There was a very interesting (but unsurprising) rumor that came out during the NBA Cup Final last night.
According to Tony Jones and Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Denver Nuggets have held exploratory conversations about a variety of players, including Zach LaVine.
With the NBA’s trade window opening this past weekend, and with the trade deadline less than two months away, the Nuggets are canvassing the league in pursuit of a player who can offer significant help offensively, league sources tell The Athletic.
As a result, the Nuggets have either expressed interest in, or have had preliminary trade discussions on the following players: Chicago’s Zach Lavine, Washington’s Jordan Poole, Utah’s Jordan Clarkson, Atlanta’s De’Andre Hunter, Brooklyn’s Cam Johnson and Washington’s Jonas Valančiūnas.
League sources say the focus on LaVine in recent discussions is significant.
In a subsequent report from Ian Begley of SNY, Brandon Ingram was thrown out as another player the Nuggets have touched base on.
Re: The Athletic report on the Nuggets’ search for a scorer, I’ve heard Brandon Ingram is another player among the group on their radar. FWIW: the clearest pathway for Denver to make a trade for a big scorer with a significant salary would be to include Michael Porter Jr. in deal
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) December 18, 2024
With that in mind, let’s circle back to the report. It makes sense that the Nuggets are looking for offense, despite having defensive weaknesses. I’ve written a number of times about the non-Nikola Jokic minutes. So far this season, the Nuggets have a 100.2 Offensive Rating in the 379 minutes Jokic sits. When Murray is out there in minutes without Jokic or Michael Porter, that number jumps slightly to 105.2 in 87 minutes.
The kicker: when Porter is out there without Jokic or Murray, the Nuggets have a 79.1 Offensive Rating in 98 minutes. They haven’t been functional in the moments for whatever reason, which has caused the Nuggets to go back to the Jamal Murray stagger of late.
There’s no question that the Nuggets starting lineup is NOT the problem, and many fans have recently spoken against a Michael Porter trade with that logic in mind. That makes sense to a degree, but in a situation where the Nuggets are paying their starting lineup as much money as they are, that group needs to be able to share the burden of the bench minutes too.
LaVine can certainly do that. He’s been doing it with the Chicago Bulls for a long time, carrying various units offensively and taking tough shots to prop up the team. That’s what he’s good it. It’s a skill set the Nuggets hoped Murray or Porter would develop more consistently. To this point, LaVine is a better driver of “bad” lineups than either of Denver’s secondary stars.
To that point, so is Brandon Ingram, who’s made a living off of tough two-pointers, passing on occasion, and being willing to assume responsibility of a bad unit.
The question with both of those guys is: can they fit into a champion? What happens when they’re playing with Nikola Jokic? With Jamal Murray? With Aaron Gordon? Will they be willing and able to do championship caliber things on a consistent basis?
I have more faith in LaVine doing that than Ingram. LaVine has shown willingness to defend the last couple of seasons. He may not be a good defender, but it’s easier to give effort when you’re in a winning situation and your role offensively isn’t too taxing. LaVine hasn’t ever really had the latter while with Chicago. He also has won just one playoff game, getting gentlemen’s swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in his only appearance. He did have 24 points and 13 assists in one of those playoff games, so there’s evidence that his game can adapt to fit a situation.
Denver’s defensive issues would be different with LaVine, but a move like this would free up more time for Peyton Watson on the floor, perhaps even in the starting lineup as the small forward. Even if not, there’s an easier path to 25 minutes per game for Watson off the bench now, which would of course help out the defense.
Ingram I’m just unsure about. He’s also an expiring contract and could walk away at the end of the season. If Denver traded for him, they’d be in a tough spot with his contract.
Let’s look closer at a LaVine trade. The Bulls wing has three years remaining on his deal, including 2024-25. He’s making $43.0 million this year, which means the Nuggets would have to send out at least that much in order to make a trade legal.
With Jokic off the table and both Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon recently signing contract extensions, the only player capable of matching the salary for LaVine is Michael Porter Jr., who’s earning $35.8 million. He would have to be the baseline for a deal, and it makes sense from a team construction standpoint with Denver adding a scorer that struggles to defend. Porter’s a player that Karnisovas, the Bulls leading front office decision maker, is familiar with from his time in Denver. The Bulls have needed size and rebounding that can shoot in their frontcourt for a long time, and adding Porter to Nikola Vucevic and Patrick Williams has to be appealing for a team that always lacks size.
After MPJ, Zeke Nnaji’s contract gets Denver above the threshold to match LaVine’s salary. The Bulls won’t want to take back Nnaji’s contract, but they may also have to make some concessions if they want to move LaVine. If not Nnaji, the trade gets dicey. A combination of Dario Saric and one of Jalen Pickett or Hunter Tyson along with Porter leaves the Nuggets a mere $112,000 short of a legal trade, an unfortunate reality of operating as an apron team in the new CBA. Chicago would then ask for Peyton Watson or Julian Strawther instead of one of Pickett or Tyson. The Nuggets would then decline.
Trading for Ingram is far simpler than trading for LaVine, which would be part of the appeal. Ingram makes just $156,000 more than Porter, so Denver could simply throw in one of Pickett or Tyson to make the trade legal.
Unfortunately, an easier trade doesn’t make it the right fit. Denver will probably have to get creative if they want LaVine, perhaps adding in a third team willing to take on bad salary for draft compensation.
The Nuggets only have one trade-able first round draft pick in 2031 as serious compensation. It’s currently tied up by pick protections on a 2029 first round pick going to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but Denver could try and amend that if they looped OKC into a trade. The Thunder already have several Nuggets draft picks, so what’s one more second rounder at this point?
Whatever happens, it’s notable that the Nuggets are looking around and wondering what they can do. They know how important this moment is for Jokic and the team. They know they have to put their best foot forward in the next couple seasons. That may not ultimately involve LaVine, Ingram, or others, but it could. Denver’s in a dangerous spot. They have to get this right or else risking the entire championship run blowing up in their face.
No pressure.