Ranking the Denver Nuggets assets at the trade deadline

At 22-32 and currently sitting at the 11th spot in the Western Conference, the Nuggets would typically be your classic trade deadline seller. Except for the fact that this year, the same conference which saw the Oklahoma City Thunder miss the playoffs with 45 wins last year, would welcome the 26-26 Utah Jazz into the postseason as its 8th-seed if the season ended today.

The influx of teams within reach of the 8th-seed in the West, puts the Nuggets in a precarious situation sitting five games out the the playoffs. Should they reach and try to max out this current team and sneak into the “second season,” or stand pat and either play the year out, continue to preach development and possibly entertain trade offers on their chest of assets?

To me, the answer is simple. Get this young core more minutes together and capitalize on some trade assets whose values may never be higher.

But that may not be the case within the Nuggets organization.

“We don’t like to be on the outside looking in right now,” General Manager Tim Connelly said Jan. 19th. “We don’t like be so far under .500. It would be shortsighted not to be aggressive.” To be fair Connelly also made a point that it would also be shortsighted to rush the process with they young core, and rookie Emmanuel Mudiay has made it a point to note after many games how his goal is to make the playoffs.

It’s perfectly fine for Mudiay and the rest of the roster to strive and make the playoffs – it’s what you’re programmed to do as a player. However, pushing for the 8th-seed and a four game exhibition with the Golden State Warriors is a dangerous prerogative that Connelly and the rest of the front office have to handle carefully.

Ranking the Nuggets tradable assets with the Feb. 18th trade deadline looming:

I omitted Emmanuel Mudiay, Gary Harris and Nikola Jokic from this list. I would not trade any of those three unless a godfather deal arose out of nowhere. I also didn’t factor in the plethora of first-round picks the Nuggets could have this summer. 

1. Danilo Gallinari

The now 27-year-old is having the best offensive season of his career, averaging 19.8 points per game and he finally pulled his shooting percentages up to just below his career averages. I’ve been a big proponent of dealing Gallinari this season and here is why it’s the right time to part ways with the Italian:

-Gallo’s played in 45 of a possible 54 games this season and is now deemed ‘heathy’ by the rest of the league. His trade value is back to a respectable level, but for how much longer? It’s a guessing game that I’d rather not play with the oft-injured forward.

-If he stays healthy, Gallinari can decline his player option after next season and become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2017-18, just as the salary cap is climaxing. I don’t feel great about giving a 29-year-old Gallo a max deal, healthy or not. It would be ideal to get something close to Gallinari’s value for him now, rather than risk losing him for nothing down the line.

Gallinari’s name’s been thrown into nearly every trade rumor and any chatter the Nuggets have been a part of. He’d be able to be the centerpiece of a deal that could potentially bring in a Kevin Love or Blake Griffin; or could be the main piece in the often-mentioned Boston exchange for Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart and parts — or to Toronto where he could reunite with former GM Masai Ujiri. Gallo would also surely net a 2016 first-round pick along with a future first if the Nuggets wanted to go that route. His trade kicker makes dealing him a bit harder than it has to be, but he’s someone who teams at the top of the West and especially East are looking at as who could potentially put them near, or over the hump.

2. Jusuf Nurkic

Is Nurkic available and would the Nuggets have any interest in trading him? Nobody knows for sure, but they’d be foolish not to at least listen to offers for the Bosnian.

With Nikola Jokic‘s surge into the top of the rookie class and the stranglehold he’s applied to the starting center spot, minutes have been hard to come by for Nurkic – and I’m not sure how happy he will be coming off the bench in the future. Nurkic has also been slow to work back from ankle and knee ailments after a torn patellar tendon sidelined him for the first half of 2015-16 and has looked sluggish for the most part since he’s been back. Questions have been raised, and rightfully so, on the 21-year-old’s ability to work himself back from injuries, play through discomfort and generally staying healthy.

Even with the question marks, Nurkic would net the Nuggets a lot of value in return. There’s still room for a traditional rim protector anchoring a defense and it’s not hard to talk yourself into building a successful defensive unit around the 6-foot-11, physical brut who put up great defensive numbers last year when healthy.

Teams like Chicago who lost Joakim Noah to for the season and will likely lose Pau Gasol to free agency this summer are trying to rebuild their front court and have some interesting options on the wings that could interest Denver. If a no-brainer deal presents itself, Denver should think about pulling the trigger. If not, then I’d be fine with hanging onto Nurkic through the season. With his youth and skill, his value is still high and he’s the yin to Jokic’s yang, which is something I could get behind, but longterm the fit is still questionable.

3. Will Barton

Barton’s had a truly unbelievable season. Unheralded coming to Denver from Portland last season, Barton carried the Nuggets offense through the early parts of the schedule, when injuries took a major toll on the roster. The new three-year, $11 million deal Connelly signed Barton to this past summer is one of his greatest feats and adds to his value on the trade market.

So why trade the 25-year-old Barton now? I’m not the biggest proponent of a Barton trade, but much like Gallinari, it’s hard to envision his value ever being higher than it currently is. He’s shown that his 38 percent 3-point shooting percentage isn’t a fluke, although I still think he’ll end the year around 35 percent or so — still making him a threat from deep. Barton’s also a contender for the annual Sixth Man of the Year award and a good showing in the Slam Dunk Contest at this weekend’s All-Star game could push his name even further into the national spotlight, upping his notoriety.

Barton’s value is one thing, but the contract I previously mentioned that he signed last summer is another. The Nuggets could easily combine Barton’s contract with Kenneth Faried‘s and suddenly you offset Faried’s larger deal and limited lineup adaptability with Barton’s value. It’s a way to get a substantial return if Denver does deal Faried.

4. Kenneth Faried

It’s going to be really hard to trade the Manimal and get adequate value for him because he’s truly an outlier in today’s pace and space era.

Faired’s inability to draw his defender outside the paint gives you all types of spacing issues on offense, and if you play him next to a stretch five, your defensive front court becomes a defensive liability. Playing him alongside a rock-solid defensive center, probably makes the most sense, but those are few and far between. Of course you could bring Faried off the bench, which may be where he fits best, but I’m not sure how receptive he’d be of that role; meaning how much are team’s really going to give up for a one-dimensional four that you’re likely capping at around 25 minutes a night off the bench?

Packaging him and Barton to Toronto, where he might be able to start, could net a decent value in return. Phoenix, who is in need of some energy which Faried can indeed supply, has a few intriguing options like T.J. Warren and John Leuer that could give Denver rotational players back. Faried alongside Anthony Davis in New Orleans or Karl-Anthony Towns in Minnesota would actually be decent fits and the Timberwolves have some trade chips in Shabazz Muhammad and Nemanja Bjelica who would fill roles here in Denver.

The Manimal isn’t going to net the value he would have two years ago, coming off his breakout 2014 FIBA World Cup performance. Yet, I’m still under the impression his perceived value league wide is higher than what we think of him in Denver.

5. Joffrey Lauvergne/Darrell Arthur

Lauvernge has found himself in-and-out of the rotation all season, but has played around 20 minutes per game as of late. You can call it rewarding the big man for playing hard in practice or an attempt to showcase the Frenchman before the deadline. But either way, Lauvergne is getting playing time.

However, he hasn’t been nearly impressive enough in this recent string of games to draw a significant bounty in a trade, confirming the thought I’ve had that he’s a third and probably fourth big on a quality team. His 49.0 shooting percentage from the field and 34.3 percent from three look fine on paper, and if the Nuggets could somehow snag a late first or even an early second for Lauvergne they should pull the trigger.

If I was a top team in the Western Conference in need of a little something extra — perhaps the Clippers or Mavericks — Arthur would be a no-brainer for me. Like Lauvergne, he’s gettable for a late first or a prospect who hasn’t quite taken that next step, and could come in and help a team immediately. Arthur kept the Nuggets defense together in the early part of this season and could do a similar patch job on the second unit for a contender in the playoffs.

With the deadline approaching, @NateTimmonsBSN & I became good friends w/ the trade machine: https://t.co/hQgBMrLc6U pic.twitter.com/jz6aphZKnu

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) February 6, 2016