Marc Stein: Nuggets offer pick to Nets for Brook Lopez but still a no-go for Brooklyn

Marc Stein, following up on his tweets Friday night, reports that the Nuggets are willing to give the Nets one of two first rounders they acquired in the Timofey Mozgov deal for Brook Lopez but Brooklyn has declined the offer.  As Stein reported Friday, the centerpieces of a proposed Nets-Nuggets deal would be JaVale McGee and J.J. Hickson.

Stein writes...

Sources told ESPN.com that the Nuggets have offered big men JaVale McGee and J.J. Hickson, as well as one of the two draft picks Denver recently acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers for center Timofey Mozgov, in exchange for the Lopez.

But Brooklyn, sources say, has rebuffed those advances so far.

Stein did not provide information on whether the Nets would have a choice of picks or which Denver is offering if there is no choice.  Neither pick is likely to help the Nets another pick in this year's draft, barring the most extreme circumstances. They're more likely to be available down the road.

Memphis’ selection is more appealing. The pick is currently protected through the top five and between spots 15-30 this year and next, 6-through-14 slots the championship-level Grizzlies aren’t falling into unless injuries hit or Marc Gasol shocks the world by leaving the Grizz as a free agent this summer. Beyond that, though, as the group ages it might be possible that the Nuggets fall into a very good pick as the protections (top five in 2017 and 2018, completely unprotected in 2019) dissipate.