Nuggets deal Joffrey Lauvergne to OKC

The Denver Nuggets traded center Joffrey Lauvergne to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Nuggets confirmed Tuesday.

The trade was first reported by The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Denver will receive two future second-round picks in the deal - Oklahoma City’s 2017 second-round pick and Memphis’s 2017 second-round pick, which Oklahoma City acquired in a previous trade.

Lauvergne, the 55th pick in 2013, was a limited contributor as a rookie, but blossomed into a dependable backup for the Nuggets last season. The French center averaged 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 51.3 percent from the field.

However, with the sheer volume of young talent in the Nuggets' pipelines, Lauvergne would have been pressed for playing time in Denver. Jusuf Nurkic is healthy after missing most of last season, and Nikola Jokic showed all-star potential in his first year.

Those two, along with established veterans Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur would have left very little time for Lauvergne to play.

That being said, the 24-year-old center could be tied to the bench in Oklahoma City as well. The Thunder are also well-stocked in the frontcourt, boasting Steven Adams, Ersan Ilyasova, Enes Kanter, and Mitch McGary.