3 Nuggets who won't last the entire 2024-25 season in Denver

1.) Zeke Nnaji: The Nugget’s trade machine golden boy

Nnaji was quietly one of the bigger disappointments for the Nuggets last season. He played well enough to earn a four-year, $32 million contract extension last October, but that deal looked questionable almost immediately.

Even at the time of signing it was a bit of a head-scratcher. Nnaji had been solid, but there should have been no rush to pay him - especially at that relatively high number. Nnaji quickly regressed on the court and fell completely out of Michael Malone’s rotation by the end of the season, barely appearing in the playoffs.

The Nuggets went out and drafted DaRon Holmes II, then signed Dario Saric in free agency. Those were pretty clear indications that Nnaji had lost his spot in the rotation. But with $8.8 million coming his way this season, the Nuggets can’t afford to be using that money on somebody who doesn’t play.

His money is also a decent starting point to match salary in a potential trade. Nnaji is still just 22 years old and has shown enough that a rebuilding team could be willing to take a shot on him. Denver needs to be aggressive in shopping Nnaji and finding any potential swap that brings back a rotation player.

PJ Tucker is a player who has already been rumored to hit the trade market and could be of help to the Nuggets. Nnaji’s salary would go a long way in making that deal work, and if not that one, his name will keep coming up until he is finally dealt.