Denver trades JaMychal Green to Oklahoma City

Denver is trading F JaMychal Green and a protected 2027 first-round pick to Oklahoma City for the No. 30 pick in this month’s NBA Draft and two future second-round picks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Nuggets have No. 21 and 30 in this draft now and Thunder has Nos. 2, 12 and 34.

After the trade was completed, Wojnarowski added that Green is expected to exercise his $8.2M contract for 2022-2023. The deal gives Nuggets flexibility to use a $6.4M tax mid-level exception or an $8.2M trade exception in offseason. Nuggets expect to be a tax-paying team. Thunder have $31M in cap space to absorb Green salary.

ANALYSIS: Reading between the lines here, this sounds like an ode of confidence that Michael Porter Jr.'s injury issues will be a thing of the past. Green plays basically the exact same positions as MPJ and Denver relied on him in their rotation. Trading him away indicates that they believe Porter will be ready to take on a heavier load when the 2022-23 season starts.