The Denver Nuggets may be highly expected to make their second consecutive appearance in the playoffs this season, but as of now, they are still not viewed on the same level as other title contenders like the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Milwaukee Bucks. In order to have a realistic chance of fully dominating the deep Western Conference and bringing home the Larry O’Brien Trophy, the Nuggets should strongly consider surrounding face of the franchise, Nikola Jokic, with more star power . In his recent article, Mandela Namaste of Bleacher Report included the Nuggets on the list of teams who will be the most active on the market in the 2020 offseason.
With the plethora of assets on their roster, the Nuggets will be in a strong position to engage in a blockbuster deal this fall. According to Namaste, Denver could use young players with “sky-high potential” like Michael Porter Jr. and Bol Bol as main trade chips to target superstars expected to be available on the market in the 2020 offseason, including Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards, Jrue Holiday of the New Orleans Pelicans, Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers.
“Though neither Porter nor Bol has had sustained opportunity yet, both have shown enough in limited action to be integral parts of a blockbuster trade. Thanks to the Nuggets’ laundry list of quality role players, endless trade packages are possible, and the list of stars the team can pursue is almost as long. Bradley Beal and Jrue Holiday are often mentioned as gettable backcourt partners for Jamal Murray, while potential deals for big men like Kevin Love and Ben Simmons have been thrown around as well. Some of those ideas are more possible than others, but they all make sense for Denver.”
Beal and Holiday would be incredible additions to the Nuggets, giving Murray an All-Star caliber backcourt partner next season. Though they are both capable of making plays for their teammates, Beal and Holiday could also excel on the court even without the ball in their hands, making them the ideal teammates for ball-dominant superstars like Jokic and Murray.
Love would be an intriguing frontcourt partner with Jokic. Like Beal and Holiday, Love could also excel in an off-ball capacity and efficiently knock down shots from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, with his hesitance to shoot the ball from the three-point range, Simmons might be a questionable fit in Denver. However, the successful acquisition of Simmons would undoubtedly boost the Nuggets’ performance in terms of defense, scoring, and playmaking and would give them a young star who could potentially have a higher ceiling than “Joker.”