Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone says he “was excited as hell” when he found out Denver acquired Jeremi Grant from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Malone believes Grant will help the Nuggets reach their ultimate goal of winning a championship.

“My initial reaction was I was excited as hell,” Malone told Harrison Wind of BSN Denver. “For me, he was a player that as a coaching staff we’ve long admired and respected playing against.”

This past season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jeremi Grant averaged 13.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists while shooting 49.7 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from beyond the arc and 71.0 percent from the free-throw line. The 25-year-old is an athletic forward who plays great defense and with a lot of energy on both sides of the ball.

The Nuggets are coming off a great season. They won 54 games this past season and made it to the Western Conference Semifinals, where they lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in seven games. The addition of Grant gives Denver another body in the frontcourt next to Paul Millsap and star Nikola Jokic.

The Nuggets know Grant well since the Thunder are in the same division as them. Michael Malone is thrilled he won't have to game-plan for Grant anymore.