Credit: Ashley Landis/Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports
NBA: Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers
After his trade to the Detroit Pistons was voided due to a failed physical, Bol Bol has now been dealt in a new, three-team trade, and is being shipped to Boston with teammate PJ Dozier.
Along with the Celtics and Nuggets, the San Antonio Spurs joined in on the deal as they are shipping reigning NBA champion Bryn Forbes to the Denver Nuggets and are receiving Boston’s veteran wing Juancho Hernangomez, along with a 2028 second-round pick.
The Nuggets are making the most straightforward “win-now” move by acquiring a skilled shooter who has experience playing high-level, championship basketball in Forbes. In the wake of Jamal Murray’s injury, Forbes fits the open role as a streaky scorer well, and is a frontline player to play significant minutes for a roster that’s depleted of healthy talent.
Boston takes on Bol Bol, one of the league’s biggest flyers as a bang-or-bust talent. The potential ceiling for a 7’2” stretch big with ball-handling abilities is through the roof, but the recurring injuries and lack of production on the court has rendered his potential a pipe dream so far. Boston now has a low-risk flier, while getting off the money for Hernangomez’s contract and getting under the luxury tax curtain.
Along with Bol, the Celtics are receiving PJ Dozier, who will now be making his second stint with the team. Whether or not he’ll play for the team is in question, as Dozier tore his ACL in November and was all but ruled out to play for the remainder of the season. Dozier is on an expiring contract, and will enter free agency with no commitment to returning to the Celtics.
On the Spurs end, they traded away one of the league’s best volume shooters in Bryn Forbes, and in exchange are receiving Juan Hernangomez and a second-round draft pick they won’t see for 7 years. Hernangomez, who is making $6.1 million this year, has struggled to find playing time, clocking in less than 100 minutes played in the entirety of the season thus for.
The Celtics shed some salary to avoid being in the luxury tax, while picking up a low-risk prospect, the Nuggets take in a more-than-capable shot creator to fill in a role they’ve been desperate to find, and the Spurs took on extra salary in exchange for a future second-round pick.
