The Thunder newbie will see a big jump in his salary next season, from $9.8 million to $18.1, but if he walked into Sam Presti’s office and demanded an advance on that raise, the Thunder brass would be hard-pressed to say no.

Denver can swing a trade similar to last year's between the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves, in which San Antonio sent the No. 8 pick to Minnesota for a lightly protected first-round swap six years down the road and an unprotected swap in seven.

Denver was last in the league in 3-point attempts per game during the regular season (31.9), but that number has jumped to 38.5 3PA in the four contests against OKC. In their first-round series versus the LA Clippers, the Nuggets fired up an average of just 29.0 3PA across seven games.

On the surface, the deal is explosive. Denver would be acquiring Zach LaVine, a dynamic scoring guard who, despite his injury history and defensive limitations, remains one of the NBA’s most efficient high-volume shooters.