What long term path are the Nuggets on?
By Evan Siegel
The Denver Nuggets have a number of difficult personnel decisions to make over the next couple of years. What is their long term outlook?
The Denver Nuggets have used their last couple of personnel moves to quietly position themselves for the future. The trade for Jerami Grant and acquisition of a first round pick for Malik Beasley showed that Denver is continuing to think long and hard about their long term outlook.
The acquisition of Grant points to an interest in potentially letting both Mason Plumlee and Paul Millsap test the free agent market, and likely leave altogether unless they take steep discounts. A logical destination for Millsap would be a return to Utah, where he could form a lethal tandem alongside Rudy Gobert and finish his career where it all began.
Grant has a player option at the end of this year, but may be inclined to opt in for the final year as he would certainly receive considerably more playing time once both Millsap and Plumlee leave. His numbers have already climbed since leaving the Thunder, and becoming a much bigger focus of the team would push his price tag up substantially.
The trading of Beasley was a bit of a head scratcher at first, as it didn’t seem all too smart to be pursuing draft choices while losing a solid rotation player while contending in the playoffs. But adding an extra first round pick in the coffers may enable the Nuggets to make an actual push for Bradley Beal, Gobert, or any other disgruntled superstar who wants out of town.
Next. What we've learned through two scrimmages. dark
The Nuggets remain one of the best teams in the Western Conference and have the core of their team under contract for years to come. But Torrey Craig, Gary Harris, Michael Porter Jr., and Will Barton are all potential chips that could be moved around in potential wheeling and dealing once they push their chips into the middle of the table.