Most of the heavy offseason lifting is over for most NBA teams, but that’s not the case at all for the Denver Nuggets. They’ve been - understandably - dragging their feet, playing hardball with Peyton Watson and hoping everything somehow works out so that they can keep him and avoid the second apron.
That still seems like a long shot to me, and I still don’t believe they’ll go above the second apron, but I do think they have to take some action before this transaction cycle passes them by. And the biggest area being neglected is point guard.
Denver’s lack of ball handling was on full display in the playoffs as Jamal Murray was constantly swarmed and quickly ran out of gas with no real outlets. It was clear that they had to diversify the offense and bring in someone else who could capably run the offense, give Murray a break, and offer another wrinkle.
But as free agency passes them by, the Nuggets haven’t addressed this concern at all. If anything, the situation has gotten even more dire as they’ve let Jalen Pickett go in free agency. They brought back Tyus Jones, but keep in mind he was salary dumped and waived just last season, then played only 8 minutes a game for the Nuggets. It’s hard to imagine he’s the answer.
So, now what? Bring back Russell Westbrook? Put all your eggs in the LeBron James basket? Hope that P-Wat can run the second unit? There just aren’t a lot of good answers available anymore. They could take a swing on a guy like Victor Oladipo, Cam Thomas, or Spencer Dinwiddie, but those options reek of desperation.
Nuggets should target a backup point guard in salary dump trade
Sadly, the best option is probably the trade market, and this all leads back to what we’ve known to be inevitable all along: the Nuggets cutting salary to get below the second apron. It’s almost certainly going to happen, so they might as well at least try to get a solid backup point guard in the deal.
Surely, there’s a market for Cam Johnson, or even Christian Braun, and the Nuggets should capitalize on that before it’s too late. Go find a team that can take on some salary, needs a wing, and can part with a guard. It shouldn’t be that difficult. It will probably make the team worse, and the Nuggets will probably get an inferior player, but the roster will make more sense.
They’ll have a legitimate backup point guard who can be trusted to play real minutes, plus they’ll be able to bring back Watson. It’s not a perfect outcome by any means, but if we’re being realistic, this is the best option for the Nuggets. Would the Grizzlies take Johnson or Braun for Ty Jerome or (gulp) D’Angelo Russell? Would the Clippers take one of them for Kris Dunn?Â
These are just a couple of examples of questions that the Nuggets could, and probably should, be asking. Again, this may seem like a tough pill to swallow, but the second apron problem isn’t magically going to go away, so they might at least use it as an opportunity to attack a position of need.
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