NBA Rumors: Denver Nuggets Trade Joffrey Lauvergne To Oklahoma City Thunder

While it may not seem like it, NBA executives do work the phones all year round. According to CBS Sports, the Denver Nuggets are trading Joffrey Lauvergne to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In exchange, the Nuggets are receiving two second-round draft picks in 2017. Denver needed to free up space in the front court.

Ever since Carmelo Anthony left town, the Denver Nuggets have been largely ignored by NBA fans. That is because they do not have a big name superstar on the roster. However, what the Nuggets have is a collection of very talented young players with bright futures.

Joffrey Lauvergne was one of those talented young players, and the Denver Nuggets were intrigued by his potential. It is just that the franchise has a lot of talent in the frontcourt, and there are only so many minutes available per game. Lauvergne had a lot of competition just to get on the court.

Nuggets get pieces from OKC and Memphis.https://t.co/RqF2y2IF80

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Danilo Gallinari is the starting small forward for the Denver Nuggets. He is 6-foot-10, 225 pounds, which means that he will be spending time at power forward in small ball lineups. Gallinari averaged 19.5 points, 2.5 assists, and 5.3 rebounds per game last season. He has franchise player potential, so the Nuggets are going to make sure he gets playing time.

Joffrey Lauvergne is 6-foot-11, 240 pounds. He plays power forward and center. Lauvergne actually won the starting center position for the Denver Nuggets before a serious back injury sidelined him three games into the regular season. Others have jumped ahead of him during his hiatus.

While the majority of the NBA is leaning towards smaller lineups, the Denver Nuggets have a chance to trot out a twin towers lineup. Starting power forward Nikola Jokic is 6-foot-11, 250 pounds, and starting center Jusuf Nurkic is 6-foot-11, 280 pounds. Not a lot of teams can contend with that size.

The Denver Nuggets also have Kenneth Faried on the roster. Right now, the 26-year-old veteran is scheduled to come off the bench. However, there are talks that several teams in the NBA have an interest in acquiring him in a trade. Faried is capable of starting for a lot of other teams.

Aside from the Denver Nuggets, the Oklahoma City Thunder are another NBA team that can throw out a big lineup. Right now, the 6-foot-11, 260 pound Enes Kanter is scheduled to be the starting power forward, while the 7-foot, 250 pound Steven Adams is going to be the starting center.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are going through a bit of a transition period. Kevin Durant shocked the NBA by leaving in free agency to join a really stacked Golden State Warriors roster. The Thunder also traded away Serge Ibaka, a defensive mainstay at power forward for years, to the Orlando Magic.

Joffrey Lauvergne is going to be competing for playing time off the Oklahoma City Thunder bench. Through the Serge Ibaka trade, the Thunder acquired veteran power forward Ersan Ilyasova and rookie Domantas Sabonis, as reported by ESPN. Oklahoma City should have quite the competitive training camp in the coming weeks.

With the Oklahoma City Thunder having so much depth on the frontcourt, the belief is that general manager Sam Presti made the move with the Denver Nuggets because he has other trades in mind. The roster could look very different before the regular season begins.

At the end of the day, the Oklahoma City Thunder gave up two second-round draft picks for a player that has proven that he can be a part of the rotation in the NBA. Joffrey Lauvergne might not be a superstar, but he can be quite the asset for the Thunder.

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