Protected to say, this Denver Nuggets season shouldn’t be going in accordance with plan.
Sitting sixth within the West at 13-10 getting into play on Sunday, Denver hasn’t received greater than two in a row in over a month and look in need of being true title contenders. Most just lately, Nikola Jokic dropping 56 factors, 16 rebounds, and eight assists wasn’t sufficient to stop a loss to the league-worst Wizards. Keep in mind, Washington had misplaced 16 straight video games getting into that contest.
Jokic is having one other monstrous season, second within the league in factors at 31.5 per recreation, second in rebounds at 13.3, and second in assists at 9.8. But, it appears to be one which will get misplaced in historical past as a result of Jamal Murray doesn’t appear to have the identical bounce to his step, the youth that Denver has tried to deliver alongside in Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther are nonetheless marinating, making the losses of Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope over the past two summers all of the extra obvious.
Consequently, the most recent from NBA insider Marc Stein’s Substack The Stein Line revealed that Denver is “decided to make adjustments to a roster that has supplied little assist for a better-than-ever Nikola Jokic.”
There have been no particulars supplied on who the Nuggets would possibly goal, besides that point out the pathway is proscribed.
Jamal Murray is ineligible for a commerce earlier than the Feb. 6 deadline due to the extension he signed in September, and the identical applies to Aaron Gordon. Michael Porter Jr. might be an attractive piece however the Nuggets are already dead-last in 3-point try frequency and so must be aware of taking an additional hit in that space relying on who is available in to exchange him.
Porter Jr. is averaging 18.9 factors, 7.0 rebounds, and a couple of.9 assists whereas taking pictures a career-low 38.3% from three in 23 video games (excluding the 2021-22 season the place he solely performed 9 video games).
Depth being a serious problem for Denver, it might make sense to see if Porter Jr. can garner a number of high quality position gamers in return who can defend higher whereas additionally increasing the 3-point threats on the roster even when none of them present as singular a risk as Porter Jr. from the surface.
Talking on The Athletic NBA Every day podcast, Nuggets beat reporter for DNVR Sports activities Adam Mares steered a commerce with the Hawks that will contain sending Porter Jr. and wage filler to Atlanta with Bogdan Bogdanovic and presumably De’Andre Hunter coming again the opposite approach.
That will no less than theoretically enhance Denver’s depth each by way of rotation choices and scoring, in addition to the playmaking. Bogdanovic clearly has quite a lot of expertise taking part in with Jokic for Workforce Serbia.
Atlanta would achieve a nonetheless younger and proficient wing with loads of playoff expertise. Porter Jr. and Trae Younger had been AAU teammates in addition to very shut mates.
By hook or by crook, it appears the Nuggets should make some kind of change earlier than the deadline to extend its championship odds.
