Five Trades the Denver Nuggets Should Consider

Dec 13, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) is guarded by Portland Trail Blazers center Robin Lopez (42) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The New Identity: Roy Hibbert

Acquiring Roy Hibbert could be risky. He makes a ton of cash ($14.8 million this year; $15.5 million next season) and he has a player option in 2015-16 so he could test free agency, leaving whichever team that acquires him with the possibility of only having his services for a season. But despite the trouble Hibbert had at times last season, he is playing solid basketball now averaging 11.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 block per game.

Hibbert is another guy with whom Brian Shaw has past experience, and he’s a big, physical center that would seem to fit with Shaw’s desire to work more from half court sets. I know there are plenty of fans who turned on Hibbert following his performance in the playoffs last year, but I still think he could contribute quite a bit to a team like the Nuggets. His inside presence is exactly what the team is struggling to establish. Timofey  Mozgov continues to develop, but he likely will never be anywhere as good of a rim protector as Hibbert.

Bringing Hibbert to town could cost the Nuggets McGee, Mozgov, Chandler or J.J. Hickson, but I could live with swapping any of those players for the big fella. I know it’s a pipe dream, but imagining  having a frontline of Hibbert, Jusuf Nurkic and Kenneth Faried on the floor during games and the Nuggets morphing into some sort of “let the bodies hit the floor,” Western Conference Bad Boys makes me giddy.

Likelihood of Roy Hibbert Joining the Nuggets: 50/50

Next: The Solid Veteran