There are just three weeks until the NBA trade deadline.
Your Nuggets are on a stretch of great play having won seven of ten and climbing up the Western Conference standings.
Still, there are questions about the short and long-term future of the roster and whether it’s enough to hold up the championship standard that Nikola Jokic has set.
Here’s a brief look at what the Nuggets have and don’t have to trade and some options.
WHAT DENVER CAN TRADE
First off, Jamal Murray cannot be traded after signing his extension last summer. That’s not “it’s hard to trade him” or “the Nuggets choose not to trade him.” They actually can’t. It’s not allowed.
Same deal for Aaron Gordon for a calendar year.
They’re not going to trade Nikola Jokic, surprise, surprise.
That leaves Michael Porter Jr. as the only player with value they can move which is why he continues to appear in rumors.
Denver’s not necessarily itching to move on from MPJ; they just don’t have any other options.
They would love to move Zeke Nnaji’s deal, the fifth-highest annual contract on Denver’s roster, but are having a hard time finding takers.
Denver has swapped most of its first and second round picks. They do have a 2031 pick they can deal and can attach and have some options for pick swaps depending on which picks convey when.
POTENTIAL TARGETS:
The Nugget have been linked to several trade options.
Atlanta’s DeAndre Hunter and Onyeka Okongwu are two potential options along with Jokic’s Serbian teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Zach LaVine is a potential option but Chicago has resisted taking on Zeke Nnaji’s contract.
The Nuggets are also linked to the Raptors with interest in both Chris Boucher and Bruce Brown.
There’s also a small chance Denver gets in as a multi-team trade partner with Miami and Phoenix though it’s unlikely they take on Bradley Beal or Jimmy Butler.
The Nuggets have done previous deals with OKC and Charlotte and have connections to Chicago, Brooklyn, and Minnesota.
We’ll see what the Nuggets come up with, if anything, before the deadline as they pursue the team’s second title in franchise history.
