Trade idea of the week: Nuggets should pursue Willy Hernangomez

The Denver Nuggets might lose a substantial chunk of their front court in free agency. How can they replenish their depth at power forward and center? Willy Hernangomez is the answer.

The Denver Nuggets are entering a critical offseason. They have several key contributors that are becoming free agents and even under the best of circumstances, the Nuggets won’t be able to retain each of them. Nuggets’ brass should be scouring the market for cheap contingency options in the event that both Mason Plumlee and Paul Millsap walk in the offseason. Willy Hernangomez could be the guy.

The trade:

When the Nuggets made the draft day trade to acquire Bol Bol, it was a bit of a head-scratching move. It could have been out of preparation for the likelihood that at least one of the aforementioned power forwards will be in a different uniform next season. But, Bol is a long-term project whose stock fell precipitously after originally being considered a lottery pick in the 2019 draft.

The Hornets are going nowhere, and fast. Offloading veterans like Nicolas Batum and Hernangomez would help them stock up on draft capital and get off a couple albatross contracts in the case of Batum. Hernangomez’s six points per game is nothing to write home about, but his contract makes it worth it. Hernangomez is currently sitting on the final year of a four year contract paying him less than $2 million. Bol’s contract currently has no trade value, so Noah Vonleh’s $2,000,000 price tag would have be attached.

Bol is another prospect the Hornets can try to mold into a competent NBA center. Denver could use a shot in the arm at the rim. Both Millsap and Plumlee are better overall players than Hernangomez, but some more energy around the basket is needed for the Nuggets’ bench. Nikola Jokic, while spectacularly talented and at times unstoppable, is far from the league’s best athlete.

The Nuggets lost some of that energy and pop off the bench when they moved on from Juan Hernangomez. They could presumably prioritize this type of player with the first round pick they received from the Houston Rockets without having to give up a future pick in the process, but getting a more proven player like Hernangomez could go a long way.

This trade alone would not give the Nuggets any special advantage over other front lines in the western conference, but having more energy and athleticism could help make Jokic that much more effective. In high altitudes in a grueling seven-game series, having a dynamic body that can run the floor and also be effective in the paint will do wonders for the Nuggets. Saying goodbye to Vonleh is a formality, whereas losing Bol could hurt a little. But Hernangomez is absolutely worth it.