NBA Rumors: Nuggets may have ‘moves up their sleeve’
By Tom West
NBA trade rumors are hovering around over the summer, and the Denver Nuggets may have “some trades up their sleeve” to make significant adjustments to their roster.
They may not be the Boston Celtics, reportedly pursuing every superstar under the sun from Russell Westbrook to Blake Griffin, but the Denver Nuggets could be one of the NBA teams that’s quietly ready to shake up some of their roster and convert trade assets into new talent.
Two of the top NBA writers and reporters in the game, Zach Lowe and Marc Stein of ESPN, spoke on The Lowe Post podcast to discuss numerous topics, and touched on what the Nuggets may be considering. While no specific targets came up, Lowe said he believes they’re looking trade Kenneth Faried and could have “some moves up their sleeve”:
"“I would say the team I heard the most about in terms of they still might have moves up their sleeve — other than Boston — in Vegas is Denver. And not just ‘Denver is trying to get off [Kenneth] Faried’, which I think they are, but if they have to move a decent wing to get off Faried and get something good in return. They’ve got a lot of wings now; young ones, mid-career ones, take your pick. They just had a lot of ideas in the fire.”"
Stein responded by saying that he thought the Nuggets would have been more active at the draft, and that easily could have been the case. Besides Faried, who has popped up in trade rumors for some time, they had three top-20 picks to offer, Danilo Gallinari (also a feature in trade rumors over the latter stages of the season), Wilson Chandler, Will Barton, and their many young, talented bigs such as Jusuf Nurkic and Joffrey Lauvergne (Nikola Jokic shouldn’t be dealt anywhere).
In some combination, the Nuggets can still form an enticing trade package to make a major move after staying quiet on draft night, so the possibility of a significant trade certainly shouldn’t be overlooked, especially with Lowe saying they’ve had a lot of ideas.
As Stein mentioned, the Nuggets have been aggressive this summer. They sat back in the draft and selected Jamal Murray with their No. 7 overall pick, but they managed to land a free agency meeting with Dwyane Wade (albeit one that could have just been for leverage with the Miami Heat) and made a two-year, $50 million offer.
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If the same aggressive mindset continues, a trade isn’t out of the question.
While a superstar like Blake Griffin, who they reportedly pursued in February, isn’t available, the Nuggets could have their sights set on someone else in addition to the intention of shifting Faried.
Along with the Celtics, it sounds like the Nuggets could become a more prominent feature in NBA trade rumors this summer.