Report: Thomas Robinson agrees to buyout with Nuggets
For a No. 5 overall draft pick still on his rookie contract, Thomas Robinson has done an awful lot of bouncing around.
Robinson, who was shipped Thursday from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Denver Nuggets - his fourth NBA team - as part of the Arron Afflalo trade, has verbally agreed to a buyout with the Nuggets, according to ESPN's Jeff Goodman.
Robinson is reportedly looking for an expanded role after averaging just 13.5 minutes in 172 games between the Blazers, Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings. He wasn't going to find that in the Nuggets' crowded frontcourt.
It's unclear where else, if anywhere, he will be able to find it. Robinson has been a bit of enigma, flashing a valuable skill set - strong rebounding instincts, great speed for his size - while somehow remaining in a stunted state of development, never able to put it all together.
His offensive game has been particularly stagnant, without any reliable way to score outside the pick-and-roll. He averaged just 10.6 points per 36 minutes with the Blazers this season, the lowest scoring rate of his career.
Robinson is still just 23 and could yet turn into a productive NBA player, but every passing season makes the likelihood of him living up to his former top-five billing more remote.
Still, if the Nuggets do indeed buy out the rest of his contract, there should be plenty of teams interested in acquiring his services on the cheap.