The Denver Nuggets made a trade at the deadline as they unloaded Randy Foye for D.J. Augustin, Steve Novak and two second-round picks. The Nuggets got very good value for Foye, who was having a poor season in Denver anyway, but they couldn't trade J.J. Hickson, the player they were shopping the most. Now that the trade deadline has passed the Nuggets will work on buyout agreements with Hickson and Novak, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.
The Nuggets took on Novak's contract in the Foye deal so that the Oklahoma City Thunder could save some money. Denver has no intention of using Novak this season so they will work out a deal to make him a free agent. Novak is on the books for $3.75 million this season and will become a free agent after this season. The 6-foot-10 forward has only appeared in seven games so far this year but he is a career 43 percent shooter from three and could really help a contender out.
In Hickson's case he is buried on the Nuggets frontcourt depth chart which is completely stacked. Denver has been trying to trade him for quite some time now but were unable to find any workable deals. Hickson has appeared in 20 games this year as an injury replacement and actually played well but he is not in the Nuggets future plans and it makes sense for them to move on from him.
Hickson is on the books for about $5.6 million this season and is set to become a free agent after the year is over. The 6-foot-9 forward is a very good rebounder, which is always a coveted skillset, so after he does agree to a buyout he should garner plenty of interest.
The Nuggets will have to agree to buyouts with both Novak and Hickson before March 1 in order for them to be eligible for postseason rosters. The expectation is that the process should move fairly quickly and both buyouts will easily be done before that deadline. After buying out both players the Nuggets will be left with two open roster spots with which to work so they will likely have options to maneuver their roster.
