Report: Nuggets trade for JaVale McGee

The Denver Nuggets have started off the trade deadline day with a deal for Cleveland Cavaliers backup center JaVale McGee, according to media reports.

The news, which was initially reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, comes early Wednesday morning as the trade deadline approaches. Isaiah Hartenstein, who was signed in the offseason to backup Nikola Jokic, is being sent back to Cleveland in the deal along with two protected second round picks.

McGee won two championships with the Golden State Warriors, playing a role as a backup rim protector who could occasionally fill in as a starter. Nuggets fans will remember McGee as the player the Nuggets traded Nene for nine years ago. McGee was not able to play up to the contract extension he signed with the Nuggets, and has played for five teams since he last was in Denver.

The Nuggets have expressed a desire to add a more capable rim protector to their team, and McGee fits that mold. He won’t be expected to play more than a dozen minutes or so a night, and should be a capable piece in the Nuggets rotation.