Now that I live in Denver, I’ve rekindled my on-again-off-again relationship with the Nuggets. Although the city may not love this team yet —the Nuggets are on pace for worst NBA attendance for the second consecutive year—there’s enough exciting young pieces here to start making out success on the horizon.
Really, you don’t have to squint that hard to see “Nikola Jokic: perennial All-Star.”
As the NBA trade deadline approaches (Feb. 23), the Nuggets will likely fall into numerous rumors given their asset depth. To build realistic trade scenarios, we need to table-set with a couple of key questions:
- What do the Nuggets need?
The Nuggets currently rank 8th in offensive rating (yay!) but dead last in defensive rating. Adding plus defenders should be priority one.
In the altitude, it’s no surprise Denver plays with a top five pace. What may be a shock here, is that the Nuggets can also match size with that speed, hauling in the 2nd-best offensive rebounding rate. In scouting potential fits for Denver, I want to maintain these advantages with athletic, scrappy bigs.
In the starting lineup, Denver should look for an upgrade at point guard and a defensive big. Sadly, the Mudiay experiment is just not going well; 144 guards have started a game in the NBA this season, and of those, only 23 have a worse shooting percentage than Mudiay. Given the Nuggets as a team still rank 12th in the league in field goal percentage, it’s fair to suggest an upgrade at point guard would lead to a much more efficient offense.
The Nuggets have secured the big man for tomorrow’s NBA in Jokic; a floor-spacing monster with A+ court vision. Jokic is no defensive stopper, however. When forced to defend a physical, ball-dominant big, Jokic too easily gets into early foul trouble. Kenneth Faried doesn’t have the size to play center on defense and Jusuf Nurkic is too raw to be a plus right now on either end. Finding a defense-first big to play opposite the Joker would solve many issues for the young Nugs.
- What do the Nuggets have to offer?
Like a North Carolina beach, the Nuggets have far too many Wings. Wilson Chandler, Will Barton and Gary Harris are above average 3-and-D players capable of playing the 2 or 3. The log-jam at this position makes for wildly inconsistent playing time on a team that should be prioritizing a stable, nurturing environment. For Jamal Murray to see a steady diet of minutes game-to-game, one of these guys needs to go.
And while I love the Manimal, he’s not a great fit next to Jokic, Denver’s franchise centerpiece. Faried can absolutely help a contender, and I’d be fine shipping him or Nurkic to a good home.
A quick note before we get to the trades: I won’t be including draft picks. Denver will certainly look to keep their lottery pick in 2018 and valuing incoming picks is a more tedious exercise than I’m willing to attempt.
In no particular order, 10 Nuggets trades that might just work:
The Nerlens Saint
The Sixers are actively shopping Nerlens Noel and/or Jahlil Okafor, and here they’d receive an upgrade at the 2 in Will Barton, who’s still only 26. This would give them a starting lineup of McConnell-Barton-Covington-Simmons-Embiid. If they sneak into the playoffs, that’s a truly annoying first-round opponent.
For the Nuggets, Noel is the ideal complement to Jokic: an athletic rim protector who can do just enough Faried-y damage with the ball on offense.
The Hair Flip
The Bulls desperately need shooting, and D-Wade is not the long-term answer at shooting guard. Where there’s a Will Barton, there goes a Wade. The Nuggets receive a bruising center in Lopez and his floppy afro in exchange for Faried’s famous mane. Grant offers a¯\_(ツ)_/¯ alternative to Mudiay and yes, I still believe in first-rounder Bobby Portis.
Enter the Dragon
I just stood up and clapped for this one. The Heat will eventually cool off (right?) realize a rebuild is the best option. Trading 30-year-old Goran Dragic makes a ton of sense and, without picks involved, I can’t imagine a better return for Miami.
Nobody Puts Bebe in a Corner
The Raptors can’t figure out what to do at PF and *looks at watch* they’re running out of time. I love what I’ve seen from Lucas “Bebê” Nogueira, who will never see plus minutes as long as Jonas Valanciunas is healthy. I’d gladly trade for his upside and the electric Ross.
Big White Guy Switcheroo
Cody Zeller is quietly an efficient post-defender with the quicks to keep up in the Rockies. I’ll also take D-League All-Star Ray McCallum for the laughs to start over Mudiay.
King Me
On Monday, the King’s general manager said they’re definitely not trading DeMarcus Cousins. That puts a damper on fun trade possibilities for Boogie. It also made me realize: professional sports has to be the only job where it’s a good thing if your owner says you’re not going anywhere. “Oh him? He’s not going places. Come see us in 10 years, he’ll still be here.”
The Melo
*Dives in front of the screen* LOL nothing to see here!
Spanish Boss
I know Rubio is not an upgrade in shooting from Mudiay. I know Rubio is always injured. But I also know Rubio and Jokic would make the most fun passing combo the league has ever seen. If you love ball movement, you will join me in prayer for this transaction.
McCollum, Take One
I want C.J. McCullum on the Nuggets so bad, I’ve offered up two options. Why McCullum? He’s the long-term backcourt compliment to Jokic you can build a championship roster around. Yes, you need to pair him with perimeter defense and maybe Mudiay can grow into that role. Or maybe Denver solves that problem in the draft. I do know that with McCullum you have a foundation that free agents would be interested in joining. That would be huge.
In this deal, Portland answers their long-term question at center and can pair Lillard with a promising wing defender in Harris. I’m less convinced Orlando finds this package appealing, even with their current glut of bigs.
Which brings us to…
McCollum, Take Two
Orlando gets two quality bigs to replace Vucevic (and likely Ibaka, a free agent in the offseason).
For Denver, this is a home-run. Ed Davis could be a starter next to Jokic, at least until next season. To get an All-Star caliber wing in McCullum, on a contract until age 30, is a game-changer. This is the kind of trade that brings fans to the Pepsi Center and finally pushes the Nuggets back to the playoffs.
GatheringWool 