he has a lot of room to improve, especially on the offensive end as he was shooting just 18 percent from three with the Sixers this season.
The reported deal between Sampson and the Nuggets is a two-year pact. The second year will be non-guaranteed, but it will give Sampson a shot to make the team out of training camp. The remainder of this year will be an audition of sorts to see if the Denver can use him in the future. The Nuggets are short on the wings with only Gary Harris, Danilo Gallinari, Will Barton and Mike Miller available to play the two spots, so Sampson should have a shot at some playing time. At the very least Sampson will provide a defensive presence on the court and a great locker room presence off the court. By all accounts he is extremely hard working, so it wouldn't be a surprise if he stuck around with the Nuggets beyond the rest of this season.
