The Memphis Grizzlies have officially placed Mike Conley and Marc Gasol on the trading block. Here is one scenario that would involve the Denver Nuggets.
The Memphis Grizzlies are seeing what they could get in a potential trade for their longtime stars Mike Conley and Marc Gasol. The Denver Nuggets should be talked about as a potential landing spot for Conley.
Denver is set to make the playoffs for the 1st time since the 2012-13 season while looking to win their first playoff series since the 2008-09 season. They’re loaded with young talent especially at the forward spot.
One area Denver could help in is the point guard spot. Preferably with a veteran who is a proven floor general with a few years left to help usher in the new vibe of Mile High.
Conley currently averaging 20 points, 6 assists, and 3.2 rebounds at 42.6% shooting from the field certainly fit the bill. Not to mention there is almost certain to be some differences in opinions of the Paul Millsap contract.
Another issue is Denver already has Trey Lyles, Juan Hernangomez, Tyler Lydon, Mason Plumlee, and Michael Porter Jr. all at the forward position. All five of them were former first-round picks.
Needless to say, Denver is extremely invested in that spot even before thinking about free agency with Millsap who is also experiencing a steep decline in production and minutes as a result. That’s before we mention his injuries that he has had to fight through that kept him off the court significant time this season in which he turns 34 in February.
Good news is the Millsap contract is expiring this summer and thus attractive to a team like Memphis. Millsap and Conley’s salaries match enough to be straight up in an even swap, but Millsap for Conley isn’t quite an even value swap at this point though Denver has the assets to make this deal.
Monte Morris has gone from the depths of the G-League to become a key part of the rotation. Morris averages 10 points along with 3.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds all at 24 minutes per game.
Not bad for a point guard that was on a two-way deal around this time last year. One thing Morris doesn’t bring is a lot of experience. That is gonna be crucial for a very young team filled with young guys.
Denver is gonna need a proven threat aside from Nikola Jokic and this is as great of an opportunity as it gets for Denver. You get to acquire a point guard of all-star caliber at the peak of his career. One who is such a class act he has yet to get a technical foul in 12 years of NBA career.
That speaks volumes as to the character you’re bringing in. Also one well-respected around the league and willing to play team basketball.
Another issue for Denver is the reality Jamal Murray is not a point guard by definition. Murray who has begun to really break out as one of the league’s best scorers is truly a shooting guard listed at point guard for the sake of announcements.
He ranks near last in assists to turnover ratio amongst point guards and also pure point guard rating. Murray doesn’t run plays and doesn’t set up the offense as that responsibility is mainly split between Jokic and Morris. Two promising but inexperienced floor generals come mid-April.
In return with essentially what is the expiring contract of Millsap, the Nuggets also send out said talent of Morris but also a prospect Memphis was rumored to be highly interested in prior to last year’s draft and that is none other than Porter Jr. MPJ as they call him was once the consensus projected 2018 number one pick before rupturing a disc in his back.
When healthy Porter is an elite level shooter with ultra length as a potential wing with solid ball handling elite shot creation fluidity and As he has yet to make his professional debut in any on-court capacity he still remains a very intriguing talent one I personally deem a must see.
He was compared to Tracy McGrady and Kevin Durant at draft time, and that type of talent almost surely won’t be signing here in free agency.
So a Denver care package consists of Millsap, Porter, and Morris for Conley and JaMychal Green as a veteran and concept replacement for Millsap. The main attraction to Green is his expiring 7.7 million dollar salary Denver will be thrilled once seeing Green on the court as he is having another career year for them to think over this summer.
Flexibility and reliability for Denver at positions it is severely needed from both acquisitions and they didn’t even have to give up any draft picks. If they want to improve their roster at all this could be the big splash needed to make them a contender in the Western Conference.