The Witch and miner about to reach an agreement on a transaction that will send protection points Monte Morris and wings Will Barton to Washington in exchange for swingman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and protection point Ish Smithsources told The Athletic’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed the terms reported by Charania, adding (via Twitter) that the two teams are in the process of finalizing an agreement.
The Wizards, who previously associated for Morris, will get a much-needed protection point upgrade in the trade, adding a player considered one of the NBA’s best backups before being pushed into the role starting last season as Jamal Murray recovery after ACL surgery.
In his first year as a full-time starter, Morris averaged 12.6 PPG, 4.4 APG, and 3.0 RPG shooting .484 / .395/ .869 in 75 games (29, 9 MPG). The Nuggets received calls from more than 20 teams about the 27-year-old player, each Mike Singer of The Denver Post.
Washington will also acquire Barton, a good shooter and scorer who averages 14.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 3.3 APG with 0.362 3PT% in 479 regular season games for the Nuggets since when he arrived in Denver in 2015.
Wizards Head Coach Wes Unseld Jr. very familiar to both players, previously serving as Nuggets’ assistant.
This move reduces the possibility of Mages seriously pursuing a sentinel like Tyus Jones in free agent or Malcolm Brogdon through trade.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets will add a player they have been targeting since the Caldwell-Pope deal deadline, according to Singer. Denver sees Caldwell-Pope as a two-way upgrade on the wing, values his championship experience with the Lakers and will be interested in retaining him next season, Singer added.
Caldwell-Pope, 29, is averaging 13.2 PPG and making 39.0% of his 3-pointers for the Wizards in 2021/22, while playing his usual solid defense.
As for Smith, he will provide depth at the point of defense for a Nuggets team who will have Murray back this fall and have seen Bones Hyland enjoy a breakout season as a rookie. Assuming Smith played at least one game for Denver, that would be his 13th NBA team, breaking the league’s record, tweets ESPN’s Matt Williams.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), if no more players are added to the four-player deal, the two teams will have to wait until after the ban in July to officially announce the contract, as the Wizards are raking in several million dollars more. compared to the amount they send out, while the Nuggets save some money on next season’s payroll.
Caldwell-Pope ($14 million) and Smith ($4.73 million) enter the season without a full salary guarantee for 2022/23, but Caldwell-Pope locked in his assurances on Tuesday and Smith is also on track to comply with wage rules and make the deal legal. Salary is not guaranteed not included in transactions for travel purposes.
Caldwell-Pope, Smith and Barton ($14.38 million) will all expire next season and qualify for unlimited free agents in 2023. Morris will earn 9, $13 million in ’22/23 and $9.8 million in ’23/24 before becoming an unrestricted freelance agent.
Nuggets will likely absorb Smith’s upcoming contract using part of the $8.2 million trade exception they created last week JaMychal Green purchase. That would allow them to create a new, larger commercial exception, worth at least Morris’ initial salary ($9.13 million), according to Marks.