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Marc Gasol’s Injury Boosts Denver Nuggets Trade Potential

By Evan Wheeler

Jan 21, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) controls the ball against Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) in the first quarter at the Pepsi Center. The Grizzlies defeated the Nuggets 102-101. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) controls the ball against Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) in the first quarter at the Pepsi Center. The Grizzlies defeated the Nuggets 102-101. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /
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In sports you never want to see someone get hurt, but often times another team’s loss can be another team’s massive gain. This is what happened for the Nuggets on Tuesday, when the Memphis Grizzlies announced that two time All-Star center Marc Gasol suffered a right mid-foot fracture and is expected to miss four-to-six months.

Gasol leads the Grizzlies in minutes played (34.4), points (16.6) and blocks (1.3) per game this season, having been the catalyst of the team’s core for the past several years.

This is significant for the Nuggets because they own the rights to Memphis’ first round pick this season, a selection they received from Cleveland in the Timofey Mozgov trade. Tim Connelly has done a phenomenal job over the past couple of years stockpiling picks for the Nuggets to utilize and now this injury to the Grizzlies franchise player could make those pick even more valuable.

The pick is top five protected until 2019 however, also staying with Memphis this season if it falls in the 15-30 range. The only way Denver obtains the first round selection this season is if Memphis’ pick ends up from 6-14, meaning the Grizzlies need to miss the playoffs, something that wasn’t very likely till the Gasol injury.

Now, the Grizzlies still have a very good shot to make the playoffs without Gasol, entering the All-Star break at 31-22 and sitting 5th in the Western Conference.

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They have struggled quite signficantly without their All-Star center before though, going 12-15 in games that Gasol didn’t play in since the 2012-2013 season. Making matters worse for Memphis is the second half of their schedule doesn’t get mush easier, facing teams that are currently in the playoffs in each of their final five games and 14 of their 29 games left overall.

If Memphis stayed true to their winning percentage (44.4) without Gasol, they would finish the last 29 games of the season with a 13-16 record and finish 44-38 overall. The Grizzlies could easily still sneak into the eighth seed with only 44 wins, but there would be a good chance their pick this season could fall 6-14 with that record.

Denver would then have three shots in this year’s NBA draft lottery, not only having their selections, but also the right to swap with the Knicks and of course the Grizzlies pick. This would no doubt be the Nuggets best chance to get a number one selection possibly in the franchise’s 40 year history in the NBA, securing the rights essentially to LSU freshman sensation Ben Simmons.

The Nuggets could obviously not end up with the first pick, but with two surefire lottery picks and three chances to nab the number one overall selection, Connelly could parlay those assets into a deal for a established star. This would make sense given the piece ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Kevin Arnovitz published Tuesday reporting the Nuggets as being one of the most aggresive teams in looking to acquire a veteran difference maker.

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    • If Memphis’ pick lands between 6-14, Denver would be able to present a very enticing package based around three first rounds picks this year and a plethora of young talent to any team looking to part ways with a star player.

    Lastly, even if Memphis doesn’t miss the playoffs or they plummet all the way to a top five pick, Gasol’s injury makes their pick more valuable. This allows the Denver Nuggets trade potential to skyrocket this trade deadline. Essentially, Denver could get increased value from the pick even if it doesn’t convey to them, once again all the cause of Gasol’s foot fracture.

    So in a nutshell the Nuggets could have three shots at the number one pick in 2016, while increasing the trade value of their assets all by this tremndous hit to the Grizzlies chances to compete this season. I wish Marc Gasol a speedy recovery and feel gutted for Grizzlies fans over his injury, but their massive loss could become the Nuggets massive gain.

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