Nuggets: Why Denver should pursue a trade for Kyrie Irving

Working with Jokic and staggering stars

I know, this may seem like an odd thing to bring up seeing as Irving wants more control, he hasn’t mentioned the Nuggets as a team he wants to join and he wants to leave LeBron, another selfless passing marvel.

That said, the Nuggets could really use a point guard upgrade and Jokic can’t do everything. His usage rate of 23.5 last season was also well below LeBron’s mark of 30, and Jokic only played 29.7 minutes per game once he became the full-time starter on December 15. As long as his conditioning still needs some improving, it becomes even easier for the Nuggets to stagger Irving and Jokic to give them both plenty of touches and keep the offense in the hands of an elite player as much as possible. Irving scoring with bench units could help reduce the decline of 9.8 points per 100 possession when Jokic is off the floor, per Basketball-Reference.com.

Irving is already used to playing with one of the best passers in history, so it’s not like he’ll be getting an upgrade anywhere else in terms of a co-star to assist him. LeBron makes everyone better and is the best player on the planet for plenty of reasons. Even still, though, Jokic makes guys better. Irving won’t find a better passer — who also doesn’t take a ton of shots — on any other team he goes to.

I’ve already touched on how Irving and Jokic can work in the pick-and-roll, but Jokic being able to find Irving for high-percentage shots on cuts and feed him coming off screens for catch-and-shoot threes would only benefit Irving’s scoring.

In addition to plenty of opportunities to create for himself as the leading scorer in Denver, having the league’s best passing center next to him would be a pretty nice aid to have. The Nuggets wouldn’t have had four of the NBA’s 10 most efficient cutters last season without Jokic, nor would they have had the best offense in the league after he became the starter. Irving would be foolish and too hungry for shots to think that he wouldn’t benefit.

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So, who could Denver offer Cleveland to get Irving?

For a start, we already know that the Cavs like Gary Harris after the discussed three-team trade between Cleveland, Indiana and Denver fell apart, which involved Harris joining the Cavs and Kevin Love coming to the Nuggets. This time, Jamal Murray would likely be a key piece and could easily be joined by Harris as well. To complete the deal, another role player (such as Kenneth Faried, Darrell Arthur or Will Barton types) and a draft pick could be added.

It’s a lot. Is Irving worth that loss of depth if both Murray, Harris and another role player/draft assets go? Maybe, seeing as Denver needs to ditch a power forward anyway and more offensive creation and ball handling is key if they really want to be a contender in the playoffs. It’s not like their point guard defense will get much worse after starting Jameer Nelson, either. And Irving being under contract for two more years is another major bonus.

Next: Predicting the 2018 Western Conference playoff standings

However, a host of teams will be interested. So even though the Nuggets could offer a good package with talent to help the Cavs, Cleveland will be in no rush to make a move and they could easily receive bigger offers from other teams. For now, let’s just enjoy the mad developments that are coming.