Denver Nuggets: 3 possible Damian Lillard trades this offseason

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Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers shake hands after the Denver Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers in Round 1, Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Playoffs. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) /

Denver Nuggets potential trade for Damian Lillard: Should they get involved?

At the end of the day, I’m probably not writing this article if Jamal doesn’t get injured. If Jamal’s healthy, Denver might have beaten the Phoenix Suns and could be about to beat the LA Clippers in the Western Conference Finals.

Even if it didn’t end in a Larry O’Brien trophy, Denver could comfortably head into the following season with another year of cohesion under their belt. MPJ is extension-eligible but if he doesn’t sign one, he’d still be a valuable trade chip mid-season if another star were to become available.

Instead, Denver loses a year of contention with Jamal sidelined and has to wait for the following season. The Lillard trade gets exciting as it pulls the championship window back into the 2021-22 season, but doesn’t that sound a lot like skipping steps?

The Denver Nuggets are still title contenders, with or without Lillard. While Lillard might improve their chances marginally next season, there’s another half-decade of Jokic and Murray’s primes after this next season.

Next. Four must-dos for Denver this offseason. dark