With a little more than an hour before the trade deadline, the Denver Nuggets made an expected move.

The Nuggets sent Hunter Tyson and a 2032 second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for the less favorable of the Clippers or Hawks second-round pick in this year’s draft. That pick is currently projected to land in the middle of the second round. The Denver Gazette confirmed the details of the trade Thursday afternoon.

The move creates an extra roster spot and allows Denver to get out of the luxury tax. Once the trade is formally processed, the Nuggets will have two available roster spots. One is expected to be used to convert Spencer Jones from a two-way contract to a standard deal that makes the forward eligible for the remainder of the season and playoffs. Jones has started 34 games for the Nuggets this season, averaging 6 points and 3.1 rebounds. He exhausted his eligibility on his two-way contract in Wednesday’s loss to the Knicks.

Denver would have one additional spot for a player available on the buyout market after Jones is signed. After the trade, Denver will be $1.8 million below the luxury tax. A prorated veteran minimum contract for the rest of the season is worth $884,000 as of Thursday, according to ESPN.

The Nuggets selected Tyson with the 37th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft. The 25-year-old appeared in 90 games across three seasons with the Nuggets. Tyson averaged 2.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 21 appearances this season.

Denver’s new executive duo of Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer previously worked with Brooklyn’s front office to exchange Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick for Cam Johnson.