The Nuggets are trading third-year wing Hunter Tyson and a 2032 second-round pick to Brooklyn for a 2026 second-round pick, a league source told The Denver Post.
The pick coming back to Denver will be the least favorable of the Clippers’ and Hawks’ second-rounders this year. For now, the trade essentially functions as a salary dump for the Nuggets, who cleared a roster spot and ducked the luxury tax by offloading Tyson’s $2.2 million cap hit. With two roster spots open now, their ideal outcome is to go into the playoffs with all 15 spots filled if they’re able to stay under the tax while adding two players, a league source told The Post.
Denver still intends to convert the two-way contract of Spencer Jones into a standard NBA deal with a prorated salary for the rest of this season, allowing him to resume playing once he recovers from a concussion that he suffered Wednesday in New York. Jones reached his games limit in the loss to the Knicks. He has started 34 games this season in place of power forward Aaron Gordon, who’s been sidelined by a recurring hamstring strain.
The Nuggets also plan to be active on the buyout market in an attempt to fill the 15th spot with additional depth, according to a source. They want to monitor who ends up getting bought out around the league in the next couple of weeks. Depending on who becomes available, the Nuggets’ pursuit won’t necessarily be position-based. Their main priority will be to acquire someone who’s playable.
Tyson, 25, was drafted 37th by former Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth in 2023. He appeared in 90 games and started four over the last three seasons as an end-of-bench reserve. This January, he helped the Nuggets (33-19) survive a challenging 16-game stretch without Nikola Jokic and several other injured rotation players. He scored 14 points in a dramatic overtime win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 5, setting the tone for a 10-6 stretch while Jokic was out.
The Nuggets had traction on a Tyson deal leading up to deadline day, The Post reported on Wednesday night, but they were also doing due diligence on other options as they tried to get under the tax without giving up a rotation player, sources said. Zeke Nnaji remained a focus in those trade talks.
Denver was one of several teams trying to shed salary leading up to the buzzer on Thursday. The payroll is now $1.8 million clear of the tax line as lead executives Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace prepare for their next moves with minimal wiggle room.
Elsewhere in the division, Oklahoma City acquired ex-Nugget Mason Plumlee from Charlotte and Jared McCain from Philadelphia. Minnesota traded for Ayo Dosunmu from Chicago while salary-dumping veteran guard Mike Conley.
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