The Oklahoma City Thunder have acquired Nuggets forward Joffrey Lauvergne from Denver, according to The Vertical
:
"Adrian Wojnarowski ✔ @WojVerticalNBA
Denver has traded forward Joffrey Lauvergne to Oklahoma City for two future second-round picks, league sources tell @TheVertical.
12:58 AM - 31 Aug 2016"
The move by Thunder GM Sam Presti is both surprising as well as encouraging in a sense, as he refuses to stand pat this off-season in an effort to put a dynamic team on the floor that will not lose much ground to the Warriors, Spurs, and Clippers in the west. They are adding in Lauvergne a 6'11 forward who was drafted in the 2nd round in 2013 and has shown signs of promise while in Denver. While he is not the classic swing man that OKC has been looking for to replace the departure of Kevin Durant, Lauvergne had an effective year last season, shooting over 50% from the floor and projecting 16.1 PPG and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes.
With the acquisition of Lauvergne, scheduled to receive $1.71 million this year, the Thunder now have a collection of big men suitable for a WWE stable and/or a full table at the UN:
"Fred Katz @FredKatz
The Thunder now have Adams, Kanter, Ilyasova, Sabonis, Collison, McGary and Lauvergne as bigs. Let the conspiracy theories begin.
1:16 AM - 31 Aug 2016"
The Thunder appear committed to maintaining their big man dominance heading into the new season, but questions will remain up until the on-court product is finalized.
We will continue to monitor the trade details as they develop. Visit Denver Stiffs for perspective on the opposite side of the trade.