Even though the Denver Nuggets won the most recent NBA Championship, that doesn’t mean they’ll kick their feet up and relax this season. The grind never stops in the NBA, and Denver won’t stop trying to win more titles.
As for the Nuggets’ bench, it is relatively young and inexperienced for the most part. Peyton Watson, Zeke Nnaji, and Christian Braun are all players who are going to be fighting for bench minutes, and all three of them are under 23 years old. Jalen Pickett, Hunter Tyson, and Julian Strawther are all rookies but still could get some playing time, considering the lack of bench depth.
Considering the lack of quality veterans on Denver’s bench, the front office might want to trade in some of the young players for a quality sixth man. A few years ago, the Denver Nuggets shipped off Gary Harris, rookie RJ Hampton, and a first round pick for Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon, which was a home run of a trade looking back at it. Gordon was snubbed of an All-Star appearance last year, as he statistically had his best season to date.
Not every trade has to be a swing for the fences. Even a smaller trade to bring in more veteran talent can go a long way. The Nuggets will want to compete for another title, undoubtedly, so trading some young players to a rebuilding team could bring in a quality player to the team. With multiple young assets, the Denver Nuggets could surely get a good player in return. Let’s look at Denver’s best trade assets.
Honorable Mention: Christian Braun
Most likely, the Nuggets would not want to ship off Christian Braun. Considering how well he played last season, he’s going to get better with even more minutes. He’s a solid perimeter defender, a good 3-point shooter, and just a great glue guy.
If Denver did get a good offer that had Braun included, it’s hard to say that they’ll decline. He’s most likely going to be the sixth man next season, given the roster buildup at this point.
Braun was a really effective player last season. He was one of the three leading players in Denver’s bench rotation during the playoffs, consisting of Braun, Bruce Brown, and Jeff Green. He’ll get a lot more playing time now that the bench is more wide-open.