Nate Robinson plans to exercise player option with Nuggets

The Nuggets got a pretty good bargain signing Nate Robinson to the bi-annual exception. But in exchange for paying Robinson such a low salary, they had to give him a player option for the second season of his two-year contract. That way Robinson wasn’t stuck being underpaid if he had a strong year, and he was protected in case something happened.

Well, something happened.

Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post:

Robinson plans to be around at the start of next season. The business end of that means he’ll exercise his player option to do so.

Asked if he’d be ready for training camp in the fall, Robinson said, “Yeah, for sure.”

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Robinson has struggled to get paid these last few years because his freelancing style, streakiness and defensive shortcomings grind on coaches. Unfortunately, his offensive prowess gets overlooked.

In Denver, though, he has a coach who appreciates him. Brian Shaw, via Dempsey:

“You just miss his competitive fire,” Shaw said. “He’s a guy that competes every minute that he’s out there on the floor. And even though he’s the smallest guy on our team, he’s probably the toughest guy on our team. Just in terms of the physicality that he plays with, and the passion that he plays with when he’s out there on the floor.”

Seems like Robinson is making a wise move to stay in this situation and make $2,106,720 next season – at least until he’s healthy enough to command more money on the open market.