Monte Morris

For the first time in his young career, Morris dealt with the injury bug during his 2020-21 campaign. The 6-foot-2 guard played in just 47 games last season, first missing a chunk of the season with a strained quad and then missing another 11 games near the end of the season due to a hamstring injury. Morris averaged just 10.2 points and 3.2 assists in 25.4 minutes per game while shooting a very respectable 38.1 percent from three. The Iowa State product's numbers did improve in the games he played after Jamal Murray tore his ACL, however, averaging 12.7 points and 4.9 assists per game. That said, the Nuggets were still easing Morris back into the lineup during that time and he only started one game during that span, which ended up being the team's final game of the season. Entering the new year, Denver figures to still be without their star point guard in Murray for the start of the season, making the starting point guard spot wide open in Denver. The crafty Facundo Campazzo was getting the starts without Murray at the end of the year last season, but again, this could easily be attributed to the team playing it cautious with Morris and his injury status. The Nuggets still are deep at the position with the likes of older players in Campazzo and Austin Rivers, while still having youth at the position in Markus Howard and Nah'Shon "Bones" Hyland as well. Even with their sturdy depth, there is reason to believe Morris will be starting for Denver in place of Murray to begin the year, which may lead to Morris' most productive season yet as a pro.

Morris' numbers fell off slightly last season from where they sat in his first full season the year prior, but the 2017 51st-overall pick generally did enough to prove that his breakout as a solid rotation option was legitimate. His minutes per game slipped from 24.0 to 22.4 while his points dropped from 10.4 to 9.0 and his rebounds fell from 2.4 to 1.9. His assists, meanwhile, remained quite stable, falling by the smallest of margins from 3.6 to 3.5 despite the drop in minutes. On the whole, it's hard to call the campaign a particularly disappointing one for the backup point guard, though there could conceivably be reason to worry if his shooting takes another step backwards next season. His percentage from beyond the arc dipped from 41.4 percent to a still-solid 37.8 percent, while his shooting from two-point range fell from 53.1 percent to 49.5 percent. His free-throw percentage actually increased somewhat, however, going from 80.2 percent to 84.3 percent, indicating that he hadn't in fact lost his shooting touch. He was a perfectly serviceable bench option for Denver last season, albeit a generally unexciting one, though there's room for him to be something slightly more if his shooting rebounds.

Morris took a huge leap in playing time in his second year in the league. He appeared in only three NBA games as a rookie in 2017-18, playing on a two-way contract. His big-time play in the G League earned him a roster spot in 2018-19, and he averaged 24.0 minutes per night, appearing in all 82 games. Morris operated mainly as a reserve and averaged 10.4 points, 3.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds. He provided quality shooting as well, going 49.3 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from three while canning 1.1 triples per contest. Morris figures to have a similar role this season, serving as the primary backup point guard to franchise star Jamal Murray. Morris is a talented guard, but Denver has arguably the deepest roster in the Association, and his ceiling is capped by all of the quality options available around him.

Morris spent the 2017-18 campaign on a two-way contract, which limited him to just three total appearances at the NBA level. The bulk of his action came in the G-League, where he played in 37 games and averaged 18.0 points, 6.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals across 34.8 minutes. His strong play at that level earned him a standard contract from the Nuggets this season, so Morris is fully expected to land on the 15-man roster following cuts. However, with Jamal Murray locked in as the starting point guard and Isaiah Thomas being brought in during free agency, Morris will sit no higher than third on the depth chart and will still struggle to get significant minutes most nights.

Morris was known as a playmaking guard in his days with Iowa State at the collegiate level and he'll be yet another project for coach Mike Malone after being selected with the 51st pick of the 2017 NBA Draft. The four-year college vet averaged at least 28.0 minutes in all of his seasons at Iowas State and he'll be one of the more battle-tested rookies in this year's class. What's really enticing about Morris is the fact that he saw a major increase in numbers in all four years of his collegiate career. He ended his senior season with averages of 16.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game, showing the ability to both score at a high rate and play extremely well as a distributor when needed. A role for Morris on the Nuggets during the upcoming campaign will likely be tough to find and Morris should spend most of the season developing in the G-League.