The recently past NBA Trade Deadline was not short on big, team-altering moves. The Los Angeles Clippers sent away two big name starters and appear to be beginning an attempt to reshape a roster that produced a highly competitive playoff team a year ago. The Dallas Mavericks sent former All-Star and oft-injured center Anthony Davis to Washington, and well-traveled Kristaps Porzingis is now in Golden State.
The Denver Nuggets meanwhile made just one under-the-radar move that provided them with salary cap relief and opened up another roster spot, but didn’t bring them a new player that could help them for the homestretch of a playoff run. Not yet.
Nuggets May Be Focused on the Upcoming Buy-out Market
It appears the Nuggets are putting all their eggs in the NBA’s upcoming “buy out” market.
By trading seldom used forward Hunter Tyson to the Brooklyn Nets for a second round draft pick this June, the Nuggets were able to shed enough salary to get under the NBA’s “second apron” and avoid having to pay additional luxury tax while also making themselves eligible to sign a free agent. They also opened up another place on the roster, giving them two spots they can fill since they have had one open spot all season.
One spot was an obvious move. The Nuggets have converted the two-way contract of forward Spencer Jones, whose been a fixture in the starting lineup for the last month, into a full NBA deal, making him eligible to continue playing in the NBA rather than having to return to the G-League.
That accounts for one roster spot.
Last Roster Spot Remains a Question Mark
The other is a question mark. The prevailing thought is that Denver may look into the buy-out market when a crop of current NBA players have their existing contracts “bought out” by their current teams and they become free agents. Those players are eligible to be signed to veteran minimum contracts, making them more attractive as potential acquisitions, especially to teams that are up against salary cap restrictions.
The injury-riddled Nuggets have depth needs in both the front court and backcourt. They’ve already got back guard Christian Braun, who missed 23 games after being sidelined with an ankle injury suffered in mid-November. Braun hasn’t rounded back into form quite yet, especially on the offensive end, but he will likely improve as he gets more minutes, which could relieve some of the need at the guard position. Still, a back up ball handler would be advantageous to take some of the pressure off of All-Star Jamal Murray, who has seen a lot of physical pressure and double teams this season.
Denver should also be getting back starting forward Cam Johnson soon, just in time to have him take the place of recently injured forward Peyton Watson, who hurt a hamstring recently against the Knicks in New York. Watson had been playing very well, especially during the absence of three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, when he picked up his offensive game and help carry the scoring load. Johnson suffered a bone bruise to his right knee just before Christmas. Denver badly needs his outside shooting ability back in their lineup.
Along with Watson, who is likely to be out more than a month, Denver will remain without power forward Aaron Gordon for several more weeks as he tries to recover – for a second time – from a pulled hamstring of his own. Denver has not been able to replace Gordon’s physical presence on either end of the floor, and even when he returns, his minutes will likely need to be monitored closely.
That means that a buyout addition in the front court would appear to be Denver’s biggest need. And now with a roster spot open and a few veterans likely to be available after the All-Star break, bringing in another physical presence would seem likely.