According to ESPN’s Marc Stein the Nuggets offered a trade that included JaVale McGee and JJ Hickson to the Nets that would’ve involved Brook Lopez.
Nuggets, I’m told, offered one of two picks recently scored from Cavs in Mozgov deal in addition to Hickson/McGee for Lopez. Nets declined
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 2, 2015
The best part for this deal for the Nuggets would be to get JaVale McGee’s unfriendly contract/work ethic off the books and in return get a player in Lopez that is two years removed from an all star appearance for the eastern conference.
Lopez is averaging 15.3 points per game, and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Denver just traded away Center Timofey Mozgov to Cleveland to help kick start the development of rookie Jusuf Nurkic. A deal like this would move Nurkic back into a reserve role but would give him a more prominent player to learn from.
Just an FYI: Denver and Brooklyn haven’t spoken in a week on a Brook Lopez deal, league sources tell Yahoo. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 2, 2015
This may not have been as close to happening as it sounds but the Nuggets and GM Tim Connelly have shown this year they aren’t afraid to make deals. The further the team falls out of contention, expect more rumors to swirl.
