The Denver Nuggets have traded JaVale McGee to the Philadelphia 76ers, according to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Denver will give up a first-round pick acquired from Oklahoma City in exchange for Philadelphia taking on his contract.
JaVale McGee traded to 76ers, according to report
The Nuggets have found a team willing to take McGee’s contract.
Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
McGee is set to make $12 million next season in the final year of a 4-year, $44 million deal he signed with Denver in 2012. McGee has battled injuries since signing the contract, most notably undergoing surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left tibia that limited him to five games in the 2013-14 season.
McGee returned this season, but suffered another leg injury. He’s played only 17 games this season and has been replaced in Denver’s front court by impressive rookie Jusuf Nurkic. McGee is still only 27 years old, so there’s still time for him to regain the form he showed with the Nuggets in 2012 as a quality shot blocker.
Most importantly, Philadelphia is getting a future first-round pick that originally belonged to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The pick is top 18 protected this season and top 15 protected in 2016. This deal is essentially Philly using its ample cap space to absorb a bad contract and buy a first-round pick.
SB Nation presents: The three biggest trades at this year’s deadline
What are the 76ers getting?
We know 76ers GM Sam Hinkie loves long, athletic shot blockers. He's proven as much by selecting Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid in the last two drafts. McGee is another player who fits that mold. It's unclear how the three centers will mesh together, but at this point it's clear that Hinkie's work tinkering with Philadelphia's roster is never complete. This could mean another move is on the way, eventually.
Can McGee still be an effective player? If he's healthy, it's certainly possible. McGee spent the first few years of his career seen as an immature and erratic player with the Washington Wizards, but his physical tools finally seemed to come to fruition after getting traded to Denver in 2012.
The days of Denver's high-octane 2012 team feel long gone. George Karl was fired after winning Coach of the Year, Andre Iguodala signed with the Warriors as a free agent and McGee has been injured. If nothing else, McGee is still 7 feet tall with a history of blocking shots. The Sixers will hope he can rediscover his previous form.
McGee is a fan favorite among diehards so he’s bound to get most of the attention for this trade, but the draft pick is the real reason Hinkie is taking on his contract. It’s a hefty price to pay for a pick, but Hinkie covets every asset he can get along the way to a rebuild in Philly.
What is Denver getting?
Source confirms that the #sixers will send the rights to Cent Akyol to Denver to complete the deal.
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) February 19, 2015 On the surface, the intent behind this trade seems transparent. Denver wanted to unload McGee’s contract, and gave up a first-round draft pick to do so.
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