Could the Denver Nuggets make a move for Toronto’s pieces?

Denver Nuggets: Pairing Nikola Jokic with Pascal Siakam

Pascal Siakam and Nikola Jokic would be a lethal offensive pairing and a frustrating defensive one, but boy would it be fun.

Siakam had a down year this past season, averaging 21.4 points a night while hitting less than 30 percent of his 3-point attempts and 46 percent from the floor. The Raptors as a whole had a down year in the COVID-shortened season and the Tampa Bay situation probably didn’t help.

Would a change of scenery be just what Pascal needs to get back to that second fiddle form he was in behind Kawhi Leonard in their title season?

For the Nuggets to swing a trade without including one of the three core players, Denver would have to move Will Barton, Aaron Gordon, Bones Hyland/Zeke Nnaji, and draft compensation.

The two teams come into some of the same issue with this trade as it’d make the Nuggets better, meaning the draft picks they’re sending back in a potential deal would be in the late first round, nothing of real value to Masai and the Raptors.

But what if Siakam’s value is at an all-time low following a down season and his approximately three-years, $100 million remaining on his deal?

Yes, he’s still an elite player, but would any of the potential trade partners be scared away by the salary? The Nuggets won’t have any cap space on the horizon with max contracts to Jokic, Murray, and likely one coming to Michael Porter Jr., Siakam’s salary wouldn’t affect Denver as much as another team.

However, if other teams aren’t scared off by the salary, there are teams out there with better assets to trade than Denver’s own picks and young talent. This, again, asks the question as to whether the Nuggets should include MPJ in a possible deal?

I don’t think Denver should trade MPJ unless they’re getting a top-tier player in return like Bradley Beal, a player who the Nuggets might have in their sights should he become available.

There’s reason to believe that MPJ, who has only played in two full seasons, could grow into a much better player than Siakam or Anunoby thus far, making it a much safer (and better chemistry) bet to keep everything how it is and take a title-contending roster into 2022-23 with a healthy Jamal Murray.