When Dario Saric signed a two-year, $10.6 million contract with the Denver Nuggets in free agency, it's fair to say many Golden State Warriors fans were left surprised.
After signing a minimum contract with the Warriors during the 2023 offseason, Saric became a dwindling rotation piece for Steve Kerr on a team that failed to reach the playoffs last season.
Calvin Booth has made a wild admission about former Warriors big man Dario Saric
While the Nuggets were desperately searching for a quality backup big to support Nikola Jokic, signing Saric to a multi-year deal at more than the minimum was unjustifiable for many Warrior fans who looked on from afar.
The Nuggets quickly realized their own mistake, with head coach Michael Malone benching the Croatian after just five games and a total of 45 minutes in the rotation. It's one thing to do that, but it's another for the general manager to declare publicly that he was trying to actively move a player before the trade deadline. Yet's that just what Calvin Booth did in relation to Saric and Zeke Nnaji in an extraordinary admission on Friday.
"We weren't close to doing anything with anybody in our rotation. It was gonna be you know some of the guys that are outside of it like Dario and Zeke, and using some of our draft assets to bolster our lineup," Booth said post-deadline.
Calvin Booth says the Nuggets were dangling Zeke Nnaji, Dario Saric, and draft assets in potential trades:
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) February 7, 2025
"We weren't close to doing anything with anybody in our rotation." pic.twitter.com/oujp4taLT9
Imagine being Saric (and Nnaji) in the locker room after hearing that from the GM. You could never envision Mike Dunleavy Jr. saying that about the likes of Gary Payton II and Kevon Looney who were widely expected to be moved as expiring contracts, albeit those guys are actually part of the Golden State rotation and mean a lot more to the franchise as NBA champions.
Saric has played in just 13 of Denver's 52 games this season, including just three of the last 36. He's averaging a career-low 3.8 points on 25% shooting from 3-point range, having averaged 8.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 64 appearances with the Warriors last season (including nine starts).
Saric will now have a decision to make, with the 30-year-old holding a player option on the second-year of his deal next season. While it's highly unlikely he will get more than the $5.4 million he's set to make were he a free agent, no one would blame Saric if he wanted to leave a franchise that very evidently doesn't want him around.