The Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls are both pressing the NBA luxury tax and cannot sign restricted free agent Arron Afflalo in a direct offer, but the teams are been pushing the Denver Nuggets on a possible sign-and-trade that would land the 26-year old guard in LA or Chicago, according to Mark Stein of ESPN.
Other more cap-solvent teams like the New Jersey Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves are among multiple teams expected to consider extended an offer sheet to Afflalo in the near future as well, so perhaps the Nuggets will be forced to make a decision between matching a competitive offer sheet or figuring out a swap that would bring back value.
SB Nation's Denver Nuggets blog, Denver Stiffs, talks about whether Afflalo is interested in staying with the Nuggets:
Afflalo is a restricted free agent, meaning the Nuggets can match whatever offer he may get. This is an important advantage because based on his interview with Zach Lowe of SI.com, AAA isn't too happy the Nuggets decided to leave his future up in the air prior to the lockout. This seems to be a similar complaint to his fellow free agent and former teammate Nene...Maybe it's time for Kroenke Sports Enterprises to re-asses their approach to handling players?
Stay tuned to SB Nation Denver for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the Denver Nuggets be sure to visit Denver Stiffs. Visit SB Nation NBA for more news and notes around the league, and check the SB Nation StoryStream for the latest news on the NBA lockout.