The Denver Nuggets went out during the offseason and did what they had to do. Trading for Cam Johnson and making many other great moves, the Nuggets put themselves in a very good position to not only win the Western Conference next season, but arguably be the favorites outside of the Oklahoma City Thunder to win it all.
The Nuggets will obviously have to get past a tough Thunder team if everything goes as planned, but they have the best player in the world and much-improved pieces around him.
Despite that, some still believe that the Nuggets need more, including Ethen Hutton of Sports Illustrated. He proposed a trade with the New York Knicks to acquire Josh Hart, but the proposal might be giving up too much for the Nuggets to consider this trade.
Nuggets could add depth piece in potential trade
New York Knicks receive: Christian Braun, Zeke Nnaji, Peyton Watson, 2031 first-round pick
Denver Nuggets receive: Josh Hart
“While Braun has developed into a solid piece around Jokic, Denver has missed a player who offers consistency in the postseason, such as Hart. Hart maintains his production in the playoffs, while frequently rising to the occasion in big moments. He boxes out, rebounds, runs the floor and checks all the boxes for a contending team entering a new era under David Adelman.
“Hart is a versatile piece who can contribute on both sides of the floor for a Denver squad whose defense efficiency has regressed over the past several seasons,” he wrote.
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Hart is a good player in his own right, but moving on from Braun, Watson, and a first-round pick for a player of his caliber might be a bit tough to justify.
There have been times throughout Hart’s career when he’s been very good, but for the most part, he doesn’t do enough offensively to justify this trade.
Giving up a first-rounder is very difficult with this current CBA, and if things don’t work out for the Nuggets in the immediate future, that could be an asset they use to make a bigger move.
