Perception of the 2024-25 Nuggets is turning into a case study of optimism vs. pessimism.
Are you a glass-half-full kind of person? Then when the Nuggets improved to 14-10 with their latest miracle this week in Sacramento, you probably thought of the remarkable number of clutch moments they’ve conjured in such a small fraction of this season, from a refreshing variety of sources.
You probably dwelled on Jamal Murray’s game-winning step-back jumper with 8.6 seconds remaining. Maybe it reminded you of Murray’s game-tying layup in Toronto with 0.3 seconds left. Or Nikola Jokic’s game-tying baby hook with 8.1 to go in Brooklyn. Or Julian Strawther’s decisive contested layup with 1:09 left back home in Denver. Or Michael Porter Jr.’s game-winner with 6.1 seconds left against Dallas, or Peyton Watson’s last-second block on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, or any of the other little moments that colored Denver’s four double-digit comeback wins in the fourth quarter this season.
Are you a glass-half-empty kind of person? Then the moment that stuck in your craw from Sacramento was more likely the last play, after Murray’s shot, when DeMar DeRozan fumbled a pass from Domantas Sabonis that might’ve resulted in a game-winning layup. You probably had flashbacks to how close the Nuggets were to losing so many of their most compelling wins. How the Raptors missed two free throws in the last 20 seconds while trying to protect the lead, how R.J. Barrett’s game-winning attempt in the rematch was halfway down before it popped out at the buzzer. How Dorian Finney-Smith missed a wide-open corner three in Brooklyn as time expired, or how Kyrie Irving waited for his last shot to finally miss after amassing 43 points.
The first quarter of this season has been, well, a lot to process. And the answers still aren’t entirely clear.
That’s why the Nuggets feel inclined to exercise patience before making any changes to their roster. NBA trade season unofficially began on Dec. 15, the date when free agents acquired this summer became trade-eligible, but it doesn’t end until Feb. 6. Denver will have played 51 games by then. As of this week, according to league sources, the Nuggets are open to the idea of adding depth or star power before the trade deadline, but their preferred outcome is to feel confident not making a major trade.
Who can the Nuggets trade?
Denver is currently $5.6 million over the first tax apron and $5.1 million below the second apron. The team is hard-capped at the second apron this season as a result of using the taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Dario Saric. As a first-apron team, the Nuggets can aggregate salaries in a trade, but they can’t take back more salary than they send out.
Before considering who they might be able to get, it helps to know who they’re allowed to give up. This is the part when Ebenezer Scrooge shows up to outline how limited Denver’s options are. Bah humbug to your trade wishlists.
Here are the eight most expensive players on the roster (based on their salaries this season) and their trade eligibility.
Nikola Jokic, $51.4 million: His name wasn’t even worth including. Formality only. He’s “eligible,” but he’s not eligible.
Jamal Murray, $36 million: Not eligible to be traded until the 2025 offseason due to a signing restriction. Murray signed a four-year, $208.5 million max extension in September.
Michael Porter Jr., $35.9 million: Denver’s only tradeable player with a salary north of $10 million this season.
Aaron Gordon, $22.8 million: Not eligible to be traded until the 2025 offseason due to a signing restriction. Gordon signed a four-year, $133 million extension in October.
Zeke Nnaji, $8.9 million: Eligible to be traded, but trade value is low. Nnaji is in the first season of a four-year, $32 million extension, while he continues to drift in and out of the rotation. On the bright side: Unlike last season, Denver is not faced with a poison pill restriction, which causes a player’s incoming salary to be counted as higher than his outgoing salary after he signs a rookie extension. This made it nearly impossible to trade Nnaji last season.
Dario Saric, $5.2 million: Eligible to be traded, but trade value is low. Saric signed with Denver for the mid-level in July. He has a player option next offseason, then one year remaining on his contract. He has played in 10 of the first 24 games, averaging 13.6 minutes.
Russell Westbrook, $3.3 million and Christian Braun, $3.1 million: Eligible to be traded, but the Nuggets desperately need quality rotation players on affordable contracts. In Braun (starter) and Westbrook (sixth man), they have precisely that for at least this season and next.
In other words, if the Nuggets want to acquire anyone expensive enough to definitively improve their rotation, Porter is the only player with both a suitable contract and clear trade value. Skepticism about his injury history is justified, but his back surgeries are also increasingly a thing of the past. Since the start of last season, Porter has played in 117 of 118 games, including the playoffs. He’s averaging 18.5 points (his best output in four years), 7.1 rebounds and a career-high 2.8 assists while shooting 51% from the floor. He leads the team in total minutes played this season.
The Nuggets aren’t eager to trade the 26-year-old Porter, but they understand the reality of the situation is that he would have to be involved in certain deals. His combination of shooting and length has been essential to the success of Denver’s starting lineup. The Nuggets had extension talks with him early this season, one source told The Post, confirming a report from The Athletic.
How would a Zach LaVine trade work?
Porter’s current contract could be used in a couple of different ways, one being to acquire multiple players with smaller salaries, the other being to go big-game hunting. The Nuggets briefly discussed the possibility of going after Paul George last summer, a deal that would have required Porter’s salary to be aggregated with Nnaji’s. That same combination would likely be necessary to complete a trade for Bulls guard Zach LaVine, whose 2024-25 salary is $43 million with two remaining years. The Nuggets have kicked the tires on LaVine, among other scoring guards and wings, sources confirmed to The Post this week.
But the 29-year-old represents the type of acquisition who would shake up a starting lineup that Denver is not sure needs to be shaken up yet.
He’s having a resurgent season, but his trade value around the league remains reportedly low. He played in only 25 games in 2023-24, which was his worst scoring season since 2017-18. If the market is dry, the Bulls may have to make concessions, such as taking on Nnaji’s contract, in order to get a 3-years-younger player in Porter. The Nuggets could make their own concessions to get off Nnaji’s contract. Draft capital is minimal. Their 2031 first-round pick is available, but even that is bogged down by pick protections involving a first-rounder owed to Oklahoma City. Parting with the pick would be dicey.
From a basketball standpoint? Exchanging Porter for LaVine would sacrifice positional size, rebounding and lineup continuity. But it would add a source of shot creation off-the-dribble, which could be valuable to the Nuggets if they hope to alleviate their dependence on Jokic by the playoffs. The three-time MVP is averaging career-highs in both scoring and assists. LaVine is a talented isolation scorer who could present a solution to Jokic’s rest minutes, and he could be the latest example of a player to benefit from playing alongside the Serbian center. He’s already averaging 21.7 points this season and shooting 42.8% on high 3-point volume. Denver has past connections to him on the coaching staff. Ryan Saunders overlapped with him in Minnesota during the first three years of LaVine’s career.
Still, meddling with a proven core is risky. Denver’s starting lineup has a 13.0 net rating. And the Nuggets have been encouraged by a string of consecutive wins and a recent uptick in production from Murray. In his first nine games this season, he averaged 17.3 points, 5.4 assists and shot 30.2% from the 3-point line. In 10 games since, he’s averaging 19.4 points and 6.6 assists while shooting 39% from three.
Other trade partners?
Particularly in the East, there are plenty of middling or bad teams that could be viable trade partners. Atlanta has several players and contracts that would make sense in Denver, including De’Andre Hunter, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Larry Nance Jr. and Onyeka Okongwu. Brooklyn’s Cam Johnson has obvious appeal and figures to be a popular target among contenders. LaVine aside, Chicago (helmed by former Nuggets GM Arturas Karnisovas) has intriguing bench pieces such as Ayo Dosunmu.
If the Nuggets want to make a depth-oriented move that doesn’t involve Porter, their best bet is probably to package Nnaji with one or more of their rookie contracts, like Hunter Tyson, Jalen Pickett or — most valuable among them — Julian Strawther. Perimeter defense, reliable 3-point shooting and frontcourt depth are all traits Denver could benefit from acquiring.
Nnaji might be a tough sell. The argument in favor of giving the 23-year-old a fresh start is based on a combination of physical tools and recent precedent. Multiple other big men have departed Denver and gone on to thrive with other organizations — Isaiah Hartenstein in OKC, Jusuf Nurkic in Phoenix, Jay Huff in Memphis this year.
Whatever the Nuggets decide to do with their limited options, the one thing they still have is time. The next month of basketball may determine a lot.
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