Around the NBA in 15 trades: Day 7, Nets and Nuggets
In the lead up to the Feb. 8 trade deadline, we’re taking all 30 teams and finding mutually beneficial partners. Every day will offer up a new deal with two new consorts. It’s kinda like the 12 days of Christmas, but instead of hens-a-laying and pear trees and other useless nonsense from your true love, you’re getting fake trades from me for a much higher holy day: the NBA trade deadline. Strap in tight, it’s trading season!
After falling into the NBA’s pit of misery, the Nets changed their outlook through hiring a shrewd front office, trading for distressed assets, and incremental player improvements. No longer a franchise barren of talent or hope, the light at the end of the tunnel can be seen.
The Western Conference playoff field is like a nine-person game of Old Maid. Teams will swap positions over the remainder of the season, passing each other and falling back on almost a nightly basis. This Nuggets team was constructed to be playing into April. They need to make sure they’re not the ones holding the title card at the end and sitting in ninth place.
Why the Nets do it:
Brooklyn turned themselves into the Island of Misfit Toys during their rebuild. Emmanuel Mudiay would fit seamlessly into their prized collection of 2015 lottery picks who didn’t pan out. Mudiay’s been very inconsistent, but still has an extra year left on his deal for the Nets to work alchemy on his talent.
If it feels like Kenneth Faried’s been on the trading block for years, it’s because. he. has. Faried’s a player type from a bygone era and he’s fallen out of the rotation in Denver. However, he still cleans the glass and can have value on the right team.
What the Nets don’t currently have on the roster is a young, modern big man with the ability to stretch the floor. Hernangomez fits the bill. (In theory, of course. He’s only shooting 31.4 percent this year from 3, but was projected to be a floor-spacing power forward.) He was selected 15th overall in the 2016 draft, but can’t get much run on a deep Nuggets team. Sending him to Brooklyn would give him court time and unite the Brothers Hernangomez in New York City.
The first-rounder would only aid their continual climb to respectability.
Spencer Dinwiddie’s been a revelation this season and has arguably the best contract in the entire league. His story is inspirational and he truly defied huge odds to make it to where he is today. It’s hard to move Dinwiddie, who’s become somewhat of a cult hero in Brooklyn. He started his own scholarship program. He hits game-winners. He’s even a Pokémon fan. Trading him would be a tough pill for fans to swallow.
Dinwiddie, D’Angelo Russell, and Caris LeVert are ostensibly the Nets’ best players. All three are young, but they all need the ball in their hands when they’re on the court. Russell has the highest ceiling, but Dinwiddie is the most well-rounded and could bring more back in a trade. His value might never be higher than it is right now, and Brooklyn could look to cash in on that.
Why the Nuggets do it:
The Nuggets have the luxury of having too many guys who can play and not enough minutes to play them. Their first-
rounder (which will probably fall somewhere between 17 and 23) has more value to a team like the Nets than it does to them.
DeMarre Carroll’s resurfaced this season as a useful 3-and-D wing as he further distances himself from his knee injury. He’s needed in this deal to match salaries, but he’d be helpful as a tough defender and reserve small-ball 4.
Joe Harris is a sniper (currently shooting over 40 percent from deep) who’d be great off the bench and added to Denver’s stable of shooters.
Next: Around the NBA in 15 trades: Day 6, Heat and Thunder
But the major reason Denver makes this move is for all the glowing statements on Dinwiddie I laid out above. The Nuggets are a fun team with fun pieces, but could use the grittiness of someone who built himself up and fought hard to stick in the league. It would also be a bit of a homecoming since he’d be going back to where he played his college ball.
What doesn’t get brought up nearly enough is the fact Dinwiddie’s 6-foot-6 – huge by point guard standards – making him easy to mix and match with their troika of scoring guards. Having a true floor general would steady a talented team looking to cement their playoff claim and avoid getting stuck with a losing hand in the spring.