Denver Acquired the Rights to French Center Ismaël Kamagate
On July 6, 2022, the Nuggets obtained NBA draft rights to center Ismaël Kamagate from Portland in exchange for the more favorable of the Timberwolves' and Hornets' 2024 second-round selections. The Trail Blazers' official release states that Kamagate had been selected at No. 46 by Detroit before his rights reached Portland through a separate draft-night agreement. This last Denver–Portland leg is therefore best understood as a trade of an overseas center prospect for a future second-round pick, not an exchange between two current NBA starters. Denver had a championship-caliber core anchored by Nikola Jokić and could afford to monitor a developing European center without demanding immediate minutes. Portland preferred a later draft option and did not retain Kamagate's rights.
Kamagate Continued to Develop Outside the NBA
Kamagate was a promising defensive big man in the French basketball system with shot-blocking and finishing potential. He did not establish a Denver regular-season NBA career immediately after the July agreement, as the club's center minutes were already controlled by Jokić and other veterans. His subsequent European playing statistics do not count as Nuggets rebounds or blocks, even though the organization could continue monitoring his progress. Denver's inherited C grade credits an actual young signing right obtained for a future second rather than a current starting performer. This was a rights investment with uncertainty about when, or whether, he would arrive in the NBA. The Nuggets' later championship in 2023 shouldn't be attributed to Kamagate's direct NBA output, because he was not playing regular-season games for the team.
Portland's 2024 Selection Became No. 34
The compensating 2024 second-round choice ended up associated with the 34th overall pick, linked to guard Tyler Kolek. That is a genuine draft asset, not a conditional pick that expired before a selection could be made. Portland could use the acquired right to select or trade another young prospect, and the later route of that selection should be tracked separately from NBA games Kolek played for other organizations. The inherited Blazers C- is below Denver's C even though the winner label says Slight Blazers Edge, revealing a numerical grading disagreement that warrants a dedicated review rather than an unexplained change to the canonical ledger. Both clubs took modest risks on future prospects; neither received a ready 20-point-per-game scorer in 2022. The outcomes are bounded by Kamagate's delayed NBA path and the transferable 2024 draft selection.
Final Verdict
Slight Blazers Edge in the inherited verdict although Denver receives C and Portland C-. Portland gained a 2024 second-rounder that became No. 34, associated with Tyler Kolek. Denver received the rights to No. 46 Ismaël Kamagate, who continued playing overseas instead of becoming an immediate Nuggets NBA center.