The Nuggets, Spurs and Celtics are finalizing a three-team trade agreement, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
In the deal, Woj reveals that Spurs shooting guard Bryn Forbes will return to a playoff contender when he arrives in Denver. Power forward Juancho Hernangomez, meanwhile, is heading to San Antonio by way of Boston. Finally, two injured players, power forward Bol Bol and guard PJ Dozier, are en route to the Celtics in a cost-cutting move.
Mike Singer of the Denver Post writes that the Nuggets will also be sending out a second-round draft selection to the Spurs in the deal. Woj tweets that Denver will be shipping out its 2028 second-round pick.
Woj adds (Twitter link) that the Nuggets, who at 22-20 are currently the sixth seed in the Western Conference, are looking to get some additional (healthy) scoring out of Forbes as a reserve wing. Forbes, averaging 9.1 PPG on .432/.417/.898 shooting, fits the bill.
The Nuggets had been linked to Forbes as a trade target as recently as Monday.
Hernangomez failed to crack the Celtics’ rotation, averaging 1.1 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 5.3 MPG over just 18 contests. Woj also notes that, by getting off Hernangomez’s $7 million salary, the Celtics get that much closer to ducking the NBA’s punitive luxury tax.
San Antonio’s decision to acquire a future draft pick and move on from Forbes, a valuable contributor, could signal that the Spurs have accepted they should be in asset-accrual mode in the weeks leading up to the league’s trade deadline.
The Nuggets, struggling with injuries to several players at several positions, tried to trade Bol to the Pistons last week, only to see the deal rescinded when he failed his team physical. Bol subsequently went under the knife for a foot surgery this week, and is scheduled to miss several months of game action. Dozier is set to miss the rest of the 2021-22 NBA season as he continues to recover from a surgery of his own to treat a torn ACL.
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