NBA insider confirms Nuggets flirted with blockbuster trade for superstar

There are a few different ways to analyze what the Denver Nuggets have done this offseason. A prevailing sentiment is that ownership basically got cheap and let players like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk to avoid the second apron and massive luxury tax payments. The team spins it differently, stating they wanted to preserve flexibility for the future.

No matter how you peg it, it’s pretty clear the Nuggets got worse and the team as a whole has less talent than they did a year ago. They’re leaning into a youth movement and counting on young players to step up and become impact role players for the team this season and beyond. But was this the plan all along?

Nuggets considered trading for Paul George this summer

On Monday, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports confirmed a prior report from The Athletic that the Nuggets had sniffed around at the idea of trading to acquire Paul George this summer. George, of course, opted out of the final season of his contract with the Clippers to become a free agent and has since signed a max contract with the 76ers.

But there was a time when George and the Clippers were considering a route where George opted into his final year, only for the team to trade him to a team that would sign him to an extension; apparently, the Nuggets were one of those teams and the main player going back would have been Michael Porter Jr.

This would have been a fascinating deal on so many levels. George would have been a massive upgrade over MPJ in every area of the game and he would have fit perfectly on the wing between Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, giving the team a true “big 3” of stars.

Potential high-risk, high-reward trade for Denver

On the other hand, George is already 34 years old and has an extensive history of injuries and missed games. Signing him to a four-year max extension would have locked the Nuggets into a very expensive and very old team - albeit a good one.

This also would have flown in the face of everything the front office has said and done the past couple of years in terms of getting younger and keeping flexibility open. If they had traded for George would they have just re-signed KCP and gone deep into the second apron for a few more shots at a title?

We’ll never know what could have been and we’ll never know how close this deal came to happening. But it’s at least good to see that the front office is open to all types of creative moves to add talent to the roster.