Michael Malone addresses Wilson Chandler, Emmanuel Mudiay trade rumors

DENVER — It’s no surprise that early trade deadline rumors include the Nuggets.

On paper, Denver is stocked with young talent, rotation-worthy veterans, and draft picks, so it’s not out of the ordinary that trade chatter involving the Nuggets is rising to the surface with the deadline just under three weeks away.

This week, two rumors regarding Nuggets players surfaced. Sam Amick of USA Today reported Thursday that Wilson Chandler “wants out” of Denver and Zach Lowe mentioned in his latest column that he’s hearing Denver is “quietly exploring” what they could get in return for second-year point guard Emmanuel Mudiay.

Michael Malone addressed those rumors before the Nuggets took on the Milwaukee Bucks.

On Chandler asking to be dealt:

“Wilson’s never asked to be traded, never addressed that with myself. As I mentioned this morning, you can ask Wilson that but as far as my relationship with Wilson, it’s never come up. He’s having a hell of a year, a career-year in that regard and a guy that’s played starter minutes, off the bench minutes, 30 minutes a night, and does a little bit of everything for us. We love Wilson, and I said it this morning and “I’ll say it again, that’s never been brought to my attention in all of my dealings 1-on-1 with Wilson Chandler regarding if he wants to be traded.”

On exploring Mudiay’s value:

“As far as Emmanuel Mudiay goes, this time of year, for every team in the NBA, there are rumors. All GM’s have a job to do. They’re all looking to make their teams better. There are conversations that go on but in speaking with Tim Connelly, I can say that he’s not actively shopping Emmanuel Mudiay. The one caveat to all that is everyone’s tradable in this league. Let’s be honest. We’re a young team. We have a lot of valuable young assets. But it’s not like Tim Connelly is out there trying to get rid of these guys. We really think we have a bright future and Emmanuel is one of our young players that we value.”

Of course, the Nuggets don’t have to make any trades this season and with Denver in the thick of a race for the eighth seed in the West, it’s hard envisioning Denver making drastic changes to their rotation. If the opportunity presents itself, Connelly will look to upgrade the roster, but the Nuggets won’t simply make a trade to make a trade.