The Nuggets traded Jusuf Nurkic and the Grizzlies’ first-round pick to the Trail Blazers for Mason Plumlee and a second-rounder -- a deal that didn’t appear to provide Denver enough value.
But it seems we omitted a key piece of the Nuggets’ return.
Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders:
Also, $2.85 mil Denver got from Blazers in Plumlee/Nurkic deal was max allowed after getting $650k from Hawks for Mo WIlliams @BBallInsiders
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) February 19, 2017
Teams rarely trade that much in a single transaction. They’re capped at both receiving and sending out $3.5 million this season.
But this is the advantage of an owner willing to spend. Paul Allen is allowing Portland to assemble a more-talented roster.
Denver still got the best player right now in the trade, and Plumlee will upgrade the bench and maybe even fit OK starting with Nikola Jokic. But it’s hard to overlook owner Stan Kroenke’s cash influx.
