Are you ready for this, Denver?
You should be, because the next 72 hours could get wild. Scratch that – they should get wild.
Yesterday, Grantland’s Zach Lowe said that the Denver Nuggets are at the “epicenter” of the NBA’s trading frenzy. With the February 19 deadline looming, Lowe suggested that Denver has the potential to be one of the Association’s most active players.
Here’s hoping he’s right.
Not only should Denver expect that the Nuggets will look like a different team on the morning of February 20, but it should demand that to be the case. Does anyone want to watch this much longer?
The internet is full of trade rumors that involve the Nuggets; do a Google search for any prominent name on the roster and the first story to pop up will be tied to some kind of trade speculation. As Lowe and others have reported, the only Nugget not on the trading block is 20-year-old Jusuf Nurkic, a Bosnian big man who was originally met with anything other than open arms in Denver. When the Nuggets brass traded away Doug McDermott to Chicago on draft night last summer, ultimately landing Nurkic, Nuggets Nation was not happy.
As it turns out, Nurkic has been a pleasant surprise, showing toughness and touch around the basket. In 41 games of action, the rookie is currently averaging 7.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, McDermott has played in just 22 games, averaging a measly 3.0 points and 1.3 rebounds.
Still, if the rumors are true – that Nurkic is the only untouchable – then it’s practically a fact that the Nuggets have conceded the fact that there is no core in Denver. And that’s just fine.
At one point, the thought of trading Ty Lawson might have seemed silly, but even Lawson’s name is now surfacing in rumors (most recently in an alleged deal with Boston). It’s widely believed that the Nuggets aren’t necessarily shopping Lawson, but that they’re entertaining offers that include him.
The same is true of Kenneth Faried, who won a gold medal this past summer with Team USA. If anyone makes up the Nuggets “future” core, it’s those three – Lawson, Faried and Nurkic – but its certainly not etched in stone.
Nor should it be. Lawson has played relatively well this season, but he’s got a long history of inconsistency. He’s got all the tools, but has never truly seized the reins and led the Nuggets to much of anything. Faried is a fan favorite, but the double-double machine from last spring has been up and down this season. Entering the 2014-15 campaign, it was believed that Faried and head coach Brian Shaw were finally on the same page, something that wasn’t true for much of last season. But it would appear that Shaw and Faried still really don’t see eye to eye (at best), and might even be bickering (at worst). Shaw’s long-term future with the Nuggets is anything but certain, either; but still, Faried has not provided big returns after recently signing a big (four years, $50 million) extension.
Per the rumor mill, Nuggets like Wilson Chandler, Arron Afflalo and J.J. Hickson are being dangled regularly. And in-pain-prospects Danilo Gallinari and JaVale McGee would presumably be welcome additions to any trade conversation.
Who else is there? There are a few players down the bench who have gone unmentioned, but fans who instantly realized their absence would be few and far between.
The point, of course, is that the Nuggets are a currently a team with no definable identity, no core worth protecting. Therefore, there’s nothing to lose.
The biggest gamble Nuggets GM Tim Connelly can take before Thursday? Doing nothing. Standing pat. Sitting still.
Adding to the pressure to “get loose” is the fact that the NBA’s cap structure is about to significantly change. Because of its expanded television contracts, it’s been projected that the league’s salary cap could increase by as much as 25-33 percent in the 2016-17 season. While the details are not yet fully inked, teams will be placing a premium on flexibility. Other terms of the new structure will likely benefit teams that have the ability to sign young players. All of this points to one direction: Teams that can, should and will be positioning themselves for 2016, which also happens to be what most believe is an excellent draft class.
The Nuggets are one of those teams. They’re not currently tempted by hopes of a playoff run. They don’t have an identity or a solid enough core to build around. And if they stand pat, they’ll be essentially the same, uninspiring, sub-.500 team next season.
As The Cars’ Rick Ocasek once wrote, Shake it Up.
Get a few more days out of that favorite Nuggets jersey of yours, because after the 19th, you might want to fold it up and put it away. There’s not a current Nugget who’s not on the block; and frankly, that’s the way it should be. The only trade that should anger Nuggets fans is the one that doesn’t happen.
Hang on tight. This could get wild.