When the Denver Nuggets traded Michael Porter Jr. to the Brooklyn Nets to dump salary last summer in an effort to duck the luxury tax, they had to attach a 2032 first-round draft pick to do it. Sure, they acquired Cameron Johnson and accomplished the cost-cutting goal. But they could have started the domino process to a rebuild and inadvertently given up one of the more valuable future trade assets if the newest Bleacher Report speculation were to hit.
The speculation comes from Grant Hughes, who has the Nuggets' 2032 first-round pick ranked as the seventh-best trade asset in the entire NBA.
Ooof. Do we really think it's going to get that bad down the road? I mean, we're already seeing the difficulties of constructing a roster this offseason because of the Nuggets' terrible luxury tax and second-apron situation. But could it really go that far downhill to the point the Nuggets become bottom feeders, even with Nikola Jokic at age 36?
The Nuggets are slowly becoming the Bucks. So it's possible
The Nuggets are showing cracks are already forming. They've gone in reverse in the playoffs over the last three years, and while they are certainly going to be a playoff team again this year, they need to only look at the Milwaukee Bucks to see what could be coming if they don't make the right changes ahead of time.
As Hughes said, "The sheer number of years it'll take for this pick to convey introduces a ton of uncertainty." I'd like to have some faith that the Nuggets get something figured out to avoid the same pitfalls as the Bucks, who missed the playoffs completely this year. Five years after their championship.
They dismantled their core, and even traded out franchise cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo to kick-start the rebuilding process this season. The Nuggets are now three years removed from the first NBA title in franchise history, and facing an enormous mountain of a tax bill to keep the core together this year.
It really could get that bad if the Nuggets don't make some hard trades
The Nuggets will be on the hook for the maximum available contract to Jokic next summer, which would equate to an NBA record five-year, $359.5 million extension. That's a $71 million average annual value. That's going to create even more problems for the Nuggets to construct a contending roster under the luxury tax and apron thresholds in the years ahead.
Someone is going to have to be traded away at some point for the Nuggets to maneuver. Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, or even Christian Braun would have to be dealt for draft picks and to clear cap space. Because once Jokic signs that contract, he's not going anywhere unless he approves it with the no-trade clause he would get as part of his extension.
It happened to the Bucks. They dealt away Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, and Donte DiVincenzo and weren't able to construct a good roster around Giannis or Damian Lillard due to cap constraints.
If it happens to the Nuggets, then that'll be a sad stretch of years. And this speculation over the value of that 2032 first-round pick owned by the Nets could absolutely be right.
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