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denver nuggets: trade grades

Trade Grades
Click here for link to Oklahoma City Thunder Trade Grades

 
Thunder get: SG Randy Foye
Nuggets get: PF/SF Steve Novak, PG/SG D.J Augustin, two second-rounders

What's not to like? Augustin's contracts is expiring after this season, and Novak has just been bought-out, so there are no long-term financial issues here. And Foye was putting up career-lows in minutes (19.8) and points (6.0) this season, yet Denver was still able to cash him in for a pair of second-rounders. For a 22-32 team, that's just a dream come true, albeit on a very minor scale.
 
Grade: A

Trade Grades

Click here for link to Houston Rockets Trade Grades

Nuggets get: SF/PF Kostas Papanikolaou, SG/PG Nick Johnson, PG Pablo Prigioni, C/PF Joey Dorsey, 2016 first round pick from Houston (lottery protected)
Rockets get: PG Ty Lawson

The Nuggets needed to get rid of Lawson. There was no doubt about it. He was not getting along with teammates and staff alike, was unhappy in Denver, recently picked up his fourth DUI (among other off-the-court issues), would have just been hindering the development of rookie PG Emmanuel Mudiay… the list goes on. These factors hurt not only Lawson’s trade value, but the Nuggets’ leverage in negotiations as a whole. Still, the UNC product is a star that put up 15.2 points and 9.6 assists per game on an underachieving Denver team last season. In addition, he ranked seventh amongst all players in points produced via either scoring or assists last season. SEVENTH! I get all the issues working against Denver in trading the disgruntled point guard, I really do. They really tried to make the best of a bad situation. But for these issues to hurt Lawson’s value to the point that he’s only worth a late first-rounder and a collection of role players, considering all the other potential suitors for him, is surprising.

Grade: B-

Trade Grades

Nuggets get: SF/SG Cenk Akyol
76ers get: C Javale McGee, PF Chukwudiebere Maduabum, Oklahoma City’s 2015 first-rounder (top 18 protected this year, top 15 protected in 2016 and 2017, turns into 2018 and 2019 second-rounders if not conveyed)

As mentioned under Philadelphia, this trade is not about the weird foreign guys at all. This trade is purely about dumping McGee’s awful 2 years/$23.25 million on the Sixers and sending them a first-rounder as well to make this deal fair: a simple salary dump. In general, a pick with protections like this one in exchange for $12 million in cap space over two years would be pretty fair for both sides. However, this one isn’t so great for Denver for two reasons. 1: McGee’s contract expired in advance of the legendary 2016 offseason anyways. And 2: Denver doesn’t need that cap space! As a young, rebuilding team (like the Sixers) looking to offload veterans in exchange for draft picks and prospects (i.e Arron Afflalo and Timofey Mozgov deals), this trade is certainly a head-scratcher. Denver shouldn’t and doesn’t (I think) have any intention of winning now, so sacrificing a future asset, the draft pick, for cap space they shouldn’t even use makes little sense.

Grade: D+

Trade Grades


Nuggets get: SG Will Barton, PF Thomas Robinson, PF/SF Victor Claver, second-rounder, 2016 first-rounder (lottery-protected, turns into 2 second-rounders if not conveyed) 
Trail Blazers get: SG/SF Arron Afflalo, SF Alonzo Gee 

The rebuild is officially on in Denver. After netting two first-rounders from Cleveland for C Timofey Mozgov, the Nuggets continue to deal away their veterans for future assets. The intention is clearly to win in the future and not now, and this trade helps that cause. Robinson is a former top-5 pick, but has been largely disappointing in the pros: averaging just 3.5 points and 4 rebounds per game in his third season. Still, this will be Robinson's fourth team in that span, and perhaps he can produce if handed more minutes than 12 per game, which is how many the Blazers have been giving him this year. Curiously, however, the Nuggets are entertaining the buyout that Robinson is currently seeking from them. Barton and Claver are young, but are unlikely to be anything more than role players. The picks are nice, and the first-rounder will likely be conveyed next year, as the Blazers are certainly no lottery team. Given the direction this Nuggets team is heading, they did very well with the package they got for Afflalo. 

Grade: A 
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