Ranking Nuggets' Top Trade Targets After 2025 NBA Playoff Loss
The Denver Nuggets are only two seasons removed from claiming the NBA title, but it feels a lot longer ago, doesn't it?
Maybe it's because the Nuggets have since switched coaches and chief decision-makers. Or perhaps it's due to the perception that this roster might have plateaued around Nikola Jokić, a belief made more convincing by Denver's second consecutive second-round exit.
Either way, Denver doesn't quite feel like a title contender as currently constructed. What the front office must decide is whether minor tweaks are enough to change that or if larger scale swaps are needed.
The Nuggets don't have the richest trade budget, but it might be bigger than it first appears if they're willing to discuss deals involving Michael Porter Jr. or even Jamal Murray. We're keeping this trade cost in mind while identifying and ranking their top three offseason targets.
3. Goga Bitadze, Orlando Magic
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You may have heard a time or 20, but the Nuggets' options behind Jokić are pretty abysmal. DeAndre Jordan is 36 (and unsigned past this season), Dario Šarić is doing nothing and Zeke Nnaji still hasn't solved the puzzle of securing a full-time rotation role.
While Denver should always expect some drop-off when Jokić grabs a breather, this club can't be outright lost without him. They clearly were this season, when they went from outscoring opponents by 10.5 points per 100 possessions with him to being outscored by 9.3 points per 100 possessions without, per NBA.com.
If Denver found a credible backup like Bitadze, it could reduce its demands on Jokić, who averaged a career-high 36.7 minutes this season, and perhaps have him fresher for its playoff run.
Bitadze would be a more than serviceable innings-eater at the center spot. He doesn't always find consistent minutes in Orlando, but the ones he gets almost always impress. This season, he wound up packing 7.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 blocks into just 20.4 minutes a night.
2. Royce O'Neale, Phoenix Suns
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Like any other team with a pricey payroll, the Nuggets should keep a close eye on the Suns. If Phoenix winds up rushing to rid itself of significant contracts, there might be bargains to be found in the desert.
Denver needs more two-way contributors on the perimeter. Those are among the toughest players to find—and afford—in the modern NBA.
Depending on the Suns' plans, O'Neale might actually be obtainable. If their incentive is to create financial flexibility, they won't ask what a two-way wing would normally cost. Maybe it's one decent draft asset or a couple mediocre ones, and that's all the Nuggets need to find an experienced, instinctual defender who just had his best three-point season by both volume (2.4 makes per game) and efficiency (40.6 percent).
O'Neale would be a rotation fixture in Denver, and he might even make a push for the starting (and/or closing) five.
1. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
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If you're building an offseason wish list, you might as well dream big, right?
Is a Durant deal likely for Denver? Not at all. That said, it hardly feels impossible. His name is prominently featured on the rumor mill, and given Phoenix's inability to contend and near total lack of assets, a summer split seems best for everyone. Denver, meanwhile, could conceivably build an offer around Michael Porter Jr., either as a new running mate for Devin Booker or as a centerpiece for a third team who sends someone else back to the Suns.
The idea of Durant in Denver is compelling enough to give this a lot of thought. The best co-star for Jokić is a versatile shot-maker who doesn't need a ton of touches but can still create offense and handle different defensive assignments while also providing weakside paint protection. That's basically Durant's scouting report.
He'd be a caps-lock AWESOME fit for the Nuggets and for Jokić, in particular. Denver should be doing everything in its power to maximize the big fella—who remains the obvious answer to the best-player-on-the-planet debate—and it couldn't possibly do more than landing Durant.
