Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth just got some more draft capital for this month’s NBA draft — while also sending away a rotation player.
Booth executed his first trade as the franchise’s top basketball decision-maker Monday, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, sending veteran forward JaMychal Green and a protected 2027 first-round pick to Oklahoma City for this year’s 30th overall pick and two future second-round picks.
With the trade, the Nuggets now have the Nos. 21 and 30 selections in the first round of the June 23 draft. They will also receive second-round picks in 2023 and ’24, according to the report.
Green has an $8.2 million player option left on the two-year deal he signed with Denver in the summer of 2021. A reserve forward for the Nuggets the past two years, he was likely to see a minutes crunch with the expected return of Michael Porter Jr. next season.
While the trade will slice some payroll from a Nuggets cap sheet that is destined to cross the luxury tax line, the guaranteed salaries due to the first-round picks would offset roughly half of those savings.
The two first-rounders give Booth the opportunity to pick up a pair of low-cost options under team control for four seasons — which could prove invaluable given the franchise’s current cap situation.
Booth could also use those picks as sweeteners in a trade for an established veteran, or to move up higher in the first round and pick up an immediate contributor.
Whatever he decides to do with his newfound assets, this much is clear: Booth is already backing up claims he would be aggressive in pursuing roster improvements for two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the franchise’s immediate championship window.