Despite some injury issues, life is pretty great for the Denver Nuggets. They still could be a bit greater.
While the Nuggets have no obvious reasons for regret, they don't get the highest marks in terms of asset management when it comes to their summer subtraction of Michael Porter Jr. Remember, they had to incentivize the Brooklyn Nets with a future first-round pick to take him off of their hands, only to see the 6'10" shotmaker finally tap fully into his star potential.
Granted, he's doing this while handling a bigger opportunity than he'd have ever been afforded in Denver, but the optics still aren't great. Because if the Nets wind up moving Porter ahead of the trade deadline—which, rather miraculously, is still a pretty big if—they'll fetch a greater return than the Nuggets could've ever imagined.
Trade No. 1: Nets cash in Porter for picks and prospects
Perhaps the top-seeded Pistons don't sense an urgent need to upgrade their roster, but that might be a miscalculation. They've struggled to both spawn a co-star for and maintain ideal spacing around franchise face Cade Cunningham.
Considering a healthy Porter would check both boxes, maybe this is the move that makes Detroit get generous with its trade assets. And if Brooklyn sees building-block potential in Ivey and Holland, this would be an incredible haul.
It feels doable, too, even if it lands near the most optimistic end of the realistic spectrum. Ivey's had a choppy, injury-impacted season, Holland's offensive gem remains rough, and Harris is basically an older, less effective version of Porter.
Trade No. 2: Brooklyn turns MPJ into Ja Morant and more
The Grizzlies are hoping they'll still fetch a rich return for Morant, but if they want to maintain competitiveness around a Jaren Jackson Jr.-led core, maybe they'll use this as an opportunity to buy. If they're over the idea of revolving around Morant, then the cost of one future first (from a young, talented team) and a future second feels like something they could stomach.
While the Nuggets obviously don't need Morant, the fact the Nets could potentially use Porter to add a 26-year-old two-time All-Star might still have Denver questioning its asset management. Granted, that's a pretty flattering description of this version of Morant, but it's still an accurate label.
If the Nets think they could get Morant back to that level, they might jump on this offer and sense they'll soon have a star to build their roster around.
Trade No. 3: Getting Golden State's assets
Warriors fans might have initially hoped that a Kuminga-plus-stuff package would bring back more than Porter, but the front office appears comfortable paying close to this price. And given the club's need for non-Stephen Curry, non-Jimmy Butler scoring, you can understand why they'd want Porter, who they might envision as a jumbo-sized Splash Brother.
Kuminga's trade value feels like one of the league's most extreme eye-of-the-beholder cases, but the right rebuilder could still picture plenty of two-way potential in the 23-year-old. While things clearly haven't gone according to plan in Golden State, that also hasn't been the most developmentally friendly environment for a young player lacking polish for his physical tools.
And this deal obviously delivers much more than Kuminga. Moody plays a clean three-and-D game, Hield has been a quantity-plus-quality sharpshooter for most of his career, and the draft assets might convey far enough into the future to change hands after the Curry-Butler-Draymond Green chapter has closed.