In the past 24 hours, the Denver Nuggets trade rumors have escalated, and now Michael Porter Jr. has been tossed into the mix featuring a trade involving the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are sellers this season, and the Nuggets still hold onto championship aspirations. Could they be the team that makes the biggest splash of all?
Nuggets Trade Rumor Involves Shipping Out a Champion
Newest Denver Nuggets Trade Rumor Includes Michael Porter Jr.
To be fair, the Nuggets are in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 14-10 record. Their current positioning is pretty good in the grand scheme of things. Yet, unless you haven’t paid attention to the Nuggets from day one, they look far from being legitimate championship contenders. The only real sure bet on their roster is Nikola Jokić, who is playing lights out and keeping his team above water. Jamal Murray has been rather hit-and-miss. His play is part of the reason the Nuggets aren’t as good as their winning record suggests.
Denver’s struggles to grasp and hold onto consistency may force them into what is shaping up to be a wild trade season. Within the last 24 hours, a slew of names have dropped that are reportedly drawing the Nuggets interest. Some of those names include Zach LaVine, Jordan Poole, Jordan Clarkson, and De’Andre Hunter. However, just recently, another name has joined the board: Cam Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets. Porter Jr. is the name connected to this rumor on Denver’s side, according to Forbes NBA reporter Evan Sidery. Sidery revealed that the Nuggets and Nets have engaged in exploratory talks involving Johnson and Porter. Also mentioned in the talks are Dorian Finney-Smith and Bojan Bogdanović.
Whether Porter is part of the problem in Denver is an interesting talking point. He’s having a solid season, putting up 18.5 PPG and shooting 38% from three and over 50% from the field. His length and size have attributed to much of Denver’s success since establishing themselves as contenders and eventually winning the championship in 2023. It may be team depth that the Nuggets are thinking on this one.
Denver’s Slight Downfall Began After Winning it All
Frankly, the Nuggets have not been the same team since their finals run two years ago. They only have themselves to look at. While the core of the team, Jokić, Murray, Porter Jr., and Aaron Gordon, are championship material, the supporting pieces that have walked away have proved to be the stinger. It started with letting Bruce Brown walk not long after their championship win. Subsequently, this past offseason, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also walked. One could argue that the Nuggets not re-signing either player has stung them significantly.
Their attempt to make up for it by signing Russell Westbrook has looked surprisingly pretty smart. The NBA’s all-time triple-double leader is playing very good basketball for Denver and has fit in nicely. Yet, it clearly hasn’t amounted to enough, considering that Denver might be the second-hottest team behind the Los Angeles Lakers regarding trade speculation.
If the purpose of trading away Porter Jr. is because the Nuggets want to add high-quality depth, then maybe the move checks out. At the same time, if moving him for the sake of shaking up the roster is the reason, then it doesn’t make much sense, given what Porter Jr. brings to the table. Simply put, he is not the problem.
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