Does this trade make sense for the Denver Nuggets?
In order to not only make the playoffs but compete in the playoffs, the Denver Nuggets are going to have to do something. Nikola Jokic cannot be their only productive player for the rest of the season because not only does he run the risk of getting hurt, but the NBA is not a league where one player can carry a team anymore.
There is so much balance across all 30 teams in the league nowadays and unfortunately for the Nuggets, their team has been hit hard by the injury bug. Jamal Murray will eventually return this season, but by the time he is back to full-speed, it could be too late for the Nuggets’ playoff chances.
Going out and replacing Michael Porter Jr.’s production on the wing is going to be critical for this team to do ahead of the trade deadline, but they do have to be careful with their cap situation and how much money they are spending.
Denver is never really a team that likes to be paying luxury taxes and it was surprising to see them invest so much in Barton and Porter ahead of the start of the 2021-22 season. By acquiring Caris LeVert, they would be putting themselves into luxury tax land and they would have yet another contract on their roster over $15M annual value.
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The idea of adding LeVert is not terrible, as he could help solve a lot of their problems on offense right away, but giving up JaMychal Green, Jeff Green and Facundo Campazzo could be way too much value for this team to sacrifice.
With Dozier, Porter Jr., and Murray being out, the Nuggets do not have many consistent threats to turn to on their bench outside of the three players listed above. The rest of their bench includes Bones Hyland, Bol Bol, Zeke Nnaji, Vlatko Cancar, and Austin Rivers, all of which outside of Rivers are young, inexperienced talents.
Both Greens and Campazzo provide this team with stability in their rotations, especially with all the injuries they have had to deal with. Maybe giving up one of these guys would make sense for more production on the wing, but giving up all three for Caris LeVert does not make much sense.
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Plus, by making this trade, Denver would be left with just seven total draft picks through 2028 and some of those picks could wind up being on the move because of previous trades and protections on previous picks.
Denver is not in a good situation right now roster-wise and while they need more production on the wing, Caris LeVert is not the guy they should be looking to get in a trade right now because of the fact that his contract puts them in some very tight situations.
