PORTLAND, ORE. (AP) - The Portland Trail Blazers acquired guard Raymond Felton from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for veteran guard Andre Miller in a trade Thursday night.
Miller’s non-guaranteed contract includes a $7.8 million team option by June 30, which made him attractive to the Nuggets. Miller’s agent, Andy Miller, confirmed the draft-night deal.
Felton, 27, has a year remaining on his contract that pays him $7.5 million.
Miller, 35, averaged 12.7 points, 7 assists and 3.7 rebounds last season.
Felton was traded in February from the New York Knicks to Denver in the Carmelo Anthony deal. He averaged 11.5 points, 3.6 points and 6.5 assists in 21 games with the Nuggets. Overall for the season he hit career highs with an average of 15.5 points and 8.3 assists.
The Blazers also traded swingman Rudy Fernandez to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for the 26th and 57th picks in Thursday night’s NBA draft. A person familiar to the deal confirmed it on condition of anonymity because it had not been formally announced.
Dallas selected Jordan Hamilton out of Texas with the 26th pick. The 6-foot-7, 220-pound guard/forward averaged 18.6 points and 7.7 rebounds over two seasons with the Longhorns.
Fernandez, 26, has spent three seasons in Portland, averaging 9.1 points over 24.1 minutes in 218 games.
This past season, he averaged 8.6 points in the regular season but scored only 2.8 per game in a first-round series against the Mavericks. He made only 4 of 18 shots.
The Blazers had the 21st and 51st picks in the draft. The team selected Nolan Smith out of Duke with the 21st selection.
Smith, at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, averaged 20.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists for the Blue Devils last season.
Smith declared himself eligible for last year’s draft after Duke won the NCAA title, but ultimately decided to stay with the Blue Devils for his senior year.
He is the son of the late Derek Smith, who played on Louisville’s 1980 NCAA championship team before a nine-year NBA career.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.