Should the Denver Nuggets make a trade with the Indiana Pacers?

Is there value in the Denver Nuggets moving for Indiana’s role players?

This is where it starts to get interesting for the Denver Nuggets. Indiana has a solid crop of role players that could help every team in the league and rival teams might be calling for them before the stars on the roster.

Additionally, most of their role players still have multiple years left on their deals which would see them on the team for next season, the season with Denver at full strength.

The best-case scenario here would be rookie Chris Duarte. Typically, if Indiana was to rebuild, they’d want as many young players and rookies as possible but at 24-years-old, Duarte is different to most rookies.

The wing out of Oregon was considered the most NBA-ready rookie in a long time and he has lived up to that billing. He’s averaging 13.5 points on the season while shooting 36 percent from the 3-point line and an effective field goal percentage of 51 percent.

In his short career, he has been tasked with guarding the best perimeter player on the opposition team and is playing serious minutes for a team trying to win. If Indiana does blow it up and look to find a new core, there’s reason to believe Duarte won’t be part of their future plans.

If not, here’s a trade that might work for both sides:

Zeke Nnaji and Bones Hyland haven’t played very much in their young careers which is good and bad. On one hand, Malone doesn’t know if he’s sitting on a gem in the waiting but on the other hand, he doesn’t know if they’re busts.

This trade makes the Pacers younger, giving them two prospects while moving into a rebuilding phase.

It hurts to give up on young Nuggets so soon but it’s a classic case of one in the hand vs two in the bush. Duarte is already a proven commodity and has played winning basketball thus far, something the young Denver players haven’t yet. Duarte would fill a position of need (everyone needs more 3-and-D wings) and in the first year of his rookie deal, he’d be under contract for three more years after this one.

This next move brings back an old friend:

There are non-basketball reasons why this trade might not be the best fit. Torrey Craig voiced his displeasure on Twitter after the Denver Nuggets let him walk in free agency.

But hey, time heals all wounds (and Denver really need wing help).

The theory of this trade is that the Nuggets turn two role players into one better one while Indiana save some money on Craig’s deal since he’s under contract for next season. Denver are also more than happy to have another defensive wing under contract for next season as they make a Finals run.