Who and what the Denver Nuggets are remains a mystery. Are they Emmanuel Mudiay’s team or Nikola Jokic’s team? Is this team built from the inside out or the outside in? Spoiler alert, they aren’t a playoff team. The questions surrounding Mike Malone’s team are just as confounding as the direction of the team.

Watching Kenneth Faried play basketball is frustrating. The same goes for Mudiay. And the combination of Jusuf Nurkic and Jokic makes you want to pull your hair out (WHY CAN’T THEY FIGURE OUT HOW TO PLAY TOGETHER?). Plainly stated, watching the Denver Nuggets this season has been the definition of exasperating.

Tim Connelly has done a great job rebuilding this franchise on the fly and putting together a talented young team. But the core assembled is made up of a bunch of puzzle pieces that don’t quite fit together. It’s time for Connelly to thin the herd.

Now, more than never, is the time for the Nuggets to take the next step and set their sights on winning the division. The only team that got any better this offseason in the Northwest was the Utah Jazz. Talent wise the Jazz aren’t blowing anyone away (nor are they leaps and bounds better than the Nuggets on paper), but they’re a team comprised of players whose skills align perfectly. The Trail Blazers and Thunder are one-man shows and the Timberwolves are probably three years away from their talent blossoming. The picking is ripe; all Connelly has to do is take advantage.

The Nuggets don’t have a terrible roster, per say (there are GMs that’d kill to be as deep and young), but it’s a roster loaded with a bunch of sevens and potential. That’s not a winning recipe in a superstar-driven league. Denver needs a transcendent player that’ll not only dominate games but also attract other star players. Here’s a quick dream scenario that’ll check both boxes: reunite the 2009 Kentucky Wildcats.

Kicking off this project is simple: Connelly needs to trade for John Wall. This move might be viewed as giving up on Mudiay way too early, but that’s a hair-trigger response. In reality, a Wall for a Mudiay (you’d have to send the young point guard to make room for Wall) would be the trading of a developing asset for a known commodity. A commodity, by the way, that’s only 26 and under contract through 2018-19.

Even if the Wizards are a mess and have a dysfunctional locker room (reportedly) they aren’t going to trade Wall for Mudiay straight up. This is where Connelly can solve another problem for the Nuggets. Send Nurkic and Faried to Washington with Mudiay. That’ll clear up the logjam in the frontcourt. And if Washington insists on Denver eating up another contract Markieff Morris would a nice addition. The Nuggets could use some of his grittiness.

After acquiring Wall, Denver’s front office should turn their attention to the Kings.

DeMarcus Cousins wants out of Sacramento; there’s a reason he’s the center of trade rumors every year. It’s time for Denver to capitalize. Boogie comes with baggage in the form of his attitude, but remember he was one of the few guys in Malone’s corner when he was coaching the Kings. How would the prospect of reuniting with Malone and Wall not pique his interests and improve his attitude?

The price paid for Cousins would be steep. Denver would most likely have to part with Jokic, Gary Harris or Will Burton and a first-round pick. The Nuggets will potentially have two first-round picks in 2017 (they’ll get Memphis’ first, but it’s protected 1-5) so they can handle dealing a first. Jamal Murray is the future at shooting guard, might as well make room for him now.

Losing Jokic, on the other hand, is a tough pill to swallow. The Joker is going to be really good, but which NBA GM would pass up swapping Cousins for Jokic? (That’s a rhetorical question FYI).

Were Connelly able to pull off both of these trades, it’d amount to an NBA coup and put the Nuggets in the conversation as one of the best teams in the Western Conference. A starting five of Wall, Murray, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Cousins would be scary, scary good.

None of this is a referendum on the Nuggets’ existing roster. As currently constructed, Denver has one of the deepest, young, potential-filled rosters in the NBA. That said, they also have multiple pieces that don’t fit together.

Connelly deserves all the credit in the world for loading this team with coveted assets, but they’re still a couple of years away from fully developing and competing. If Denver wants to win now and take advantage of a division on the decline, the time is now. Connelly needs to turn unproven talent into proven superstars.