Draft Trade: Thunder Flip Pick No. 30 to Nuggets for JaMychal Green Package

The first big trade of draft season has happened.

With less than two weeks until the 2022 NBA Draft, trades are already happening. On Monday morning, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets made a deal that will directly impact draft night. 

As first reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Denver is trading veteran forward JaMychal Green and a protected 2027 first-round pick to Oklahoma City for the No. 30 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft two future second rounders.

Instead of having four picks in this month's draft, the Thunder will now just have three. They'll select at No. 2, No. 12 and No. 34 overall.

The Nuggets will now select at No. 21 and No. 30 overall if they stay put.

Green has a player option worth $8.2M next season, which he is expected to pick up. This means OKC gets a larger expiring deal and veteran player to help mold the young core. The Thunder have plenty of cap space to absorb that type of money.

Last season, the 31-year-old produced 6.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest while shooting 26.6% from deep.

Denver gets flexibility by way of a $6.4M tax mid-level exception or an $8.2M trade exception in offseason. 

It's a small deal for both sides, but ultimately makes sense. The protections on that 2027 pick going to the Thunder will be of extreme importance to determine the overall value of the deal.

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