The Denver Nuggets are climbing the standings in the Western Conference, winning seven of their last nine games, only three games behind third place. Denver sits just below an over-performing Portland team, a Lakers team without their star duo, and a Clippers team that has dropped five of their last eight.

The path forward looks up.

The front office is aware of this detail of course, but this optimism for the immediate future may not be enough to keep Tim Connelly content with the roster. The Denver Nuggets have certainly calmed the nervousness from the early season woes and have firmly planted themselves as a playoff team.

That just isn’t enough. Expectations coming into this season were high, coming off of the brilliant Western Conference Finals run. The Nuggets, with the playoff-tested duo of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, are on the cusp of being a perennial championship contender. They’re knocking on the door.

At this point, the Denver Nuggets are one step away, but as the mantra was in the preseason of 2019: “We don’t skip steps”. ‘We’ meant the players and coaching staff as they ramped up towards a historic season, but ‘we’ could also refer to Tim Connelly and Co. as they haven’t made any roster moves that resemble a skip in steps, something like trading a young player on the rise for an established star.

In fact, most moves where Denver has traded assets have been to gain assets in a different form, such as dealing their 2023 First Round pick for the rights to R.J. Hampton. Even the draft picks made were bets on development and ceiling, as opposed to bringing in established NBA skill that would help the team sooner. Connelly aims to keep a steady flow of talent in the organization, rather than having a few seasons in a spotlight of contention.

Keeping this in mind as the deadline for this season approaches, it is wise to expect the Denver Nuggets to maintain a similar M.O.

Mortgaging the future in order to marginally improve the present may not be the direction that Denver goes, but the front office recognizes the need to improve the roster at a few spots.

Here’s what we know:

The Denver Nuggets have all 15 full roster spots filled, plus both two-way slots. Any trade that happens would involve outgoing players. On the financial side, Denver has about $2.2 million to operate under the luxury tax. In addition to this, Denver has a $9.3 million dollar trade exception that was created in the Jerami Grant sign-and-trade deal in the off-season, as well as a $3.3 million exception created in last season’s deal involving Juancho Hernangomez.

Denver has the cap flexibility and contracts to make any sort of move work. The two-most likely contracts to be dealt are likely Gary Harris and Will Barton. Harris’s contract hit is about $19.3 million, while Barton makes about $13.7 million. Any smaller contracts would be absorbed by the trade exception.

As far as assets go, Michael Porter Jr is a name that fans do not want to see in this discussion, but his obligatory mention will be here. He likely won’t be traded, as he’s found a very comfortable spot on both sides of the floor in the recent coaching decision to play him at power forward (something I have been in favor of for a full year now). The Nuggets are very much invested in Porter’s future with the team.

Denver has other assets that they would rather use. They are able to trade their 2021 first-round pick, and any first-round pick from 2025 forward. Due to the trading away of their own 2023 first-rounder for the rights to R.J. Hampton, the Stepien Rule does not allow them to deal either pick in adjacent years, (2022, and 2024).

As far as player assets go, Bol Bol is probably the most likely to be dealt. He put up a decent showing when he was forced into the rotation in the bubble last season, but has not accumulated much playing time this year. For lack of a better word, he’s expendable, and he may provide enough upside for an interested team to consider him a worthwhile prospect. The rookies, R.J. Hampton and Zeke Nnaji have shown very encouraging flashes in their time on the court this season, both proving capable of playing rotational minutes. Denver would prefer to get a deal done without including them, but these players are probably not untouchable.

With what Denver has to work with, they have enough to add a significant piece to transform the roster. A defensive wing is the consensus gaping hole for the roster as it stands. In honesty, they miss Jerami Grant. Someone like him is tough to find, however. A combo-forward capable of guarding two positions and providing some offensive value is a rare breed. With all of the supersized ball handlers in the league, James, Leonard, George, Doncic, Durant, Antetokounmpo, and the like, wing defenders are exceedingly valuable. This mold should be the primary target for Denver. Other luxuries could include more shooting and another backup big for depth, but these provide mostly auxiliary benefit.

Defensive wings themselves aren’t in too much of a shortage, but quality in that category certainly is. Players like Al-Farouq Aminu, James Ennis, and Tony Snell are tentatively there, but to consider any of these as real difference-makers is a bit optimistic.

The big name that keeps being tossed around is Aaron Gordon. While the pictured fit is ideal, with his athleticism and versatile defensive profile, the price is also the steepest. His market is fairly difficult to gauge. No doubt a pick and a young player would have to be attached, as well as probably Will Barton. A third team may be involved, flipping Barton for more assets for Orlando. There are no reports suggesting a package like this, but one can imagine it. There are reports from many sources (here from Mike Singer), however, that Denver is certainly in the hunt for Gordon. Between the assets they have, he is there for the taking if the front office desires him enough.

If the price for Gordon becomes too steep, Danuel House may be a consolation prize. A capable “three and D” wing from Houston with far less upside than Gordon, but filling the need at a lower cost. Someone like David Nwaba also falls into this category.

If interested in a list of names, Nuggets Twitter has taken the liberty of compiling an extensive list of possible wings.