Don’t be surprised if the Denver Nuggets shake things up this summer.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, star forward Aaron Gordon is the team’s “veteran drawing the strongest external trade interest,” though “league sources say that the Nuggets preferred course for a roster shakeup is finding a trade market for Christian Braun rather than entertaining deals that involve Gordon or Jamal Murray after Murray’s first All-Star season, but those efforts are rife with challenges.”
The Nuggets are also “known to be determined” to re-sign restricted free agent guard Peyton Watson, though the team has been “searching for a trade or two first that generates more financial flexibility with respect to the NBA’s luxury tax aprons.”
Denver went 54-28 this past season but was eliminated in six games during the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves. There is also the sense that the West is very much about to be dominated by the Oklahoma City Thunder for the foreseeable future, and the Nuggets probably need to consider shaking up their core group behind superstar Nikola Jokić.
Gordon, 30, has become incredibly important for Denver, however. His stats may not jump off the page (16.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.7 APG last season), but he’s developed into an excellent three-point shooter (38.9 percent last season) and the Nuggets outscored opponents by 12.7 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor last season, per NBA.com.
When he sat, the team’s net rating dropped to 2.8, a stark difference. He also missed three games against the Wolves in the first round, a major factor in that series.
Don’t expect Gordon to go anywhere, in other words, barring a true superstar heading the other way in return. Trading a role player like Braun would make far more sense for the Nuggets.
