Troy Renck: In a different time and different space, the debate would be easy. Who is having a worse week, Drake or Mavericks fans? Kendrick Lamar won multiple Grammys for his Drake dis track “Not Like Us” on Sunday. And Dallas general manager Nico Harrison lost scores of Mavericks fans for his trade of Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, a player nicknamed “Street Clothes” because of his injury history. So how does this tie into Colorado sports? Well, Sean, it traces back to the Nuggets. Should they sell us on the same ol’ song and dance that their roster doesn’t need help, or do they need to make a move at Thursday’s deadline?
Sean Keeler: The Nuggets need a splash, especially with their best perimeter defender, Peyton Watson, out for at least a month. So why does it feel as if we might not even see so much as a ripple? Did you know that, heading into Monday night, the Nuggets ranked No. 1 in the NBA in 3-pointers given up per game (3.86 makes) to opposing shooting guards and assists given up per game (5.70 dimes) to “2” guards? And came out of the weekend giving up the third-most assists per game (10.21 dimes) to opposing point guards? And that was with a healthy P-Wat, my friend. Yikes.
Renck: The Nuggets have spent the first four months this season trying to outscore everyone while treating defense like a suggestion. Frankly, it is embarrassing at times. The next time a Nuggets player takes a charge, it will be on his credit card. Can anyone step in the lane? Like one time. The Nuggets need a perimeter defender — Bruce Brown makes sense if the Raptors buy him out and Denver dumps Zeke Nnaji’s awful contract. Or any defender. The Nuggets are a championship-level offense. But they don’t guard well enough to make a deep run.
Keeler: It’s almost as if letting 3-and-D guys walk away as free agents has … I don’t know, consequences? Russell Westbrook has found his feet again, especially when working the 2-man game with Nikola Jokic. But what happens in the playoffs when better defenses with well-scouted regimens sag off Russ and dare him to shoot? I’ll tell you what happens: pain. Beastbrook is 2 for his last 13 from beyond the arc in the postseason and was 4 for 17 on treys during the Clippers’ first-round exit in six games against Dallas last spring. Russ needs help. This roster needs help.
Renck: The Nuggets are not going to make a seismic move. They love Michael Porter Jr., the one player needed in any blockbuster deal. But they must make a move, if for no other reason than to show Nikola Jokic they care about winning another championship. There is no way for GM Calvin Booth to sell remaining idle when so many other teams figure out how to upgrade – the L.A. Lukas – or engineer minor tweaks. Make a run at P.J. Tucker. Kick the tires on Robert Williams and Chris Boucher. Exhaust options to give the Nuggets more versatility in the postseason.
Keeler: And yet I also understand why Booth stands pat, even if I don’t agree with it. Moving MPJ immediately excises your second-best 3-point shooter on a roster that already has too few of them to begin with. Booth either has to try to find a sucker who’ll eat a bad contract or accept a sell-off that makes his team worse right smack dab in the middle of a contention window. It’s hard to picture anybody giving the Nuggets that kind of gift this far past Christmas.