NBA Rumors: Joffrey Lauvergne traded to Oklahoma City Thunder for picks
By John Buhler
The Denver Nuggets have reportedly traded center Joffrey Lauvergne to the Oklahoma City Thunder for two 2017 second-round draft picks.
According to ESPN’s Royce Young, the Denver Nuggets have traded their center Joffrey Lauvergne to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a pair of second-round picks in the 2017 NBA Draft.
The Thunder have sent two 2017 second round picks to the Nuggets for Joffrey Lauvergne.
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) August 30, 2016
This is a bit peculiar, as Lauvergne will only be 25 years old during the 2016-17 NBA season and the Thunder already have 15 guaranteed contracts on its roster heading into training camp, as Fred Katz of the Norman Transcript points out.
Thunder had 15 guaranteed deals pre-Lauvergne & giving up picks just so they can waive Lauvergne makes no sense. Make of that what you will.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) August 30, 2016
This could mean that the Thunder are about to make a series of moves to their roster. Why would general manager Sam Presti give Denver a pair of second-round picks if they were just going to waive Lauvergne anyway?
Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly has stockpiled assets marvelously since taking over for Masai Ujiri a few years ago. Lauvergne averaged 7.9 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game in 59 games for the 2015-16 Nuggets, but would have struggled to find playing time in a deep Denver front court this winter.
Depending on what Presti has in store for Oklahoma City, it looks like the Thunder want to use length to its advantage in its roster construction this year. Having long-limbed defenders helped the Thunder force the Golden State Warriors to seven games in the 2016 Western Conference Finals.
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With Steven Adams taking on a bigger role in 2016-17, trading for Lauvergne helps give the Thunder front court depth after losing Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka this summer.