LOL: The Denver Nuggets Just Made a Trade (for Draft Picks) While in the NBA Finals

Posted by Admin June 9, 2023 NBA

The grind never stops for the Denver Nuggets front office!

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Nuggets have agreed to a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the middle of the NBA Finals. The deal will see a 2029 first-round pick from the Nuggets head to the Thunder in exchange for the least-favorable of OKC’s 2024 first-rounders and two second-rounders. One of those seconds will be the 37th pick in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft, while the other will also come in 2024.

The Nuggets are trying to maximize their championship window and this deal gives them some additional chances at low-cost contracts and trade tools. For OKC, another first-round pick deep into the future.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 9, 2023

I know we’re not talking about any sort of blockbuster deal here, but it’s not every day that you see an organization strike a deal while up 2-1 in the NBA Finals! It’s the perfect example of just how fast the NBA tends to move, as well as how many opportunities are always out there (are you paying attention, Bulls?).

Not to mention, this feels like a pretty smart deal for both parties. The Thunder simply can’t use all of their 30+ picks over the next eight drafts as they try to construct a competitive roster. With that being the case, it can’t hurt to send out a few in exchange for possibly an even more valuable first-round pick in 2029. I mean, who knows where the Nuggets will be by then?

As for Denver, they are two wins away from winning their first NBA championship in franchise history. Nikola Jokic (28) and Jamal Murray (26) are just entering their prime years, so the Nuggets are expected to remain among the league elites for several seasons to come. With that in mind, as well as a new CBA deal that only further deters extreme spending, the Nuggets will want as many productive players on team-friendly contracts. What’s a good way to accomplish that? Draft good players!

The Denver Nuggets just watched their most recent draft night success story score 15 points in Game 3. They selected Chrisitan Braun with the No. 21 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, and he appeared in 76 games for the West’s No. 1 team this season. Getting that kind of production out of a 22-year-old is huge, and it’s clearly something they’re hoping to replicate over the next couple of seasons.