The Nuggets are making a couple of late-season moves that could save them money, as well as help them add a young player.

They made a waiver claim Tuesday on veteran forward Shavlik Randolph, and have been awarded his rights by the NBA. Randolph, however, is not expected to play for the Nuggets. Picking up a player with his salary ($1.227 million) gets the Nuggets much closer to the NBA’s salary-cap floor, which is the minimum salary teams are required to have on their books at season’s end. The salary-cap floor is $56.759 million.

The Nuggets, with Randolph’s salary included, come within roughly $600,000 of the salary-cap floor.

Randolph, 31, is expected to be released by the Nuggets. If he clears waivers, then the Nuggets have the benefit of keeping the cap hit — and thus their current proximity to the salary floor — while still having a roster spot with which to sign a prospective player, if they choose to do that.

In that scenario, the Nuggets could take the prorated salary they would have paid to Randolph for the final week of the season and apply that to whomever they acquire for the remainder of the regular season, which is down to four games. Then, they would have that player on their roster for the summer and into training camp in order to get a good look at him.

If that all of this comes to pass, in real dollars the Nuggets would save approximately $1.2 million because the majority of Randolph’s salary is being taken care of by Phoenix and Boston, two teams he played for this season.

As for the remaining money under the salary-cap floor, the NBA does not penalize a team. But any difference must be divided up and dispersed among the players on the roster. Right now, that’s looking to be payments in the $40,000 range for each Nugget.

Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dempseypost

DALLAS AT DENVER 7 p.m. Friday, ALT; 950 AM

Spotlight on Mark Cuban: The outspoken Mavericks owner was at it again Wednesday, railing against the state of men’s college basketball to reporters. “It’s horrible. It’s ridiculous,” Cuban said. “It’s worse than high school. You’ve got 20 to 25 seconds of passing on the perimeter and then somebody goes and tries to make a play and do something stupid, and scoring’s gone down. The referees couldn’t manage a White Castle.”

NOTEBOOK

Nuggets: Gary Harris had one of his better performances of the season Wednesday, helping the Nuggets defeat the Lakers 119-101 at the Pepsi Center. Harris contributed nine points, his most since Feb. 25, and 4-of-6 shooting. “I’m just continuing to try to learn and get better,” said Harris, a rookie guard from Michigan State who was drafted in the first round. “It’s a learning season; it’s definitely been long. I’ve got a lot to learn.”

Mavericks: They have clinched a playoff berth, so they will be playing in the postseason for the 14th time in 15 years. They are locked into the seventh seed in the Western Conference. … Chandler Parsons (knee) didn’t play Wednesday against Phoenix. He is questionable for Friday’s game against the Nuggets.

Christopher Dempsey, The Denver Post