We’re now just mere hours away from the NBA trade deadline and speeding toward desperation time. Out of nowhere, this has become the wildest and most impactful deadline in league history with several stars changing teams over the past few days.
The Western Conference in particular, is in the midst of an arms race for the ages which has just included Luka Doncic to the Lakers, Anthony Davis to the Mavericks, De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs, Zach LaVine to the Kings, and Jimmy Butler to the Warriors.
Those are all teams that are currently sitting between fifth and twelfth place in the West, but they all have much higher aspirations, especially now. Those teams are also all looking up in the standings at the fourth-place Denver Nuggets who are 32-19, but the gap isn’t as large as it once seemed.
The Nuggets lead the seventh-place Timberwolves by just four games, the 10th-seeded Suns by 6.5 games, and the 12th-seeded Spurs by 8.5 games. That may sound like a lot, but a lot of the teams in that mix just made major moves to get better this season while the Nuggets have watched from the sidelines.
Denver isn’t standing pat by choice; they’ve been in on multiple players, but their lack of prospects, matchable contracts, and draft picks is proving to be a massive roadblock to adding much-needed talent.
Turning Zeke Nnaji into Cody Martin would be a home run trade
One player the Nuggets have recently been reported to have interest in acquiring is Cody Martin of the Hornets. The 6’5” 23-year-old Martin is the twin brother of Caleb Martin, a former playoff hero with the Heat who currently plays for the Mavericks.
Cody is a similar player to his brother, a solid three and d wing player, but he hasn’t been the shooter that his brother has been. He’s averaging just 32% from deep this season, but he has had experience playing point guard and running the offense. Despite some poor shooting and playing in some rough lineups with the Hornets, Martin is averaging 7.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game in just over 24 minutes a night.
The shot doesn’t look bad for Martin, and there’s reason to hope that spotting up off of Jokic would get him the best looks of his life. He’s capable on offense, but defense is where he’d really make an impact. Martin can guard a lot of guards and wings and has the speed and strength to keep up with some of the league’s best players.
He’s not some shut-down defensive ace, but he’s really solid and versatile on that end, which would be a welcome sight for the Nuggets. Denver’s defense has been falling off a cliff lately and the recent news that Peyton Watson and Russell Westbrook will both miss extended time means things on the defensive end may only be getting worse.
Martin would be an outstanding addition to the Nuggets bench and a guy who could really bolster the rotation and offer Michael Malone another option he can trust come playoff time. But he won’t be easy to acquire.
There isn’t likely to be some crazy bidding war for Martin’s services, but he’s still a very solid role player who could attract multiple suitors and some solid offers. Unfortunately for the Nuggets, that would complicate matters quite a bit.
Nuggets have no assets to make trades
The Nuggets have zero second-round picks to trade and only one player who matches up evenly with Martin’s salary, Zeke Nnaji. Zeke has been disastrous for the Nuggets ever since the team inexplicably gave him a four-year, $32 million extension which just kicked in this season.
Nnaji’s contract now looks brutal as he’s out of Michael Malone’s rotation and generating zero buzz or value around the league. But still, he’s just 23 years old, he’s got solid athleticism, shooting, and shot-blocking for his size, and there’s a case to be made that he just needs a bigger opportunity.
Perhaps the Hornets just want to get anything back for the 29-year-old Martin who is almost certainly not part of the team’s long-term plans. Maybe they’ve been impressed by Nnaji’s last three games as he’s been thrust into the rotation due to injuries and performed admirably.
Maybe they want to lose games and think turning the proven vet, Martin for the inexperienced young Nnaji will help that ultimate goal. With where that team is at and the fact they just traded away both of their young centers, Nick Richards and Mark Williams, they could possibly talk themselves into taking on Nnaji and his contract.
Given the Nuggets’ situation, getting anything at all for Nnaji would be a huge win. Bringing back a competent, reliable NBA player who can play all over the court would be a huge addition for the Nuggets and a huge trade deadline victory.