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Nuggets Acquire Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson, Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, Cash Considerations and First Round Pick From Houston

DENVER, July 20, 2015 – The Denver Nuggets have acquired Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson, Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, a protected 2016 first round pick and cash considerations from Houston in exchange for Ty Lawson and a 2017 second round pick, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today. Subsequently, Prigioni was waived by Denver following the trade.

Dorsey, 6-8, 268, appeared in 69 games (17 starts) and averaged 2.7 points and 4.0 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per game for the Rockets during the 2014-15 season. The four-year NBA veteran holds career averages of 2.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 130 career games (26 starts) with Houston, Sacramento and Toronto. Dorsey was originally drafted with the 33rd overall selection of the 2008 NBA Draft out of the University of Memphis.

Johnson, 6-3, 200, averaged 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 9.4 minutes per game in 28 games for the Houston Rockets during his rookie campaign in 2014-15. The first-year guard also appeared in 20 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-League, averaging 18.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 33.9 minutes per game. The Arizona product was selected 42nd overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Papanikolaou, 6-8, 225, appeared in 43 games (one start) in his rookie season with Houston, averaging 4.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 18.5 minutes per game. He was originally drafted by the New York Knicks with the 48th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft and was traded to Portland in 2012 and then to Houston on July 10, 2013. From 2011 to 2013, the Greek forward played for Olympiacos and in 2013-14 he played for FC Barcelona in the Spanish ACB league.

Prigioni, 6-3, 180, averaged 3.0 points and 2.8 assists in 16.8 minutes per game in 24 games with the Houston Rockets during the 2014-15 NBA season. Prigioni went undrafted in the 1999 NBA Draft and has appeared in 211 career games (48 starts) in three seasons with New York and Houston, averaging 3.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

Lawson, 5-11, 195, appeared in 75 games (all starts), averaging 15.2 points and a career-high 9.6 assists in 35.5 minutes per game with Denver during the 2014-15 NBA season. Lawson spent the first six years of his career with the Nuggets, playing in 416 games (307 starts) and averaging 14.2 points, 6.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 35.5 minutes per game. The North Carolina Tar-Heel was originally selected 18th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves and was traded to Denver in a draft-night deal.