The NBA trade rumors are now surrounding the Denver Nuggets as they have placed their next trade chips at the table.
The difference with the Denver Nuggets this season is that they have found their star in Nikola Jokic and now they have decided to build around him. Early in the season, they were undecided on which path to take. This is important because they have a mix of veterans and young players.
It seems like the youth movement has taken over. The team is not tanking and actually gunning for a playoff spot, even if it means facing the Golden State Warriors.
According to Bill Simmons in The Ringer NBA Show podcast, the Denver Nuggets eliminated themselves from the DeMarcus Cousins sweepstakes specifically because of Jokic. Speculation had the Nuggets as frontrunners because their head coach is Mike Malone, the only coach whom Cousins got along with in his Kings tenure.
The Nuggets also had solid assets to send to Sacramento but that was all moot and instead they acquired Mason Plumlee from the Portland Trail Blazers as their center option. In this move, they also disposed of Jusuf Nurkic, their other young center who complained about his role on the team.
In his latest column, Zach Lowe of ESPN has identified two of the Nuggets' trade chips that are likely to move at the deadline. These are Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari. Both of them are proven scorers and would be ready to help a contender from the get-go. Lowe also mentioned what the Nuggets would ask for either of the two players.
"The Nuggets, for their part, are seeking a lottery-protected first-round pick and swap rights on another pick for Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, sources say. They want that No. 8 spot in the West, but they think they can get it even if they surrender one of those guys," Lowe wrote.
Denver was often associated with Cousins or other superstars in an effort to consolidate their assets. Their bench is actually too deep leading to some players losing their playing time. However, that big trade did not materialize as Simmons said, they found their "star" within the team.
The Nuggets can make a playoff run even if they give up Gallinari or Chandler, and that's why they would only demand a draft pick. They lost the first round pick they got from the Memphis Grizzlies when they traded it to Portland (for Plumlee) so they would like to get it back.
Playoff teams of interest that own their first round pick and allowed to trade them include the Oklahoma City Thunder. They already owe their 2nd round pick to Denver, but they could trade the first for Chandler. The Indiana Pacers also declared that they are willing to trade their first round pick to add help for Paul George. The Houston Rockets are also reportedly after Chandler and they can trade their pick.
The LA Clippers were very interested in Gallinari but they don't own their first round pick and won't be eligible to trade their 2018 first round pick in the process. Other teams like the Washington Wizards and Utah Jazz own their pick but they have not been reported to take interest in the Nuggets' duo.