2 Nuggets players who must be traded soon

Today at 07:06 PM

The Denver Nuggets, just two years removed from winning an NBA championship, find themselves at a bit of a crossroads. Sitting at a 12-10 record and in seventh place in the Western Conference, the Nuggets are showing glimpses that they’re heading in the wrong direction.

It seems Nikola Jokic is the only player consistently performing well on offense. While Jokic is the best player in the NBA, the Nuggets know they cannot solely rely on him. On top of the Nuggets needing other players on their roster to step up, they may need to make some moves via trade to help improve the team.

Let’s discuss some players the Nuggets should look into trading soon.

PF Zeke Nnaji

Nnaji’s tenure with the Nuggets has been a bit of a puzzling one. Despite flashing promising shooting capabilities and defensive versatility, Nnaji has really struggled to work himself into the Nuggets’ rotation.

Theoretically, Nnaji’s skill set should be a nice, complementary piece for the modern NBA offense. Nnaji could have been a floor-spacing big with solid defensive mobility. But the keywords there are “should be” and “could have been.” Simply put, he has yet to live up to any of his potential. He’s also been surpassed by other young talents like Christian Braun, who has actually worked himself into the starting five.

In a head-scratching move in 2023, the Nuggets signed Nnaji to a four-year contract extension worth $32M.

As of now, Nnaji only sees the floor during garbage time minutes. He’s not even a part of the bench rotation most nights. In the few minutes he’s played this season, he’s averaged 1.3 points, 0.5 rebounds, 0.2 assists, and a shooting percentage of 40.9 percent from the field.

With a stat line like that, not many teams will be desperate to trade for Nnaji. If anything, Nnaji could be used to ‘pad’ a trade package with a big-name Nuggets player and some draft picks. But one thing is for certain: it’s time for the Nuggets to move on from Nnaji.

C Dario Saric

With the Nuggets being very strapped for cash, Saric was one of the few free agent additions, signing a two-year, $10.6 million contract. Initially, Saric was signed to help beef up the Nuggets bench. Unfortunately, he’s done everything but beef up the bench.

The 30-year-old backup center has experienced turbulence in his Nuggets tenure, getting benched just five games into the season due to the second unit’s struggles. While he showed flashes of playmaking ability against the New Orleans Pelicans with nine points, eight rebounds, and five assists, his game still has clear limitations – including inconsistent three-point shooting and defensive rebounding issues.

The Saric signing obviously hasn’t gone as planned, but his contract could make him a moveable asset. Like Nnaji, he’s been used in many mock trades with a more alluring Nuggets player.

The Nuggets need to make the most of the non-Jokic minutes. While Jokic is an absolute juggernaut on the court, they cannot solely rely on him to generate some positive offense. And with Saric now being benched, the Nuggets continue to have a gaping hole at the backup center position. With Saric being benched this early in the season, it’s likely he won’t be worked back into the rotation, so it would be best for the Nuggets to just move on from him when they can.

The post 2 Nuggets players who must be traded soon appeared first on ClutchPoints.