What to make of Tuesday's mega-trade and why the Nuggets may not be done dealing

Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez arrived in Denver together as part of a heralded 2016 draft class. The Nuggets selected Beasley 19th overall and Hernangomez 15th that summer.

They’ll leave Denver together as well.

The Nuggets reportedly agreed to a trade late Tuesday night that will send Beasley, Hernangomez and Jarred Vanderbilt to the Timberwolves in exchange for Shabazz Napier, Noah Vonleh and Keita Bates-Diop. Denver also reportedly acquired Gerald Green, who’s currently hurt and likely to be waived, from the Rockets along with Houston’s 2020 first round pick.

The trade as reported by ESPN involves four teams — Denver, Minnesota, Houston and Atlanta — and 12 players. As part of the deal, Clint Capela and Nene are reportedly heading to the Hawks and Robert Covington, Jordan Bell and a future second-round pick are en route to Houston. Minnesota also acquired Evan Turner and a future first-round pick from Atlanta.

On paper, Denver added a fourth point guard to its roster which already includes Jamal Murray, Monte Morris and P.J. Dozier, and two forwards to join a crowded frontcourt when healthy that’s four deep with Nikola Jokic and Jerami Grant along with Paul Millsap and Mason Plumlee, who are both currently sidelined with injuries. The Nuggets’ haul doesn’t appear to fill Denver’s new-found needs with Beasley and Hernangomez gone.

It’s why the feeling around the team as Tuesday’s deal was being reported is that the Nuggets aren’t done dealing. If the four-team, 12-player trade goes through as currently constructed and no subsequent moves follow, Denver will be left with a unbalanced roster for the playoffs that severely lacks shooting after losing one of its top three-point threats in Beasley and another floor spacer in Hernangomez. It’s hard to imagine that’s the Nuggets’ endgame, unless Vonleh is being brought in as a stop-gap option for Plumlee while he’s sidelined. Bates-Diop would give Denver more depth in the frontcourt but Napier’s potential role behind Murray and Morris is puzzling.

The name that would make the most sense that Denver is now positioned to chase is Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, who the Nuggets have been linked to throughout the season.

With New Orleans likely seeking draft compensation along with multiple players in exchange for Holiday if the Pelicans were to move off of him, Denver checked off one of those deal-making requirements by landing the Rockets’ 2020 first-round pick Tuesday. The Nuggets could pair that first round selection with one of their own future first-round picks, Gary Harris, Mason Plumlee and Monte Morris in a potential Holiday trade. The Nuggets don’t own their first-round selection this summer after trading it to the Thunder for Jerami Grant last July.

Other names that the Nuggets could seemingly target with the Rockets’ first include Orlando’s Aaron Gordon and Chicago’s Zach LaVine.

If the Nuggets do pursue Holiday or another more significant piece on the trade block it would signal a pivot in philosophy from Denver’s front office. The Nuggets have flirted before with the likes of Kevin Love, Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving, Bradley Beal and Anthony Davis but didn’t pull the trigger.

Now could be the time when the Nuggets go all-in on a player like Holiday, who’s defensive upside and all-around versatility make for what could be a strong fit in Denver’s backcourt opposite Murray. A playoff rotation featuring Holiday, Murray, Millsap, Will Barton, Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr., Jerami Grant, and Torrey Craig would rival any Western or Eastern Conference’s top-8 in a postseason setting. If a trade with New Orleans did formulate, a wing like E’Twaun Moore, a career 39% three-point shooter, could in theory be added into the trade and sent Denver’s way for salary matching purposes.

While the four-team mega-deal was being reported, the Nuggets reacted to the trade in real-time. As the doors to the Nuggets’ locker room opened shortly following the Nuggets’ 127-99 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, Hernangomez, who had just tallied seven points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes, the most he had played since Nov. 17, was on his phone while seated at his locker. Beasley, who chipped in 14 points against the Trail Blazers, Vanderbilt and Torrey Craig congregated a few feet away and discussed the latest trade rumors that they were hearing.

Around 15 minutes later the full details of Tuesday’s trade leaked. The Nuggets’ locker room was empty except for Barton who was finishing up his media session. After being told he wouldn’t accompany the Nuggets on their overnight trip to Utah for Wednesday’s back-to-back against the Jazz, Beasley reemerged flanked by his mother and shared an emotional hug with Barton. Hernangomez returned to Denver’s locker room too in search of Jokic, one of his closest friends.

“I don’t know. If it happens I’m going to be sad. Maybe it’s good for him, maybe it’s bad. I don’t know,” Jokic said around 10 minutes prior about the prospects of Hernangomez potentially getting traded before Thursday’s deadline. “I can’t control anything like that.”

In Minnesota, Hernangomez and Beasley will get the opportunity to play more minutes than they did in Denver and thus have chance to drive up their own prices in restricted free agency next summer. The Nuggets did right by both Hernangomez and Beasley too. Both are entering environments that suit their games well. The Timberwolves shoot the third-most 3s per game and Hernangomez and Beasley will be encouraged to let it fly while spacing the floor around Karl-Anthony Towns. In Denver, the Nuggets will be left in a holding pattern until the other shoe in a subsequent deal drops.

Before the Nuggets tipped off against the Trail Blazers Michael Malone said for the second time over the last couple of months that he’d be pleased if the Nuggets kept their current roster together through the trade deadline.

‪“If we get through Thursday’s trade deadline with the same team, I’d be very happy,” Malone said. “I have great admiration and respect for all our players. We’re having a great season so far. So it’s not like we feel we have to go out there and make all these drastic changes. I love where our group is at and the potential that we have especially when we’re healthy.

“That being said this is a business. People are always looking to make moves that can give them an edge moving forward into the playoff race and the playoffs. We’ll see what comes up in the next 48 hours.”

It took just five hours from Malone’s comment for a trade that will re-shape the Nuggets’ bench to come to fruition. What comes next could be a more significant overhaul, one that alters the dynamic of Denver’s roster even further.