For the Nuggets, the NBA trade deadline was not what many fans hoped it would be.

Before the trade deadline, there were thoughts of fireworks being set to go off, celebrations for many nights to come, acquisitions that would set a team apart from the rest—it came, just not in Denver.

There weren’t many trades that went down but, of note, P.J. Tucker is a Raptor, Joffrey Lauvergne, Cameron Payne and Anthony Morrow are leaving OKC and taking their talent to the Windy City in exchange for Doug McDermott, Taj Gibson and a 2018 second–round pick and unsure if you heard but, the Pelicans just added a big guy named Demarcus Cousins earlier this week, to play alongside Anthony Davis.

We knew about every player of significance rumored to be available for Denver, and I’m sure there were calls aplenty throughout the day, but ultimately there were no significant moves made, not even for Danilo Gallinari or Wilson Chandler; and I was almost certain that one, if not both, would be gone.

So instead, the Nuggets did exactly what they’ve been doing as of late, getting their name out there and try to land another big star to come to the Mile High City–another unsuccessful attempt.

At one point, there was talk about Denver making a “monster offer” for Paul George, in which he rejected, stating there’s no path to the finals with teams such as San Antonio and Golden State in the West.

Well, it was worth a shot.

Perhaps as a consolation prize, what the Nuggets were able to do was acquire center Roy Hibbert from the Milwaukee Bucks. In the deal the Nuggets will send a top 55 protected 2019 second-round pick to Milwaukee.

The 7-foot-2 Hibbert, 30,  originally the 17th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, was named to the NBA All-Star team in 2012 and 2014 but hasn’t been the same since.

He last played for the Bucks, with whom he averaged 5.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in 16.0 minutes per game.

With the acquisition, the Nuggets receive a veteran big man that they could put in the game for spurts off the bench. He will serve as a backup similar to Jusuf Nurkic, who the Nuggets traded away before the All-Star break to Portland for Mason Plumlee.

While the move to get Hibbert was about depth, it was also about money for Denver. They began this season with an $18 million deficit to make up between their payroll and the NBA’s mandated salary cap floor. Since then, Denver’s front office has been gradually moving towards the roughly $84 million they need to spend to avoid a penalty from the league (remember them getting Mo Williams not once, but twice?).

The acquisition doesn’t solve Denver’s cap issues, but it gets them closer. Before Hibbert, they were $6.3 million shy of the floor but now with his $5 million contract, they’re within $2 million of it.

Success, in a way.

While Hibbert isn’t the splash many Denver fans were hoping for, it did make sense on many fronts for the Nuggets.

Denver’s roster now stands at 15.