The first domino has fallen. With Randy Foye suddenly becoming one of the league’s top deadline commodities, the Nuggets pulled the trigger on a deal that would send their backup guard to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder send D.J. Augustin, Steve Novak and two second-round picks to Denver for Randy Foye, league source says.
— Ken Berger (@KBergNBA) February 18, 2016
In moving Foye, the most important thing for the Nuggets was to ensure that they brought a point guard back to Denver, as Foye was the only available point guard on the roster behind Emmanuel Mudiay; the news that Jameer Nelson may require season-ending wrist surgery only made it more imperative.
That’s exactly what they got in D.J. Augustin.
In the long run, though, this trade comes down to those two second-round picks. Both Augustin and Steve Novak are playing on expiring contracts, meaning that they’ll hit free agency at the end of the season, and it would be a surprise if the Nuggets brought either of them back.
Actually, Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Denver may already be looking to flip Novak’s contract.
Denver will keep searching for a home for Novak's contract, but he's with Nuggets for now, league sources said.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 18, 2016
While it’s early, this is looking to be a big win for Tim Connelly. To turn Foye, a guard averaging just six points in 19.8 minutes, into four movable pieces is a lot of value.
The Nuggets’ war chest of assets just got a little bit bigger.
There’s still over an hour left until the trade deadline; we’ll see if Connelly has time to pull off another move.