The Denver Nuggets have traded Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee to the Portland Trail Blazers for a future first round pick (lottery protected in 2016), a second-round pick, Will Barton, Victor Claver, and Thomas Robinson, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Blazers will send Will Barton, Victor Claver, a future lottery protected 1st and a second-round pick to Denver for Afflalo and Alonzo Gee.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 19, 2015
Thomas Robinson goes to the Nuggets too, source tells Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 19, 2015
Portland’s sending 2016 first-round lottery protected pick. If not conveyed, becomes ’17 lottery protected. After that, it’s two future 2nds
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 19, 2015
The Nuggets have had a certain level of interest in Barton and now have acquired the guard/forward, along with the young Thomas Robinson.
How the trade breaks down:
Blazers get:
Arron Afflalo
Alonzo Gee
Nuggets get:
2016 first round pick (lottery protected, lottery protected in 2017, or two future seconds if not conveyed to Denver as a first)
Second Round pick (no sooner than 2018, according to Basketball Insiders salary breakdown)
Will Barton: 24 year old guard forward who has a $1.1 million qualifying offer after the season. The Nuggets had interest in Barton under their old regime, brought him in for a workout before the 2012 draft and the current front office likes Barton's game, as well. Have heard he's a great teammate and good locker room guy that can also play.
Here is my interview with him before he entered the league in 2012:
Will Barton: One of our readers mentioned that Barton might be too much like Corey Brewer. They are both tall and slender players. After the workout, Barton showed off his athleticism by doing a couple different dunks – one an alley-oop pass from behind the hoop and another where he was bouncing the ball off the floor to himself. The kid has a ton of athleticism and plays the game with a hard-nosed and scrappy style that he thinks lends himself to being a good fit for the Nuggets.
Barton believes he'll be drafted between the 17-25 range – which would fit right into the Nuggets at No. 20. He has done nine to 11 workouts and has three more left for different teams. This kid seems like he has already been put through the pre-draft workout ringer. I wouldn't blame him for being tired, but he was alert and gracious to those firing questions at him.
Where will you be watching the NBA Draft and who will you be with? "I'm going to be home, in Baltimore, Maryland, that's where I'm from. I'm going to watch the draft with my family. The ones who have coached me and been there all my life."
I know you're from Baltimore, so I have to ask … Avon Barksdale or Stringer Bell? "Ahh (a laugh) Barksdale. Barksdale."
Barksdale and Bell were both villains or heroes on HBO's hit series The Wire. Bell liked to do things by the book and was, at times, a backstabber and a snake. Barksdale was a working man, a tough guy, wore his emotions on his sleeve, and you always knew where you stood with him. The ultimate villain. Sometimes when you play basketball, you have to play with that villain chip on your shoulder and Barton seems to carry a chip with him and he wants nothing more than to prove that he belongs in the NBA.
Thomas Robinson: 23 year old power forward, former 5th overall pick of the 2012 draft out of Kansas. Robinson is set to become an Unrestricted Free Agent after the season as his rookie extension was not picked up by the Blazers. He's owed part of his $3.6 million contract for this season.
Robinson is a talented player that will be joining his fourth team just three seasons (Kings, Rockets, Blazers, Nuggets). I like what Robinson can bring and think the Nuggets would be wise to give him some minutes as Kenneth Faried's backup to see what he can do and get familiar with his work ethic and locker room presence.
Victor Claver: 26 year old stretch four that was a former 2009 first round pick of the Blazers (22nd overall). Claver has shown some flashes, but has had trouble finding a spot in the Blazers rotation and that's concerning because the team has desperately needed scoring, and a scoring big off the bench. Claver has a qualifying offer of $1.7 million after the season, so the Nuggets will also get a good look at him.
The Nuggets could buy out one of these guys to make room for Joffrey Lauvergne or we could see some other deals coming today or buyouts after the deadline for guys like Randy Foye, Darrell Arthur, or Jameer Nelson.
Arron Afflalo clashed with Brian Shaw and was having a disappointing season in his Denver reunion. He will be a boost to the Blazers bench and should provide them with excellent scoring pop off the bench. Alonzo Gee was used sparingly in Denver, but was liked by many and embraced the city of Denver. Definitely wish those guys the best in Portland, it'll be a little easier picking a playoff team to root for.
Stay tuned for more here on Denver Stiffs.
