22 Richard Jefferson SF

Jefferson announced Tuesday through his personal Twitter account that he is coming out of retirement to play one more year.

The 39-year-old forward has changed his mind since retiring in October of 2018. He last played for the Nuggets in 2017-18, but he appeared in just 20 games, totaling 163 minutes. He'll likely be seeking a role closer to what he garnered in Cleveland from 2015-16 to 2016-17, when he averaged 5.6 points and 2.2 rebounds across 19.2 minutes.

Jefferson retired from the NBA on Saturday, Mark Stein of The New York Times reports.

Most recently, Jefferson was a member of the Nuggets during his age 37 season. He played a minimal role, appearing in 20 games and averaging 8.2 minutes. Jefferson played for eight teams throughout his 17-year career, spending the most time (seven years) with the Nets. He won a championship with the Cavaliers in 2015-16. At the time of his retirement, he is 46th all-time in career games played, with career averages of 12.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists on 46.4 percent shooting.

Jefferson averaged 1.5 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists during his 18th NBA season with the Nuggets in 2017-18.

The 37-year-old played in only 20 games and most of his stats declined mightily from last season as it is became apparent that Jefferson doesn't have a whole lot left in his tank. Jefferson will be a free agent when the summer season begins and it won't be surprising if he decides to hang up the shoes.

Jefferson (wrist) is not on the injury report for Friday's game against the Spurs, T.J. McBride of Mile High Sports reports.

Jefferson missed the team's last game before the All-Star break with wrist soreness, but the extended rest apparently gave him enough time to heal. That said, even when he's healthy, he hasn't been a significant part of the team's gameplan lately, playing in just one contest since Jan. 22

Jefferson will not play in Thursday's game against the Bucks due to wrist soreness, Harrison Wind of BSNDenver.com reports.

This is more than likely the Nuggets giving the veteran the night off so he can begin his All-Star break early, as Jefferson was not part of the team's regular rotation coming into Thursday's contest. Look for him to re-join the team at full health after the break.

Jefferson will likely join the Nuggets' regular rotation for the remainder of the season, Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports reports. Coach Michael Malone says he liked what he saw from Jefferson on Friday and wants to see "what we have" in him.

Jefferson saw 19 minutes Friday against the Grizzlies, posting four points (1-1 FG, 2-2 FT) and four rebounds. It's unclear if he'll hover around 19 minutes per game for the remainder of the season, but he'll seemingly catch fewer DNP-Coaches Decisions moving forward. That said, if Friday's game is any indication, he likely won't hold much fantasy value and can probably still be ignored in the vast majority of formats.

Jefferson played two minutes in Wednesday's 134-111 win over the Suns, turning the ball over once and accruing no other statistics.

Though he served as a key reserve for the Cavaliers squads that made the NBA Finals the past two seasons, Jefferson has largely been excluded from head coach Michael Malone's rotation in his first season in Denver. With the Nuggets well stocked with depth at both forward spots, even the long-term injury to starter Paul Millsap (wrist) hasn't opened up much extra time for Jefferson. The 37-year-old has appeared in just 10 of the Nuggets' 37 games this season, logging double-digit minutes in only three of those contests.

Head coach Michael Malone said Thursday that Jefferson won't start the season in the Nuggets' rotation, Harrison Wind of BSN Denver reports.

With Jefferson's late arrival to the team, it's not much of a surprise that he'll have to earn his way into Malone's rotation, especially considering that the 37-year-old is a veteran among a very young roster. Even if Jefferson does ultimately crack the team's rotation, he's not expected to play much of a role this season and will have very limited fantasy value.

Jefferson is unlikely to be available for Wednesday's regular-season opener against the Jazz, Harrison Wind of BSN Denver reports.

After inking a contract with the Nuggets just a day ago, it doesn't appear that Jefferson will have enough time to get acclimated with his new team and will instead, sit out the opener. Look for official confirmation on that following Wednesday's morning shootaround, but it seems more likely that Jefferson will make his debut on Saturday against the Kings. That being said, Jefferson likely won't carry much fantasy value even when he's available due to a relatively deep roster at forward in Denver.

The Nuggets are expected to sign Jefferson to a one-year, $2.3 million contact prior to their season opener Wednesday against the Jazz, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.

Jefferson opened training camp with the Cavaliers, with whom he spent the previous two seasons. However, when the team needed to open up roster room in advance of the regular season, Jefferson was traded to the Hawks and subsequently waived. The veteran forward drew interest from a number of teams as a depth option and decided to latch on with a Nuggets squad that boasts a deep crew of forwards. Jefferson is unlikely to hold any real fantasy value, as he'll likely struggle to reach the 20.4 minutes per game he received with the Cavaliers in 2016-17 with the likes of Will Barton, Wilson Chandler, and Juancho Hernangomez vying for playing time on the wing.

Jefferson, along with Kay Felder and cash, has been traded to the Hawks in exchange for European draft rights, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports. The team plans to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN him.

The Cavaliers needed to get their NBA roster down to 15 players before the regular season opener and trading Jefferson aids in that process. It's unclear at the moment where Jefferson will finally land, though he'll seemingly want to play on a competitive roster.

Jefferson will return to the Cavaliers next season, Cleveland.com reports.

On a recent episode of the "Road Trippin'" podcast, which is hosted by Jefferson and Channing Frye, the 37-year-old confirmed that he will return to the Cavs next season after mulling retirement. Jefferson, who nearly retired last summer, is due to make $2.5 million next season, in what could very well be his final go-round in the NBA. In 2016-17, Jefferson saw action in 79 contests and averaged 5.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist in just over 20 minutes per game.

Jefferson (knee) will play in Sunday's matchup with the Pacers, Cavaliers play-by-play announcer Fred McLeod reports.

Jefferson has been nursing tendinitis in his knee, sitting out the Cavaliers' last two games because of it. However, as expected, it was only a minor ailment for the 36-year-old veteran and he'll be available off the bench on Sunday. Jefferson averaged 7.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.3 three-pointers across 24.1 minutes in March.

Jefferson (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Pacers, Rick Noland of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

Jefferson has missed the last two games while fighting knee tendinitis, but the Cavaliers don't seem to fear that a long-term absence is in store for the veteran. If he's able to make it through pregame warmups without incident, the 36-year-old should be available Sunday in a 15-to-20-minute role off the bench.

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue indicated that he expects Jefferson (knee) to play Friday against the 76ers, Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com reports.

With Lue suggesting that all of the team's regulars with the exception of Kyle Korver (foot) would be available Friday, it appears safe to count Jefferson in for the second half of the Cavs' back-to-back set. Jefferson battled knee tendinitis during Wednesday's practice and sat out Thursday's loss to the Bulls, but that was likely just for precautionary purposes. The veteran should be in store for a 15-to-25-minute role Friday while seeing time at both forward spots.

Jefferson (knee) will sit out Thursday's game against the Bulls, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reports.

Jefferson missed Wednesday's practice with knee tendinitis, but the expectation was that he'd be able to suit up Thursday. It's unclear if Jefferson's condition worsened or if the Cavaliers are erring on the side of caution by keeping him out in the front end of a back-to-back set, but his absence Thursday could open up extra run for Channing Frye and Derrick Williams in any event.

Jefferson missed Wednesday's practice with knee tendonitis but is still expected to play during Thursday's matchup against the Bulls Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com reports.

Though Jefferson sat out practice with a knee issue, coach Tyronn Lue noted that everyone except Kyle Korver (foot) will play Thursday. That being said, it's still possible that his injury could flare up, putting his status against the Bulls in jeapordy.

Jefferson managed zero points (0-4 FG, 0-3 3Pt), four rebounds and one steal across 28 minutes during Thursday's 91-83 victory over the Jazz.

With Kevin Love (knee) making his return Thursday, it was assumed that Jefferson would take a fairly large hit to his playing time. However, with Love on a minutes restriction -- playing just 20 minutes -- Jefferson still saw heavy run off the bench, but couldn't capitalize. The 36-year-old had been hot from the field leading up to Thursday's contest during Love's 13-game absence -- knocking down 56.3 percent of his shots and 47.5 percent of his three-point attempts -- but couldn't find the bottom of the basket against the Jazz. While he'll likely see his playing time regress closer to the 20.7 minutes per game that he's averaging on the season with Love back, coach Tyronn Lue isn't afraid to play Jefferson extended minutes if anyone on the team misses time.

Jefferson is expected to return to the bench for Thursday's game against the Jazz, Cavaliers play-by-play announcer John Michael reports.

Kevin Love (back) will be returning to the starting lineup Thursday after missing the last 13 games, which sends Jefferson back to the bench. While Jefferson figures to see a slight downturn in minutes, it may not be by much, as Love is expected to be on a minutes restriction and should be eased back into the swing of things. That said, Jefferson wasn't necessarily a hot commodity even when acting as a starter and will remain off the radar in the majority of fantasy formats.

Jefferson contributed a season-high 16 points (6-6 FG, 4-4 3Pt) to go along with three rebounds and one assist across 31 minutes during Sunday's 117-112 loss to the Rockets.

Jefferson didn't miss a shot on route to a season-high 16 points against a fast-paced Rockets squad. He's seen an increased role in the nine games leading up to Sunday since the All-Star break, averaging 8.7 points on 40.7 percent from three, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists across 25.9 minutes per game during that stretch. While he can likely be avoided in the majority of fantasy formats, his increased role can still have an impact in the deepest leagues, and occasionally DFS.