Nuggets trade JaVale McGee and a 1st-round pick to 76ers

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The Denver Nuggets are clearing out their roster for picks, and they're using said picks to further clear out their roster.

Flush with extra draft considerations after dealing Timofey Mozgov for two first-round picks and Arron Afflalo for a first-round pick and a second-round pick, the Nuggets have shifted focus and dealt a first-round pick of their own to unload salary.

The Nuggets have agreed to trade JaVale McGee and the 2015 first-round pick of the Oklahoma City Thunder acquired in the Mozgov deal, top-18 protected, to the Philadelphia 76ers, the Nuggets announced Thursday. The deal was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

While the Sixers technically have to send back consideration - the Nuggets receive the draft rights to 27-year-old Turkish wing Cenk Akyol, a 2005 second-round pick, in the deal - this is a straight salary dump. McGee makes $11.3 million this season and is owed a fully-guaranteed $12 million for next season, amounts the 76ers can easily absorb given how far below the salary floor they are.

McGee has played sparingly over the past two seasons due to issues with a stress fracture in his left leg. In the 22 games he's played, his numbers have been disappointing, with the 7-footer averaging 5.6 points, three rebounds and 1.2 blocks while shooting 51.5 percent from the floor. 

That continues the troublesome downward trend in McGee's career since the Nuggets signed him to a four-year, $44-million extension in 2012 after acquiring him for Nene. Once thought to be an emerging defensive piece and potentially elite rim protector, perceived immaturity, a lack of refinement in his game and injuries have derailed his momentum.

Now 27, McGee is unlikely to figure into the 76ers' plans, instead standing as a conduit for yet another pick for general manager Sam Hinkie. This gives Philly a second additional first-round pick beyond their own selections to go with as many as 13 additional second-round picks between now and 2020.

The 76ers also received the draft rights to Nigerian forward Chukwudiebere "Chu Chu" Maduabum, a 2011 second round pick who plays in Estonia. This is likely a case of the Sixers wanting to maintain a stock of players like Akyol and Maduabum in the event they need to make a future trade without sending out an actual asset.

Denver could afford to deal the pick, as they are quite flush in that department. Denver owns all of its own first-round picks moving forward, a protected 2015 first-round pick from Memphis, a protected 2016 first-round pick from Portland and the right to swap first-round picks with New York in 2016. 

They have deemed unloading McGee's $12-million salary - which could be a step toward carving out enough cap space to be free agent players this summer - worth one of those selections. They have also created an $11.3-million traded player exception in this deal, a valuable chip for rebuilding.