The Golden State Warriors have acquired forwards Rodney White and Nikoloz Tskitishvili (pronounced NI-ko-los SKEE-tish-VEE-lee) from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for forward Eduardo Najera, guard Luis Flores and a future first round draft pick (from Dallas in 2007), it was announced today by Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin.
“We are extremely happy to add these two young, talented players to our team,” said Mullin. “This deal, along with the trade we completed with New Orleans earlier today to add Baron Davis, gives us a total of nine players on our roster who are 25-years-old or younger. We hope that both of these players will continue to improve and develop along with the rest of our team as we work to grow as a group.”
White, 24, has appeared in 202 regular-season games over three-plus seasons with Detroit and Denver, averaging 7.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 15.9 minutes per contest. In 42 games this season for the Nuggets, he averaged 5.6 points and 1.8 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per game. Originally selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft by Detroit, the 6-9 forward played one season for the Pistons and was traded to Denver on November 1, 2002. In 2002-03, White averaged career-highs of 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 72 games during his first year with the Nuggets.
Tskitishvili, 21, has appeared in 132 games in two-plus seasons with the Nuggets, averaging 3.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per contest. He was originally selected by Denver with the fifth overall selection in the 2002 NBA Draft after playing three seasons professionally in Europe. The 7-0 forward from the Republic of Georgia played his final season overseas for Benetton Treviso in Italy in 2001-02, after spending the previous two campaigns with KK Slovan in Slovenia – having made his professional debut as a 16-year-old.
Najera, 28, appeared in 42 games this season, averaging 4.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per contest. The 6-8 forward was acquired by the Warriors in an eight-player trade with the Dallas Mavericks on August 24, 2004. Prior to joining the Warriors, he spent the first four years of his NBA career with Dallas, enjoying his most productive season in 2002-03 when he averaged a career-high 6.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and shot a career-best and team-leading .558 from the floor (129-of-231 FG).
Flores, 23, has appeared in 15 games this season, averaging 2.1 points in 4.9 minutes per contest. The rookie guard, who tallied a career-high eight points in seven minutes at Denver on February 5, was placed on the injured list with a strained right hamstring prior to last night’s game versus Atlanta. He has missed a total of 23 games this season due to injury, having previously served two separate stints on the injured list.
The draft pick that Denver receives in this deal is a 2007 first round pick that the Warriors acquired from Dallas as part of an eight-player trade this past summer that originally brought Najera to Golden State.