JaVale McGee‘s first stint with the Nuggets was a disaster.
He has since won three championships with the Warriors and Lakers.
With a new reputation, McGee will return to Denver following a trade with the Cavaliers.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Denver is acquiring center Cleveland center JaVale McGee for Isaiah Hartenstein and two future protected second-round picks, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 25, 2021
McGee will be expected to back up Nikola Jokic at center. Denver’s previous options were small (JaMychal Green, Paul Millsap) or raw (Zeke Zeke Nnaji, Isaiah Hartenstein).
But McGee has fallen off this season. Maybe he’ll perform better on a better team. Maybe his athleticism has waned at age 33.
At least the Nuggets face no long-term commitment. McGee is earning $4.2 million in the final year of his contract
At minimum, McGee’s above-the-rim style provides an element Denver had been lacking among its bigs. Even if deployed only situationally, McGee could provide value considering the low cost of acquiring him.
Protected second-rounders from a good team like the Nuggets don’t sound inspiring. (Denver has no other teams’ second-rounders to flip.) Hartenstein, 22, is a low-end flier.
But Cleveland GOT a second-rounder from the Lakers for taking McGee last offseason. Any positive return for him now is just a bonus
