What you need to know about the Nuggets ahead of the deadline

Though the NBA season may still feel fresh to some, the Trade Deadline is just four weeks from Thursday.

The reigning champion Denver Nuggets are tied for the second-most wins in the league at 26, and sit third in the west. They’ve just gone through an easier chunk of schedule by the strength of the opponent but should have an easier second half in general based on rest with most of their back-to-backs out of the way. No doubt, this Nuggets team isn’t perfect, but neither was last year’s that rounded into form to go 16-4 in the playoffs.

As Nikola Jokic himself said last week, “We are chasing the Denver Nuggets too; we want to be better than last year.”

What could the Nuggets do with their roster between now and the playoffs?

The simple answer is not much, at least not significantly. What is in Denver right now is going to be the biggest part of helping the team recapture the magic they had last year.

Denver’s starting five of Jokic, Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. is going to be the main group relied upon for the repeat. Second-year player Peyton Watson has blossomed into a hyper-athletic defense-oriented sixth-man, while fellow second-year player and key bench man last year Christian Braun remains a solid defender with spot-up shooting capabilities.

The starting five’s contracts and their big asset of continuity make it highly unlikely any will be traded. The two Nuggets young players who have already found the rotation are very valuable given their contributions and low contracts and it’s hard to envision them not part of the team come playoff time. And in the playoff rotation of eight men as of now would likely be veteran backup point guard Reggie Jackson, who has had an up-and-down season but has a somewhat trade-friendly contract.

The Nuggets don’t have any first-rounders that they can trade, however, they do have five picks that they could send out. Currently with a full 15-man roster and way over the salary cap, Denver would either need to use one of their small exceptions for previously traded players or injured players and then cut another player to orchestrate a deal. It would be easier if the Nuggets traded a player on their roster or two and aggregated their salary for one player. With that said the most realistic Denver trade would be two bottom of the roster players and second-rounders for one low-paid player they would hope could slide into the rotation.

Maybe the most likely scenario is actually no trade but waiting on the buy-out market post-trade deadline, a mechanism that allowed Denver to get Jackson late last season.

What are the Nuggets needs?

The Nuggets are in an odd spot of their biggest need now, it may not matter much come postseason play. Last year Denver debuted the idea of playing Gordon as the backup behind Jokic in the playoffs. The trick up Michael Malone’s sleeve worked out well as the power forward and center played some of the best ball of their career. The extended breaks, schedule and style of play let the Nuggets go down to an eight-man rotation and play Jokic six more minutes a night than he does in the regular season. But Denver might need an innings eater so to speak to get them through the regular season. DeAndre Jordan has taken over as the backup big as Zeke Nnaji has failed to live up to a just signed extension. Jordan is still an okay player but neither he nor Nnaji have been great in the role. The only way in which a backup center could cost Denver a playoff series is if both Jokic and Gordon got into foul trouble, which has happened before in the postseason. It could be prudent to make an upgrade here even though the team has failed so many times before. Just last year they were in the same spot and traded for Thomas Bryant, who couldn’t get off the bench. In the past, Denver made a late-season pickup of DeMarcus Cousins, who didn’t work out for off-the-court reasons. There was also the now-balling Knick Isaiah Hartenstein, who Malone didn’t like and was shipped with assets for JaVale McGee, who barely played and also didn’t work. The only true solid consistent backup center of the Jokic era was Mason Plumlee.

You may not realize it but the Nuggets are actually facing a significant injury this season that has impacted their rotation. Vlatko Cancar proved he was a very capable NBA player last year and rode that to a solid run with the Slovenian team this summer. Sadly while preparing for the World Cup, Cancar suffered a serious knee injury, which will keep him out for the year. Denver got a solid 60 games from him last year mostly as a backup power forward and his selfless style and ability to set up plays on both ends had an impact. Denver is seemingly missing this player off the bench, just a solid-sized guy who can do whatever is needed to win. Justin Holiday was signed for this role and has been okay at filling it, though most nights he’s man No. 11 in a 10-man rotation.

The third area Denver could improve in but isn’t truly necessary and does even carry some risk is backup guard. Jackson may have made the argument against replacing him last year when he showed how much he struggled to fit into the Nuggets system on such short notice. Given whoever is in the backup point guard role will have the ball a lot, it’s not as plug-and-play as the other two spots. Jackson has also been pretty good for the Nuggets, being part of one of the best lineups in basketball this year when he filled in for a month while Murray was down. While his shooting has been inconsistent, Jackson has played in massive games and still can get his own shot. The downside is he’s a bit smaller and he’s gotten picked on recently defensively. The real reason to trade Reggie would be in order to move his $5 million salary for a bigger fish, and the team needed a salary match. More likely might be keeping Reggie and bringing in a veteran combo guard, who can offer Malone a different look.

Nuggets trade targets:

(Ranked from highest salary to lowest, the more money the harder it will be to make the trade)

Backup Center

Mason Plumlee, Jalen Smith, Omer Yurtseven, Day’ron Sharpe, Jericho Sims

Plumlee isn’t quite at the level that he was in his last stint in Denver, but he is a possible trade target despite being a possible Nuggets playoff matchup. Plumlee has missed a significant amount of time due to injury, and the Clippers have gotten hot without him. Currently, they’re deploying Ivica Zubac and Daniel Theis at big to surround their four future Hall of Famers and the team often likes to go small anyway. At only $5 million and the highest price guy on this list, any of the centers named are somewhat workable to trade for. My low-value, high-upside pick may be the athletic Jericho Sims, who has fallen out of favor in New York. Sharpe is having a solid season for Brooklyn while the former 10th overall pick, Smith, is playing decent for his second team Indy.

Connecting Forward

PJ Tucker*, Royce O’Neal, Jae’Sean Tate, David Roddy, John Konchar, KJ Martin

Tucker isn’t getting traded to Denver unless he is waived as part of a trade with the Clippers, the exact situation Jackson was in last year. Still, if he does find his way to Denver he’s always been a reliable fifth-man on the floor, doing the dirty work and playing stout defense. He’s toward the end of his career but was key just a few years ago for the Bucks title. If the Nuggets could trade for anyone in the NBA, I might pick it to be Tate. He’s a below-average but service three-point shooter, full of heart hustle and muscle. The undersized forward plays big and has done a lot of dirty worth while playing for mostly bad Rockets teams. I think he could blossom into a top-tier role player if given the chance on a winner. By trading Cancar, Holiday and Jalen Pickett plus some picks, Denver might be able to pull it off. More fun might be former Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin’s son. He struggles from three but is athletic and rebounds from his small forward spot. He’s not found his footing since being traded to Philly in the James Harden deal, shipped from the Rockets just a few months earlier. Also fun would be getting CSU Rams legend Roddy off a seemingly tanking Grizz team, though he too is undersized and goes against Denver’s philosophy.

Upgrade over Reggie Jackson?

Cole Anthony*, Monte Morris, Alex Caruso, Jevon Carter, Dennis Smith Jr.

I just wrote this exact sentence above, but aside from Tate, if the Nuggets could trade for anyone in the NBA, it might be Anthony. Due to his contract, it would be very complex to make this trade happen. but he’s already on an extension and could be a long-term answer to what is behind Murray. Anthony just torched the Nuggets a few days ago and has had a really strong four-season career as a backup with the Magic. Morris would be a high-price reunion, and he too is small; while Caruso is also hard to trade for due to price and isn’t the best playmaker. Though Caruso is the best defender and maybe the most reliable shooter out of anyone named in this article, he also won a title playing alongside KCP.