The Denver Nuggets have exercised the fourth-year contract option on forward Kenneth Faried and the third-year option on guard Evan Fournier for 2014-15.

Faried, the 22nd overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, averaged 11.5 points and 9.2 rebounds – both career-highs – in 80 games for the Nuggets last season. He recorded 31 double-doubles and ranked ninth in the NBA in field-goal percentage (.552).

Fournier, the 20th overall pick in 2012, averaged 5.3 points and 1.2 assists in 38 games as a rookie last season. He scored in double-figures in six of his final nine appearances, including a career-high 24 points against the Portland Trail Blazers on April 14.

The Denver Nuggets are leaning toward starting J.J. Hickson at power forward in Wednesday's opener.

Kenneth Faried is returning from a hamstring strain and is coming off a season in which he started all 80 regular season games in which he played.

Sources told ESPN's Zach Lowe last week that the Nuggets are gauging the trade value of Faried.

Ty Lawson is expected to miss the Denver Nuggets' season opener at the Sacramento Kings because of a groin injury.

The Nuggets also anticipate Wilson Chandler (hamstring) and Randy Foye (hip) missing the game.

"I would anticipate Wilson is not going to play," Brian Shaw said. "Ty and Randy are still a question, but my mind-set is that they are going to be out."

The Denver Nuggets reduced their roster to 15 players by waiving forward Damion James.

James, signed as a non-roster invitee, averaged 3.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in seven preseason games for Denver. He went 8-for-23 from the field.

The Nuggets open the regular season Oct. 30 at Sacramento.

The Denver Nuggets suffered a blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday at home, 98-79, and Brian Shaw was highly disappointed in the defeat.

“Tonight was inexcusable,” Shaw said. “There is no other way around it.”

“Very surprised,” Shaw added of the Nuggets' effort. “One of the advantages of teams having to travel here, especially on the second night of a back-to-back – they get in late, the altitude. We’re at home. We didn’t give the crowd any reason to give us energy because they are not going to cheer for us if we’re going tout there with a lackluster performance. You’ve got to show that you’ve got some fight, give the people what they paid money for and we didn’t do that. It was dead all the way around and I was very surprised about that.”

Forward J.J. Hickson agreed the game was a setback.

“It’s the preseason, but I definitely see it as a step back,” Hickson said. “We have to play harder. It’s a long season. You’re going to have games where you take steps back but it’s always how you bounce back. So we’re looking to play way better against Chicago and play better as a team.”

The Denver Nuggets have put out targeted trade feelers on Kenneth Faried to gauge his value, according to multiple sources around the NBA.

The Nuggets have demanded a very good return for Faried.

Faried averaged 11 points and 9.2 rebounds last season, winning the MVP award of the Rookie-Sophomore Game at All-Star Weekend.

The Nuggets, for their part, deny they have put Faried's name out there at all.

Nate Robinson has been fined $10,000 for pushing and striking Steven Adams in the chest, the NBA announced.

The incident occurred in Saturday's preseason game between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Robinson signed a free agent deal with the Nuggets in the offseason after a strong season with the Chicago Bulls.

With the departures of George Karl and Masai Ujiri this offseason, Josh Kroenke has taken the Denver Nuggets in the direction of a more modern front office.

Kroenke hired Tim Connelly as general manager and Brian Shaw as head coach.

"We never want to tell the coach what he has to do: He has to decide the best combinations on the floor, who to play, what to run," said Kroenke. "But the best organizations in the NBA have that camaraderie, that cohesion, between the front offices and the coaching staffs. There's so much information available now, and this makes the most sense. It's a good dynamic to have, and you can feel everybody is on the same page here."

Kroenke was a heavily recruited basketball player in his own right and played rotation minutes a decade ago for Missouri.

Kroenke has built his resume controlling the Nuggets over the past three years.

"I've been around pro sports since an early age, with the NFL, the NBA, soccer," he says, "and I've picked up things. But I've also found my own path. There's always a fear of failure in this family. I don't want to feel out of place in it. I want to go prove things to myself.

"I think that I can figure out people pretty quickly, that I've developed a good sense of reading them," he says. "From a young age, I've had people coming to me asking me for stuff; people always want something."

The Denver Nuggets have waived forward Reginald Becton and guard Kyle Fogg.

Fogg appeared in one preseason game for the Nuggets, scoring one point in two minutes against the San Antonio Spurs. Becton did not play in any of Denver’s first four preseason games.

Andre Miller is staring down the start of his 15th NBA season, with 1,126 games under his belt and more than 37,000 minutes played. He will cross the 40,000-minute mark this season if he averages 30 minutes per game.

Miller, 37, believes he has a few more seasons left in him and is aiming to play until he is 40 years old.

"I could still play 35 minutes," Miller said. "Coming back here, I was slowed down (last year). I was doing well in Portland, playing 33, 34 minutes a game, and the situation was, I was traded back here and basically told I would be a backup. I still feel I can play a high amount of minutes, but teams have what they are doing, and I have to fall in line."

Miller was on the trading block during the offseason but claims not to have heard criticism he received from fans of the Denver Nuggets or his name in rumors.

"I can't worry about the trade rumors," Miller said. "I do my job every day. Regardless, I show up to work, practice. I've never missed a game as a Nugget. I couldn't care less what people say as far as my preparation and what I do on the court."