As the NBA trade deadline approaches, one team to keep an eye on is the Denver Nuggets. Denver currently sits fifth in the Western Conference standings, but they have not looked like the championship contender they have been over the past few seasons. Denver’s roster around Nikola Jokić has ultimately led to the team’s underwhelming start. While Jokić is putting up the best numbers of his career so far, the rest of the Nuggets’ roster has provided him with little help.
Jamal Murray has struggled shooting the ball and Aaron Gordon has missed time due to injury and just recently returned to the hardwood. Their bench has also been terrible as they are averaging only 26.3 points per game from their reserves which ranks near the bottom of the NBA
The lone bright spot for the Nuggets outside of Jokić has been Michael Porter Jr. The 26-year-old forward is having the best season of his career and has been Denver’s second-best player this season. Despite his great campaign, he has been the subject of trade rumors surrounding the franchise.
The Nuggets are expected to make a move before the Feb. 6 deadline and have been linked to a ton of players. One player they could trade for is the Washington Wizards’ center, Jonas Valančiūnas.
According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, the Nuggets and Wizards have explored a trade that would send Valančiūnas to Denver. Forbes’ Evan Sidery added to this report by mentioning that Denver would need to include Zeke Nnaji and a draft pick for the Wizards to consider this trade. Denver would also have to trade away another player on their roster to match salaries, but that is not the issue. The issue is their lack of draft picks. The Nuggets have just four draft picks through 2031 and their 2031 first-round pick is the only one they can move due to the NBA’s Stepien Rule.
Leave a Reply