Trade targets: All 30 teams
Denver Nuggets
Record: 22-32
11th in West
Status: Buyers/sellers
Logically speaking, the Nuggets should be sellers at the deadline. They're five games back of the Utah Jazz for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference at the All-Star break, and ESPN's Basketball Power Index simulations project Denver reaching the postseason just 3.8 percent of the time.
Nonetheless, ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz and Marc Stein reported last week that the Nuggets are among the teams "most aggressive in looking to acquire a veteran difference-maker." Denver has an intriguing mix of established veterans, young talent and draft picks that could make the Nuggets a match for teams with various goals in trades.
Potential trade targets
Al Horford
The Arnovitz-Stein report came in the context of the Hawks considering moving Horford. A lottery team trading for a 29-year-old impending free agent doesn't seem logical, but Horford could fit well with Denver's frontcourt talent in either smaller or bigger configurations.
Kevin Love
In the Dunc'd On podcast's mock trade deadline exercise, the Cavaliers shipped Love to Denver as part of a seven-player trade headlined by Will Barton and Danilo Gallinari. In the unlikely event Cleveland does consider moving Love, Gallinari is an intriguing replacement who would enable to team to play more smallball.
Blake Griffin
Reports earlier this month indicated that the Nuggets called the Clippers about Griffin but were quickly rebuffed, according to Dan Woike of the OC Register. But on Monday, Chris Broussard reported on ESPN that the Clippers had offered Griffin and Lance Stephenson to the Nuggets for a large package that included Gallinari, Barton, Kenneth Faried and Nikola Jokic. Stay tuned.
Most trade value
1. Danilo Gallinari
The extension the Nuggets gave Gallinari last summer looks like a bargain after he posted a strong, healthy first half. Gallinari will make $15 million next season, far less than he would have earned as an unrestricted free agent, though he can opt for free agency after the 2016-17 season. Denver has resisted offers for Gallinari thus far but might be willing to part with him as part of the package for a star.
2. Emmanuel Mudiay
At age 19, Mudiay started 38 of the 40 games he played before the break. He's struggled with his shooting percentages (34.0 percent on 2s, 27.2 percent on 3s) and turnovers (his 4.2 per 36 minutes rank third in the league) while also flashing tremendous playmaking ability. Mudiay hasn't lost value from when he was the seventh pick last June.
3. Nikola Jokic
By contrast, Jokic has gained tremendous value as the 41st pick in 2014. Since coming to the NBA this season, Jokic has been one of the league's most productive rookies as a 20 year old, ranking fourth among centers in ESPN's real plus-minus (plus-5.66). Jokic is already one of the league's better passing big men, and he is also shooting 39 percent on 41 3-point attempts. Best of all, he'll make a combined $4.3 million over the next three years of an incredible contract.
4. Jusuf Nurkic
Summer surgery to repair his patellar tendon has ruined Nurkic's 2015-16 campaign. He's been limited to 17 games and shot 35.4 percent from the field. Any team that deals for Nurkic would be gambling that he can play his way back into shape and repeat his rookie performance. Nurkic averaged 13.9 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per 36 minutes a year ago as a 20 year old.
5. Will Barton
The Nuggets got Barton along with a protected first-round pick for Arron Afflalo at last year's trade deadline. Re-signed to a three-year, $10.6 million contract as a restricted free agent, Barton has emerged as one of the league's top reserves, averaging 15.5 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting a cool 38 percent from beyond the arc. Even if Barton's shooting regresses, he'll be an excellent value for his scoring punch off the bench.
6. Gary Harris
After an uneven rookie season, Harris has found his footing in Year 2, settling into a 3-and-D role. Much like Detroit's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Harris excels at defending smaller, quicker point guards. Unlike Caldwell-Pope, Harris has also been an above-average 3-point shooter, making 36.5 percent of his attempts this season (along with 53.2 percent of his 2s). And Harris has two years remaining on his rookie contract.
7. Kenneth Faried
One of the league's toughest players to value, Faried remains an elite finisher and offensive rebounder (his 14.3 percent offensive rebound rate ranks fourth in the league) ... and a below-average defender who can't create his own shot. Some teams might view him as overpaid with nearly $40 million over three years left on his contract, but another might hope to replicate Faried's successful role on the 2014 USA Basketball team that won gold in the FIBA World Cup.
Most valuable draft pick
Better 2016 first-rounder between Denver and New York
The last piece of the Carmelo Anthony trade is a pick swap between the Knicks and Nuggets that comes due this year. The teams are now separated by just a half-game in the standings, and even if Denver finishes higher in the pre-lottery order, the swap allows the Nuggets to effectively double their chances of jumping into the top three.
Most likely to be traded
Wilson Chandler
Denver's other summer extension hasn't aged as well. Chandler never got on the court due to surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip, having previously undergone the same surgery on his left hip in 2012. Soon to be 29 and owed $36 million over the next three years, Chandler won't have positive trade value until he returns to the court.