Ever since GM Calvin Booth extended Zeke Nnaji with a 4-year, $32 million deal in October of 2023, it has looked like a questionable move, if not a horrendous one. After falling completely out of the Nuggets rotation, despite being their 5th highest paid player at $8.88 million this year, Denver is doing everything they can to raise his trade value before the deadline on February 6th.
Nnaji entered the league originally as a raw 19-year-old big man prospect with great defensive versatility, rebounding, and intriguing offensive potential. The Nuggets selected him 22nd overall in the 2020 NBA draft, and his shooting stroke looked amazing as a rookie and sophomore, connecting on 40.7% and 46.3% of his three-pointers respectively.
Then Nnaji adjusted his shooting motion (which is still baffling to this day) and bulked up to hopefully allow him to play more minutes at C if needed. His shooting touch from beyond the arc vanished and he had many ups and downs in the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons, before Denver moved on from giving him minutes this season.
With his name being mentioned as the most likely name to be moved at the trade deadline, Coach Michael Malone and the Nuggets have been trying to showcase him as much as possible this last week… and he has actually looked great.
Zeke Nnaji is still showing strong physical traits and intriguing upside
At 24-years-old now, Nnaji’s current contract is mostly viewed as a negative asset, not a positive one, but that does not mean he is untradeable. Especially after his play these last two games for Denver, some team may be enticed enough to take a chance on him.
Against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night, Nnaji had his best game in over a year, recording a whopping 5 blocks in 22 minutes off of the bench. He added 6 points on 3/4 shooting, 3 rebounds, and a steal as well, helping the Nuggets win 107-104. Following the game, he even won the Defensive Player of the Game chain from Coach Michael Malone:
DPOG Zeke! pic.twitter.com/HOdDS0Bxmf
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) February 2, 2025
A couple days later, Nnaji found himself thrusted into the starting lineup due to Aaron Gordon having a day off due to injury management for his calf and Peyton Watson spraining his knee and being ruled out for at least 4 weeks. The 31 minutes that he played against the New Orleans Pelicans was tied for the most in his entire NBA career.
In this game, Nnaji recorded 12 points (5/9 FGs, 2/4 3FGs), 5 rebounds, and a block, making it his 2nd impactful performance in a row. He was also the primary defender on Zion Williamson, who shot just 5/13 from the field and was held to 14 points in the contest. The Nuggets won 125-113.
Nnaji will have one more game against this same Pelicans team on Wednesday before the February 6th trade deadline on Thursday. Will he remain in a Nuggets uniform at the end of the week? It is tough to say, but him playing this well as of late is beneficial whether he gets moved or not for Denver.