He is playing at an all-star level this year and worth his contract. My take will be from the Bulls perspective

Waving the White Flag? If they trade LaVine, then they will be telling the league that they want to rebuild. However, they have too many average to good players to be a bottom team in the shitty eastern conference. Their profile will be like the Brooklyn Nets this year.

If you are not going to be bad enough to get a top 5 draft pick, then why trade your franchise player?

Bulls Salary Cap The Bulls are projected to have a max of 22.4M in cap space this summer and will have 10 players under contract. They will also be 57M before they hit the first apron.

They have the potential to sign one to two high quality role players with cap space.

Once the cap space is eaten up, they can then re sign Giddey as they have his bird rights.

After this year, LaVine will only have two years left on his contract.

Vucevic’s Contract and Draft Picks: Vucevic will be on an expiring contract next year (21M) and the Bulls own almost all of their first round draft picks after 2025. They could target a rebuilding team by sending picks + Vucevic and Patrick Willams (Combined 40M) and try to get another star to pair with LaVine.

The Bulls have a variety of paths moving forward to improve their team that don’t involve trading LaVine. Even if they want to trade him, there is no rush on their part.

Given his performance this year, the Bulls great cap situation moving forward, and our desperation, we will have to likely attach significant draft capital to get him.

Chicago bulls do not want Zeke Nnaji’s contract, which is the only thing currently holding up the trade as Denver can’t take on Lavine without getting rid of Zeke. Both teams are currently looking for a third team to take on Nnaji’s contract. It looks like the Nuggets main focus right now is with the bulls and finding a third team. Any Nets or Hawks trades should be off the table for now.

Not to sound like a dickhead or anything but the sub has essentially been turned into a trade speculation sub since mid-November.

Would this not be more appropriate talk in a different sub or am I just tweaking? Yes Booth is terrible but everyone trying to play GM is almost worse

Currently Julian Strawther is a very good offensive player averaging 9.2 points and shooting 46% from the field and almost 40% from 3, however his defense is just horrible. No matter how good he shoots every time he comes onto the court the defense just sinks even more from where it already is. He has the attributes to be a good defender but makes dumb plays like fouling shooters and also makes mental mistakes. So in my opinion no matter how good his offense is, his bad defense is really hurting the team right now and will even more in a playoff setting. He does have decent trade value though, probably equal to a first round pick for a rebuilding team and could be a player averaging 16-19 points in 5 years in the NBA. So with that, I really think the Nuggets should use him to try to get a quality rotation player like DFS, or Larry Nance who plays defense regardless if its in an MPJ trade or just a trade on the margins. Especially in a situation where you acquire some offensive player like LaVine, it would make sense to flip Strawther for a rotation defensive player. Would you guys agree?

Julian's game is really starting to frustrate me, he is really content to jack up 3's on a ridiculous fast release, please slow down son - not to mention he can be a bit of a liability defensively.

I realized over the past years we've had multiple players who have exactly fitted this mould and wondering why FO has a hard-on for these types of players? (only to ship them in the next 18 months)

-Bones Hyland streaky 3 threat, also a bit of a cone on defense, shipped off to clippers

-Rj Hampton, streaky/injury prone, was probably unlucky to end up in deal with Magic

How good would these 3 pick-ups be?

I'm of the opinion that the team should make shake-up trade now. Though giving the core one last shot wouldn't be the end of the world. I think the Nuggets, as currently constructed, aren't winning the title this season- and with Jokic on the wrong side of 30 in February, they shouldn't wait until the offseason if they think they don't have enough and if an upgrade is available now. I'm fond of MPJ, but I put that aside and just think of what's best for the team. Mind you, regarding trades, I'm just showing who the Nuggets get (+) and trade (-), so not exclusively trades with one team, but possible three- or four-teamers too. All trades proposed here work on Fanspo's trade machine. It's also kind of sad that MPJ, who's the only way they can make a big upgrade now, would be the one getting the short end of the stick when he hasn't been he main person at fault. Is what it is. Ball up top.

edit: These are players that the Nuggets have held trade talks over, as mentioned in recent reports. If you have any other suggestions i'd like to hear them.

LaVine

+ LaVine, maybe Craig if the Nuggets want him- if not, sign DSJ or a big, maybe Biyombo.

- MPJ, Zeke Nnaji, asset maybe (?)

I think you don't lose much on defense with LaVine replacing Mike. You'd be a bit worse rebounding, though not too much, because I feel like MPJ has better rebounding numbers than he's a team rebounder because he doesn't box out well, he's always good for allowing a few offensive boards. Mike is a bigger body, which is important for weak side help at the rim, very much so when Jokic is at the level, but Mike really isn't affecting shots at the rim like that despite his size and AD-like wingspan. For example, players have shot 4.4% better when guarded by him at the rim this season, per nbarapm.com. It doesn't get much better when you look further back either. I have to say, though, size was crucial for the Nuggets in their championship run. It's also fair to mention the Nuggets won a championship with MPJ averaging 13.5/8/1.5 on 54% TS, and he kind of has disappeared in every other playoff series scoring-wise in his career. On the other hand, LaVine has solid rim-protecting stats for a guard (he plays a bit bigger than his size), and he's better at the POA (point of attack) & at screen navigation than Mike, which is very much so an area of concern for the team. Lavine's actually pretty decent in these two areas, he has the lateral quickness and size to hang with guards/wings. Neither MPJ nor LaVine are making many plays on defense, Mike as bad as anyone in the league at getting you STLs/deflections/BLKs/off. fouls drawn/loose balls (loose balls NEVER go his way), and neither is too sound off-ball (i'd give a slight edge to LaVine), Mike regularly misses switches & rotations. If it wasn't clear, I think Mike isn't a good defender. So yeah. Overall, I think it's probably a lateral move defensively(rebounding included). I actually think the starting lineup's defense might improve but playing it safe. LaVine taking on more offensive load alleviating Jok, Mal and Russ would help them defensively too.

I want to touch more on defense here team-wise, screen navigation is one of the most glaring weaknesses on the team. Getting around screens well is crucial to our scheme, so we do not need Jokic to overexpose himself on the perimeter. Braun, while a better 1 on 1 defender than KCP, is nowhere near as good of a screen navigator. Russ, while he's been very good defensively, I don't think that's his forte either- he'll die on a screen but try making a play in recovery, poking the ball from behind, or looking to block. What I'm getting at is that I'd really, really like Dennis Smith Jr. (FA) on the team. A lot of trade options mentioned could leave you a roster spot open (more on that later). DSJ is as good of a POA guard defender as anyone, IMO. I don't know how familiar you all are with his game, but he's legit amazing on that end. He can't shoot, though, isn't a good fit next to Westbrook, but he is a very good passer, and he can finish. I think the Nuggets could find use for him. He could even close some games- he's that kind of a difference maker on defense.

Back to LaVine & offense. I want to start off by highlighting some stats:

Lavine this season has a 3.9 min TOP (time of possession per game). That's good for 56th in the league.

In his all-star seasons he wasn't above 4.5.

LaVine is 5th (lol) in touches per game on the Bulls this season.

For reference, Jamal is at 5.1 TOP this season, 6 last season.

The point being, since there's people that question his and Jamal's fit more than they should, LaVine isn't really ball dominant- he's also an elite off-ball scorer (great in off-ball screen actions, cuts, transition, attacking closeouts, etc.). I think he and Jamal together can make it work offensively very well. The Nuggets have historically been pretty potent offensively when Murray shared the floor with another lead ball handler, like Monte. Murray has always been fine off-ball. Slight adjustment on his end, staggering- I think there's more than enough ball to go around.  By the way, on the 2nd/3rd option talk, LaVine would be the 2nd option. Jamal, if LaVine staggered, which I think is what would happen, would still get plenty of minutes per game as a 2nd option. Also feel like it'd be Jokic who takes more of a step back scoring-wise, at least in the regular season. Wouldn't rule out LaVine being neck and neck with Jokic in RS ppg. I think Jamal has another gear to tap into defensively, which he could more often do, benefitting from LaVine taking over some offensive load.

Now, some people have mentioned the starters already being a 125+ ORTG unit and the team needing defense more. But there isn't an imaginary cap to the Nuggets offense, guys. With LaVine, they might be a 130+ ORTG unit. Maybe the best starting lineup offense of all time and #1 in the playoffs. Is it impossible for this team to get better overall with offense? Was offense also not the problem in the Wolves series?

Another self-creator is crucial, for the playoffs first and foremost. He'll also lighten the load on Jamal and Jokic in regular seasons, which is crucial, too. Non-Jokic minutes get a higher floor with LaVine than with Mike or Jamal. Jamal gets guarded by the 2nd best perimeter defender. The Nuggets offense would be a lot more dynamic.

Even if the Nuggets remain the same level of a team with LaVine instead of Mike this season (I think they get better), LaVine is an upgrade in talent. Getting a talent upgrade without giving up assets (unloading Zeke's contract in the process too) is a win for the Nuggets, who are an over-the-apron team and extremely limited with assets. And very importantly, LaVine also gives you flexibility going forward regarding Jamal. If the team fails in the playoffs again, Jamal isn't the player the Nuggets need him to be, and they look to move him- LaVine is on the team still. Just a random idea I floated was Jamal (+ asset prob) for Suggs & Jonathan Isaac, which could make sense for both teams with the Magic being loaded defensively across the board and needing a guard offensively like Jamal to pair with Paolo and Franz.

Free agents & another LaVine trade

Now, since, like I said, a lot of mentioned possible trades would include the Nuggets opening up a roster spot, I want to mention some free agents: DSJ, Lonnie Walker, Robert Covington, Biyombo, Keita Bates Diop, Reggie Bullock, Justin Holiday. Think the average guy here is as good, if not better than, the Nuggets average 11-15th roster guy. Maybe someone among those guys could help. Say Strawther is part of the deal for Cam Johnson and DFS (Dorian Finney Smith) for example, I think Lonnie Walker can mostly replace what Strawther gives you off the bench (btw they should have dealt Strawther if his non-inclusion decided the PG13 trade talks in the off-season). You deal Zeke or Dario- Biyombo is a similar (bad) level. Need forward depth? RoCo, if he's healthy, still makes shit happen on defense and can hit an open shot. DSJ I already talked about- he's straight up getting some minutes on this Nuggets team, IMO. A deal for LaVine and DFS, for example (it'd be all over the floor 😩, but very hard to pull off), would have to open up a lot of roster spots. If Booth is willing to punt on guys like Pickett/Tyson, who are on good and controllable SRP contracts but can't play, I think you may even improve the team with some of these free agents.

+ LaVine, DFS, DSJ, Lonnie, Covington, Biyombo

- MPJ, Zeke, Dario, Strawther, 2 of Vlatko/Pickett/Tyson, 2031 FRP (slightly protected)

You may have gotten better depth, starting and bench unit, IMO.

Also, this trade is doable with one less player if the Nuggets wanted to include Holmes instead of one of Pickett/Tyson and maybe the FRP, though I'm not sure they would.

Ok, enough on LaVine. Let's talk about the other trades.

Cam Johnson and DFS

+ Cam Johnson, DFS, Lonnie or DSJ

- MPJ, Tyson, Strawther (or Watson), 2031 FRP, maybe Holmes might be needed too

You don't change the team's identity but just get considerably better across the board.

(btw, I was talking about both this and the LaVine trade like 2 months ago; I might be Boof👀)

I think Cam Johnson is a better player than MPJ right now and a comfortably better player than him next to Jokic. At worst, he's a similar-level player (if you include the Jokic boost). Cam is IMO an even better fit than Mike because he is better defensively, more of a natural SF on that end (while not giving you up a lot of size), and can put the ball on the floor and make plays for himself and others. He's an elite shooter, like Mike. You get that for like 15 million per year less than Mike. Cam's got an amazing 14% of the cap contract going forward (Mike at 24% for reference).

DFS is a premium 3&D forward. He's elite defensively. I think in big games/playoffs you go with him & AG at the backup 5 spot, like you did with Jeff and AG in the championship run. DFS is also an option with whom you can go 5-out in case AG isn't hitting shots against coverages like Minny was in the playoffs (KAT guarding Jokic, Gobert sagging off AG). A lot of teams can do this against the Nuggets, success varying, the most obvious and solid one being the west favorite, OKC, with Hartenstein and Chet.

Stagger Cam Johnson with the bench alongside Murray-

Russ - Braun - DFS - AG - Jokic is an amazing defensive lineup with enough shooting for Russ and Jokic to play with. AG subbed out next for PWat, DFS takes the four- you don't lose value defensively like you do right now with Watson at the four because he's too small there. Playing the 4 instead of Peyton where he's miscast, being a viable small ball backup 5, being an option to go 5 out- i think DFS would immensely help the team, he fills these roster holes on his own.

Brandon Ingram

+ Ingram, DSJ/Lonnie + Javonte Green might be gettable if Nuggets want him

- MPJ, Pickett, asset maybe + Vlatko/Tyson if they want Javonte Green

Like this trade too. Maybe less than the previous few, though. He's a talent upgrade. Ingram is a bit better defensively than Mike. He's 10x better of a shot creator and playmaker than Mike is (underrated in this regard as he has really good passing & vision). Kind of a similar story to LaVine for what he changes for the Nuggets with his offense. Though you do lose 3PT shooting a little unlike with LaVine and Cam, which is already an issue on the team. To be fair, Ingram is still a good 3PT shooter and has really upped his volume there this season (up to 6.4 3PTers per game on 37.5%, was around 3-4 attempts the previous few seasons). And he would get a better quality of 3PTers on the Nuggets.

Ingram & DFS would be a great get too. Would open up two or three roster spots depending on if they want to move Saric.

+ Ingram, DFS, 2/3 of DSJ, Biyombo, Lonnie

- MPJ, Zeke, Saric/Tyson, and Strawther, depending on who goes out, 2031 FRP protections vary.

DeAndre Hunter

(And Larry Nance probably / DFS is doable)

I like LaVine, Cam, or Ingram more than Hunter. He's not a real impact defender (close to Cam, I'd say, though still better than Mike), not the self-creator LaVine or Ingram are, and a not a good playmaker for others unlike all three. Also the most injury-prone player here. His value also the highest it's ever been right now. Wouldn't be bad, though there's an obvious upside, again, I just prefer the previous three guys more. I also find the trade more unrealistic.

+ DeAndre Hunter, Larry Nance

- MPJ, 2031 FRP

or

+ DeAndre Hunter, DFS, Larry Nance, DSJ

- MPJ, Zeke, Holmes, Strawther, 2031 FRP

or a trade without Nance

Clarkson

Meh. He's fine, but I personally prefer an actual shake-up. I don't think he's winning you a championship.

Jordan Poole

Meh. Nah. Shoutout to him averaging 20 points on 59% TS on the Washington Wizards, though. Since there's interest from the Nuggets, he could very much so be in the talks in the offseason if Jamal is ass again in the playoffs, which is kinda crazy.

Valanciunas

Really bad defensively, might not be playable in the playoffs. Could score really, really well next to Russ on the bench, though. Again, not the championship move, in my opinion.

All in all

My preference, when it comes to right now, mid-season:

1. LaVine, DFS, or Cam, DFS (LaVine & DFS are very hard to facilitate)
2. Ingram, DFS
3. Hunter, Nance, DFS
4. Just LaVine (Just LaVine now + that extra guy or two in the offseason depending on what they might do is probably a better idea long-term than the Nuggets taking Hunter + stuff now)
5. Just Ingram
6. Stand pat
7. Just Hunter and Nance (upgrade but not the best use of resources IMO if above trades are available)
8. Clarkson
9. Valanciunas
10. Poole (better trade than two above but not midseason)

What would you do? Stand pat or what move?

Anyone selling tickets for this game?

It’s tough in starting lineup with Murray and Jokic running the offense with pick and roll and pick and pop. If defense doubles, they swing to MPJ afterwards.

The only way is for MPJ to play with the bench offense more. The better offense might be running plays for MPJ to run off a screen and jack up 3s. Westbrook did this play with PG all the time. Just very scripted to make sure PG got his shots up.

Just a thought.

Daily Listening: Candy Apple - Comatose (2024) | Recommended by u/doo_wop45

2v1 break - he calls a timeout.

The bench performs a miracle and gets us back within 1 possession with 6 minutes left in the 4th (long overdue for the standard starter sub). He proceeds to wait 1-2 more possessions, and we’re down by 9. A big "you're welcome" from Malone to the starters. Just like a gambler, spinning the roulette wheel one more time.

Last play, we just need to hold on for a stop. Let’s have the best defensive lineup possible, right? DAJ is a +Def on EPM, Peyton, Braun? Nah, let’s go with Jokic and Murray.

Each one of these crucial mistakes is headline-worthy, and he managed to make three of them in the same game.

I think the real shake-up we need is perhaps in the coaching staff in general. Who is the head of defense? I saw multiple timeouts early on in the game, and they still came out exactly the same on defense—raising their arms and fake contesting without any effort to block shots whatsoever.

Every single player (except DAJ, Braun, and Westbrook) on the Nuggets has had a worse defensive season than last year by a BIG MARGIN. This is absolutely unacceptable.

We are starting to look like the Indiana Pacers of last year—superb offense but lacking in defense. Opponents love to play us, just a scoring fiesta, especially bottom teams.

The best part about all this? They’ll go into the next game, do hard fouls and make 2-3 blocks in the 1st quarter, win the game most likely very comfortably, and then COMPLETELY forget about defense in the following games. Then we’re back to the "Nuggets are down 2 vs. Hornets, 20 seconds left, Murray to Jokic..." 130-132 games.

We have to start Westbrook for at least the first 4-5 minutes to set a precedent on defense and make the opponent feel us. There is a reason why we are 5-1 with him starting.

Credit to the Blazers, they kicked our ass. I think Malone is easily the worst Nugget currently.

My main theory is that this year's team is mostly okay, but what we need more than anything else are NBA players. We don't need to blow things up, we just need to stop minutes to DeAndre Jordan and Hunter Tyson and Zeke Nnaji (and we need to stop playing Jokic 38 minutes a night), and the way to do that is just to acquire guys who are actual NBA players. And since we're not trying to get STARS, we don't need to give up much--just, trade some of the kids for a veteran who's stuck on the bench playing meaningless minutes for one of the awful teams. There is absolutely no reason on earth for 32-year-old Daniel Theis to play out the rest of the season for the Pelicans--keeping him accomplishes NOTHING, if they get a chance to dump him for Jaden Pickett (a guy with a CHANCE to be on the next good Pelicans team) why wouldn't they take it?

So in that spirit, I propose:

• Jaden Pickett and Vlatko Cancar to the Pelicans for Daniel Theis and Javonte Green

• Dario Saric and Jaden Pickett to the Jazz for Drew Eubanks

• Dario Saric and Jaden Pickett to the Pistons for Malik Beasley

• Dario Saric, Vlatko Cancar and Jaden Pickett to the Hornets for Cody Martin

• Jaden Pickett and Vlatko Cancar to the Nets for Shake Milton

• Dario Saric, Hunter Tyson, and Jaden Pickett to the 76ers for Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon

• Zeke Nnaji, Dario Saric, Vlatko Cancar, Hunter Tyson and Jaden Pickett to the Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton

• Zeke Nnaji, Dario Saric, Hunter Tyson, and Jaden Pickett to the Utah Jazz for Jordan Clarkson and Patty Mills

???

ESPN: recap - boxscore - gamecast | NBA.com: boxscore - shotchart

DNP: Spencer Jones, Zeke Nnaji, Jalen Pickett

Inactive: Trey Alexander, Vlatko Cancar, PJ Hall, DaRon Holmes II, Dario Saric

DNP: Dalano Banton, Kris Murray, Duop Reath, Rayan Rupert, Matisse Thybulle, Jabari Walker

Inactive: Bryce McGowens, Justin Minaya, Taze Moore

Lead Changes: 9 | Times Tied: 11 | Gametime: 2:15 | Attendance: 16753

Officials: Kevin Scott, CJ Washington, Sha'Rae Mitchell

How would you rate the Russ and Denver experience so far?

As much as I hate to say it, MPJ would get us back some quality role players. I would prefer us to deal with the Hawks, maybe get back Hunter and Nance. We desperately need a big man. I hope Booth makes the right decision.

Look, Murray’s slow start is irritating yes.

But its evident that when WB starts he sets the tone of the offense.

5-1 when he starts? correct?

In the kings game did denver get tired? And blew a 20+ point lead. IMO i think so.

But WB is so infectious. This team needs it.

But the nuggets won’t start WB over murray.

A: “because we paid him his max contract so we cant” is that it?

Or….

Is it because IFFFFF they did, Murray’s ego would be butt hurt, and he could possibly check out mentally and just absolutely be a child about it??

Maybe a combo..

🤷🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️

All these questions wouldn’t come up if Murray played to his potential.. we all know he’s capable… 😞😞

Hey !

My nephews (5&7) just started their first season of playing basketball and for X- Mas I bought them their first tickets to a Nuggets game.

Personally, I do not have children, but I have been around those who have brought children and I have seen them get posters signed that mention "my first nuggets game"

Where do you get these ?

Also, what are other fun things to do in the stadium with Children ? We have club level Dec. 28th, so will have access to those facilities also.

I really Want this to be memorable for them with some memorabilia they can hold on. This is something I know my friends had growing up I never received due to my family not really being sports fans.

Thanks in advance and go nuggets !

https://x.com/nuggets/status/1869932037572047198

##General Information

##Starters

##Injuries

##Betting Odds

Referees: Kevin Scott, CJ Washington, ShaRae Mitchell

Zeke + Dario + 2031 first round pick (Top 3 protected) + _____ seconds —-> Clarkson

Hear me out! The trade may seem bad for Utah at first glance, but you need to take into account their current organizational goals:

Utah: Utah is in rebuilding mode. With Danny Ainge at the helm, they will be wanting to accrue draft picks to make bigger moves once they are ready to start competing. They will follow the OKC model.

A 2031 Nuggets 1st will have immense value as Jokic and Murray will both be in their late 30s and well past their prime. We will most likely suck in 2031. This is the real prize for Utah

Denver:

We get the needed scoring off the bench and keep our starting unit in tact.Clarkson is 80% of the offensive player that LaVine is and is on a 14M per year contract vs LaVine at 45M.

A 2031 pick may seem to be a high value for a bench player, but the league knows we are desperate to improve our roster.