The 2025 NBA trade deadline is at 1 p.m. MT this Thursday. Blockbuster deals have already been completed around the league, including the shocking trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers and Anthony Davis to the Mavericks.
One star player that Denver showed interest in earlier this season, Zach LaVine, went to Sacramento in a trade that also landed De’Aaron Fox with the Spurs.
As the last 72 hours of trade season wind down, the Nuggets are canvassing the league for a rotational upgrade to their bench, multiple league sources told The Denver Post. Will they end up making a change to the roster before time’s up, or will the deadline pass quietly? Denver has been fourth place in the Western Conference standings since Jan. 4, chasing Oklahoma City, Houston and Memphis. But the team’s trade-eligible contracts and draft assets are limited. Here’s where they stand.
Which players can the Nuggets trade?
Most of Denver’s top-end contracts either cannot or will not (Nikola Jokic) be traded this week. Jamal Murray ($36 million salary) and Aaron Gordon ($22.8 million) signed long-term extensions last offseason, resulting in trade restrictions for six months.
That leaves Michael Porter Jr. ($35.9 million) as the team’s most valuable asset excluding Jokic. But after Porter, the next-most expensive player eligible to be traded is Zeke Nnaji ($8.9 million), who has spent most of this season out of the rotation. Nnaji is under contract for three more years after 2024-25, making him difficult to move without ample proof of productivity on the court.
The same can be said for Dario Saric ($5.2 million), who has appeared in only 13 games but has a player option in his contract for next season.
Christian Braun ($3.1 million), DaRon Holmes II ($3.1 million), Julian Strawther ($2.6 million) and Peyton Watson ($2.4 million) are each recent first-round picks whose rookie contracts could bring back value. But the catch-22 is that Denver needs cheap and dependable rotation players to cancel out the four salaries that make up 80% of the active roster payroll. Braun, Watson and Strawther are part of the everyday rotation. In most outcomes, trading any of them would be antithetical to the team’s goals from a salary cap standpoint. Holmes is out for the season with an injury, but the Nuggets have already invested extensive draft capital in acquiring the pick used to draft him.
Two young players outside the rotation could be used as salary filler in a trade: Hunter Tyson and Jalen Pickett make $1.9 million each.
Can the Nuggets aggregate contracts in a trade?
Yes. The Nuggets are $5.6 million over the first luxury tax apron, but they preserved their right to certain roster-building tactics last summer by not re-signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency. The jury’s out on whether that avoidance of the second apron justified the loss of a championship starter — but one of the machinations Denver is still allowed to use is salary aggregation.
However, as a first-apron team, the Nuggets cannot take back more salary in a trade than they send out.
For example: If they want to acquire a player whose 2024-25 cap hit is $13 million, Nnaji’s $8.9 million salary is not enough to get the job done on its own. Add Strawther to the deal, and the Nuggets are sending out $11.4 million. Now there’s a rotation-caliber shooting guard in the trade to cancel out the uncertainty of Nnaji, but the outgoing salary still is not enough. Add Pickett or Tyson, and that outgoing salary increases to $13.3 million. Now the trade is permitted by the rules of the NBA collective bargaining agreement.
Which draft picks can the Nuggets trade?
Close to none. There are two important rules to know: Teams can only trade picks up to seven years in advance (through 2031 right now). And the Stepien Rule requires teams to control the rights to at least one future first-round pick in every two drafts.
The Nuggets have already traded their 2025 first-rounder (owed to Orlando via the Aaron Gordon trade), their 2027 first-rounder (which they turned into Peyton Watson) and their 2029 first-rounder (which they turned into Julian Strawther). That means their 2026, 2028 and 2030 firsts are currently barred from trades. Denver’s 2031 first remains eligible, but even that is not a particularly valuable pick because it’s contingent on the 2025, 2027 and 2029 top-five protected picks conveying on schedule.
Second-round draft capital has run dry. Five future picks were burned last offseason. The Nuggets traded their 2025, 2029 and 2030 second-rounders to salary-dump Reggie Jackson and make room on the depth chart for Russell Westbrook. They traded their 2026 and 2031 seconds on draft night to move up in the first round for DaRon Holmes II. Their 2027 and 2028 seconds were already owed to other teams.
Denver can offer first-round pick swaps as well, but as a team expected to remain in the playoff picture as long as Jokic is in his prime, swaps likely won’t be considered valuable to most teams, with the possible exception of the 2031 pick.
Who can the Nuggets get for Michael Porter Jr.?
The Nuggets explored the possibility of adding more star power earlier this season, which would involve Porter as the centerpiece of their trade package. But now that LaVine has been moved, it seems highly unlikely from this vantage point that Porter will be dealt.
The other route to an MPJ trade is to find a team willing to take him in exchange for two role players who could add depth to Denver’s bench. But there are two problems with that. First, from the Nuggets’ perspective, is the risk associated with giving up the best player in a trade while trying to contend — not to mention sacrificing the much-needed volume 3-point shooting that Porter contributes.
Second, from the perspective of 29 other teams, is the widespread reluctance to take on a contract of Porter’s scale under the current CBA landscape, especially at the expense of multiple intermediate, more team-friendly salaries.
Can the Nuggets sign a player off the buyout market instead?
Yes, but they would have to clear a roster spot. And depending on the buyout target, they would also have to shed more than $5.6 million in salary, hypothetically.
Apron teams are not allowed to sign a player who’s been bought out if his previous salary exceeded the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is $12.8 million this season. Take former Nuggets fan favorite Bruce Brown as an example. His cap hit this season is $23 million. If Toronto buys him out, the Nuggets can attempt to sign him only if they get below the first apron ahead of time, which would essentially require them to find a team that will accept Nnaji and the 2031 pick in a salary-dump trade this week.
Otherwise, Denver could waive a young player and pursue a veteran-minimum candidate from the bargain bin.