The Denver Nuggets will pick in the first round of Thursday’s NBA Draft following a deal with the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, according to an ESPN report.
Basketball guru Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday that Denver acquired picks Nos. 29 and 32 from Indiana in exchange for the 40th pick in this year’s draft and the later of its two first-round draft picks in 2024.
The deal means the world-champion Nuggets will pick at 29, 32 and 37 on Thursday night.
Watch the NBA Draft starting at 6 p.m. Thursday on Denver7.
The Nuggets are trading the least favorable of its 2024 first-round picks in deal to move into the first-round and early second in Thursday's NBA Draft, per sources. https://t.co/fV40LZCrgk
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 21, 2023
The Nuggets made a rare trade during the NBA Finals that landed them the No. 37 pick in 2023 and a second-round pick in 2024 in exchange for a first-round pick in 2029.
Denver has stocked up on draft picks as a way to land complementary players at an affordable rate. They do so as they brace for the possible departure of integral role player Bruce Brown.
The Associated Press on Wednesday reported Brown would become a free agent this offseason after declining his $6.8 million player option for next year.
The Nuggets are likely to be among the teams penalized for going over the league’s luxury tax threshold, according to For The Win. Under the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, doing so would cost them the ability to use the mid-level exception – which allows teams to go over the salary cap once per season to sign players – in future years.
