Nuggets’ Julian Strawther out at least six weeks

Julian Strawther’s knee injury isn’t as bad as Wednesday night looked. It still comes at the horrible time.

The Nuggets announced Friday that Strawther sprained his left knee in Denver’s 122-110 preseason loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. He will be re-evaluated in six weeks, which puts his earliest possible return in late November or early December.

“We were gonna rely on Jules a lot, especially on the offensive end,” coach David Adelman said before Friday’s preseason bout against the Lakers. “It’s unfortunate … especially with the timing for him.”

Adelman said Strawther was in better spirits Friday. Two days earlier, he had covered his face with a towel as he left the floor at Intuit Dome. Now there’s a pathway back and a plan.

Strawther was hurt in the third quarter when Clippers defenders trapped him and he fell awkwardly with his left leg underneath him. At that point he had 11 points and three 3-pointers in 18 minutes.

Through four exhibitions, he was averaging 13.3 points, second-most on the team, and shooting 43.5% from 3-point range. His 5.8 attempts per game were the most on the roster. He had come into camp after a strong offseason and had become the bench’s most reliable scorer as Adelman tried to settle on a 10-man rotation.

Strawther’s role was supposed to grow this season. Tim Hardaway Jr. left for Miami in free agency, taking 224 made 3-pointers and 13.5 points per game with him. Strawther was the most obvious internal replacement for that shooting — though DeMar DeRozan may be taking on the overall scoring.

Strawther has had this kind of luck before — he has missed time after the new year in each of his three NBA seasons and has played just 123 career playoff minutes, 18 of them last spring. He has been productive almost every time Denver has called on him. He just hasn’t been healthy when the minutes matter most.

The injury also lands three days before Monday’s deadline for a rookie-scale extension. Without a deal, the 24-year-old is headed for restricted free agency next summer. The Nuggets were already weighing that decision against a tight financial picture, and a sprained knee won’t make it easier.

In the meantime, his minutes have to go to someone else. Alpha Diallo, one of the standouts of camp, likely takes the wing spot Strawther was competing for. DeRozan and Tyus Jones will be asked to create more of the bench offense when Nikola Jokic sits. Two-way rookie Bryce Hopkins could get a look, though limits on two-way players’ active games mean Denver can’t lean on him for long.

Denver opens the regular season next Thursday. Strawther won’t be there, but maybe he’s back on the floor in December.

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