National Basketball Association

NBA Trade Grades: Thunder Acquire Joffrey Lauvergne From Nuggets

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Denver Nuggets have traded Joffrey Lauvergne to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Here are NBA Trade Grades for both sides.

Apr 5, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) guards Denver Nuggets center Joffrey Lauvergne (77) in the third quarter at the Pepsi Center. The Thunder defeated the Nuggets 124-102. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

In a surprising move, the Denver Nuggets have traded power forward/center Joffrey Lauvergne to the Oklahoma City Thunder for two future second round picks.

As first reported by Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post, the crowded Nuggets frontcourt is going to get a bit lighter in exchange for two protected 2017 second-rounders, while the Thunder’s big man logjam is about to get even more interesting.

In the aftermath of Kevin Durant‘s free agency decision to join the Golden State Warriors, the Thunder aren’t wasting much time repositioning themselves for the future. The question is, what does this Lauvergne acquisition mean for the other bigs already on the roster?

And more importantly, who won this unexpected swap? Here are NBA Trade Grades for each side.

Oct 18, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Joffrey Lauvergne (77) dunks the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma City Thunder

Considering how crowded Denver’s frontcourt was, a Joffrey Lauvergne trade wasn’t particularly surprising. What was unexpected, however, was the Thunder being the team on the receiving end, especially since their frontcourt is similarly log-jammed.

Even after the draft-day Serge Ibaka trade, OKC still sported Steven Adams, Enes Kanter, Ersan Ilyasova, Mitch McGary, Nick Collison and rookie Domantas Sabonis in the frontcourt — not to mention Andre Roberson and Josh Huestis, who can play the 4 in small-ball lineups.

Adding Lauvergne to that mix not only stuffs one more sardine into the can, but it also puts OKC at 16 guaranteed contracts.

Lauvergne will be on OKC’s roster for next season, because it wouldn’t make sense to give up assets for him and then waive him. This deal could, however, spell the end for someone like Mitch McGary, who failed to carve out minutes in head coach Billy Donovan‘s rotation last season.

The 24-year-old McGary showed signs of promise in limited time as a rookie, averaging 6.3 points and 5.2 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game, but failed to earn the same trust under Donovan, who limited him to 3.6 minutes per game in only 20 appearances.

Between McGary’s off-court issues with marijuana that earned him a five-game suspension and Donovan’s lack of trust in him, adding another 24-year-old with upside like Lauvergne makes some sense. At the meager price of two protected second-round picks, the Thunder bolstered their young frontcourt core.

Last season, the 6’11” Lauverne struggled to earn minutes ahead of Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic, but not nearly to the extent that McGary did in OKC. King Joff averaged 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per game last year, shooting 51.3 percent from the floor and 24.5 percent from three-point range.

Coming off his second NBA season, Lauvergne is a hard worker who will help OKC on the glass and spread the floor better than McGary can. But even if the Thunder gave up a negligible ransom for King Joff’s services, it’s hard to judge this move until we see its full aftermath in the frontcourt.

Namely, how do the Thunder go about trading out of this frontcourt logjam to address their needs on the wing? And what happens next summer when a good but not great player like Lauvergne hits restricted free agency?

Grade: B-

Apr 10, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood (5) controls the ball against Denver Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic (23) and center Nikola Jokic (15) and forward Will Barton (5) and guard Emmanuel Mudiay (0) in the second quarter at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Denver Nuggets

From Denver’s perspective, trading Lauvergne makes some sense. He’s not as young or as talented as Jokic and Nurkic, who were going to soak up most of the minutes at center. Out of their three promising centers, the Nuggets traded the right one.

Unfortunately, that also means the return wasn’t as great. Perhaps I’m a bit too high on King Joff’s potential, especially on a roster where his opportunities would’ve been limited, but it feels like the Nuggets could’ve done better for Lauvergne than two protected second-rounders if they had bided their time.

A Lauvergne or Nurkic trade felt inevitable, but another season of feeding Joff minutes whenever they became available might have boosted his trade value more. As a power forward/center hybrid, it’s not like such a useful offensive player would’ve been phased out of the rotation.

In any case, the Nuggets’ frontcourt is a little lighter, as is their roster. The Lauvergne trade has Denver’s roster down to 14, leaving room for one more player if the Nuggets choose to add someone to a guaranteed deal in training camp.

With Lauvergne gone, Denver still has plenty of depth at both power forward and center as well:

So, unless they make another trade, Nuggets rotation, give or take…. pic.twitter.com/6rcC69mtBN

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) August 30, 2016

It’s also worth noting that in addition to the arrival of rookie Juan Hernangomez, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler can log minutes as small-ball 4s. Freeing up more minutes for Nurkic and Jokic at the 5 makes some sense as Denver tries to weed through its crowded frontcourt rotation.

The Nuggets didn’t get significantly worse by this trade, but why not keep the third string center without a better option available and give him one more year to prove his long-term worth, or at least boost his trade value?

With Denver still focusing on internal development, trading Joff now feels like a hasty decision, especially since the return was not as high as it might have been with another season under his belt.

Grade: C