The Denver Nuggets are bad this season--really bad. So bad that a fire sale is expected to start any day now, with at least two players traded from the team. Others are expected to leave after the season.
There’s been a number of suggestions on how to fix the team. Nuggets management already got two first-round picks for Timofey Mozgov, and reportedly want a first-round pick each for the coveted swingmen Arron Afflalo and Wilson Chandler. Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried, and Randy Foye are among other players rumored to be on the block.
Denver Post beat writer Christopher Dempsey has now outlined one path back to relevance for Denver, including several trades. The focus is on retooling the roster so coach Brian Shaw can play his “smashmouth” basketball, which he isn’t able to do with the current makeup.
The first step, Dempsey says, is to get Brook Lopez. The Nuggets will likely have to give up a first-round pick along with several players, but Lopez brings immediate low-post scoring and a legitimate starting center.
The next thing Denver should do is trade either Chandler or Afflalo to Portland and insist on getting C.J. McCollum back in the package, since he’s a young player with tremendous upside. If Denver cannot get that deal, they should pursue Lance Stephenson, who is still a good prospect on the wing despite his struggles this season--and he was coached by Shaw during Shaw’s time in Indiana.
The next step is to deal Faried and any other necessary assets, such as their own first-round pick, to move into the top five of the draft and then nab Arizona freshman small forward Stanley Johnson.
