6At long last, the Denver Nuggets are NBA champions. The way they built their team up through the draft and shrewd trades has them set up for the foreseeable future. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are going to be one of the NBA's best duos for a while and they have a spectacular supporting cast.
While Denver should take its time to celebrate the franchise’s first taste of glory, the front office has to stay ready. As the Nuggets look to fend off the teams that are coming to dethrone them and likely see Bruce Brown get outpriced for what they could offer, they have to stay ahead of the game. With no cap space to work with, they will have to either be ready to make internal improvements — which, granted, they have been pretty solid at doing — or make some more trades.
To make trades, the Nuggets have trade exceptions worth $9.1 million and $3.4 million and some contracts of end-of-the-bench players they can add together with Vlatko Cancar, Peyton Watson and Zeke Nnaji. While the first-round picks they have available are minuscule, they are not without picks to offer. They could also consider looking to offload Michael Porter Jr. but a massive trade like that isn’t super urgent.
The Nuggets have to keep adding talent to stay ahead of the rest of the league. Here are three players they should target in the trade market.
3. Taurean Prince
The Nuggets relied heavily on Jeff Green for wing depth but could use someone else as the 36-year-old's contract comes to an end. Prince is a good option for the Nuggets to add in his place. At 6-foot-7, he has good size for a wing and is a 37.2 percent shooter from beyond the arc.
While the Minnesota Timberwolves may not want to trade with the team that just beat them in the playoffs, they could also use some more draft picks after lighting a few of them on fire with the Rudy Gobert trade. Denver has some picks to offer and the Wolves have young players behind him who could try to fill his spot.
2. Delon Wright
If the Washington Wizards are truly ready to rebuild, they should look to see what they can get in exchange for Delon Wright. The Nuggets could interest them with young players and possibly draft picks as they likely seek to blow it all up.
Wright would be a good addition that could help fill Brown's role. He's a very good defender and can take on numerous roles on offense. Although he's not a legit floor spacer, he can shoot the three-ball pretty well. The Nuggets would primarily use him off the ball but he is comfortable handling the rock, too.
1. Alex Caruso
After the Nuggets acquired some extra draft picks in a trade during the NBA Finals, they have more draft capital to send to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for their stud defender. They are not looking to give Caruso up easily but Denver would be much better if Calvin Booth could pull it off.
Caruso would fit the Nuggets perfectly. His defense at the point of attack would help Denver improve on their weaker side of the ball and get them out in transition with his knack for forcing live-ball turnovers. He built great chemistry with a high-level basketball mind in LeBron James and surely could do the same with Jokic.
Consider how good Christian Braun was for the Nuggets in the Finals and then think how good they would be if they had another similar player. The Nuggets love athletic wings that can make snappy decisions, move without the ball and defend numerous positions. Caruso is just that while being one of the best and smartest defenders in the sport.
Follow Us
Subscribe