NBA Trade Idea Sends Ex-Lakers Champion to Denver Nuggets

Should the Denver Nuggets make a big trade involving Michael Porter Jr.?

Feb 29, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23), Washington Wizards forward Marvin Bagley III (35), Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) and Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma (33) battle for a rebound in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

After starting the season with a struggle, the Denver Nuggets were centered around a plethora of trade talks. Much of those talks were focused on trading Michael Porter Jr. for a high-profile scorer, such as Zach LaVine.

A new trade idea by Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report has the Nuggets trading Porter, but for a different player not typically listed in the usual scenarios. It also has them getting a pretty solid package back for Porter as well.

Denver Nuggets Receive: F Kyle Kuzma, C Jonas Valančiūnas, F Saddiq Bey

Washington Wizards Receive: F Michael Porter Jr., PF Zeke Nnaji

The trade actually solves a multitude of problems for the Nuggets. Kuzma's contract is nowhere near as expensive as Porter's, and while Kuzma isn't as great of a three-point shooter, he could still fit into the Nuggets' offense seamlessly. The team has also really needed a better backup center with Dario Saric not necessarily panning out as planned, and Valanciunas would be the perfect option for Denver.

The biggest issue for Denver in trading away Porter is getting rid of the continuity and chemistry of the starting five lineup. This is a team that just won an NBA championship two seasons ago, was second in the Western Conference last season, and was one game away from the Conference Finals last season.

While the Nuggets started the season struggling, it's hard to justify the team making a major move to its starting lineup now that they're the fourth seed and only 2.5 games away from the second seed.

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