Calvin Booth Says Nuggets Were 'Going To Go Big Or Do Nothing' At Trade Deadline

02/08/2025 08:20 AM

Denver Nuggets GM Calvin Booth met with reporters on Friday to discuss his team's inactivity at the trade deadline. Booth said the Nuggets simply didn't find a deal that they liked.

"I think the best way to describe it is we either had to go big or do nothing," Booth said, later clarifying that "a big move in my mind is like adding a significant depth piece."

Denver's GM said his team was looking for "overall depth and depth at the backup center". In the end, Booth said that the Nuggets couldn't find a deal that made sense for them.

"We definitely liked some guys on the market and thought we had some traction in a couple different situations," Booth said. "Whether other teams just beat us out with their offers or we just didn't feel like it was the right use of our assets, a combination of those things led us to be where we're at right now."

In the end, Booth said Denver opted against making a deal using one of their core rotation players. Instead, the Nuggets were offering players who aren't in their regular rotation.

"I think we liked everything that was happening in our rotation, so we weren't close to doing anything with anybody in our rotation," Booth said. "It was gonna be some of the guys that are outside of it, like Dario (Saric) and Zeke. And using some of our draft assets to bolster our lineup as opposed to moving a bigger (salary) guy like Mike (Porter Jr.)."