It's hard to say if the biggest winner of the reported deadline-day trade bringing them together is the Denver Nuggets or Aaron Gordon. The Nuggets are filling the gaping hole created by Jerami Grant's departure in the cleanest possible way. Gordon, who recently requested a trade from the Orlando Magic, is joining a team that gives him everything the team that drafted him could not.
Six months ago, Denver was playing in the conference finals. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray were so transcendent that it would be negligent for the front office to not give them every opportunity to get back there. Even with Jokic in the running for Most Valuable Player, winning two series without making a trade on Thursday would've been even more unlikely than their two consecutive 3-1 comebacks.
Grant was crucial throughout the Nuggets' run, more because of his defense than the flashes of playmaking he's built on this season in Detroit. Torrey Craig was, too, even though he shot terribly and opponents ignored him behind the 3-point line. Denver did well to sign JaMychal Green in the offseason, but it needed another strong, quick-footed forward who could hold his own against the likes of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and LeBron James.
This time around, the Nuggets might not even get to play a first-round series against an opponent without that genre of superstar. As things stand, they're fifth in the West. The Lakers are fourth, just a half-game behind the Clippers in the standings.
Gordon is immediately the most athletic player on Denver's roster. With him, Green and the 36-year-old Paul Millsap in the picture, they shouldn't have to ask too much of the 22-year-old Michael Porter Jr. defensively. By also nabbing JaVale McGee from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Michael Malone's coaching staff has all sorts of lineup flexibility -- it can play big and small against starters and second units. If Gordon and Porter are both starting next to Jokic, who's the 3 and who's the 4? If Gordon and Green are the two bigs when Jokic is on the bench, who's the 4 and who's the 5? The only real answer is who cares. (It would be a bonus if Gary Clark Jr., also acquired from the Magic, could give them a bit of what Craig did.)
The Nuggets will miss Gary Harris' perimeter defense. They would have surely preferred not to surrender the upside of RJ Hampton when they were already parting with a 2025 first-round pick, but this is what you're supposed to do when you're trying to compete for a championship. While Gordon is not a star, his skill set is such that he complements their stars better than anyone they could have realistically acquired. In turn, those stars give him the opportunity to accentuate his strengths, increase his efficiency and win like he never has before.
In theory, at least. The reality is that we've never really seen the version of Gordon that Denver needs. He's only 25, but it feels like we've been watching him on offensively challenged Orlando teams forever. In his six full seasons there, it never finished with an offense that ranked higher than 22nd in the league. This year, only Cleveland and Oklahoma City have a worse offensive rating. Playing for the Nuggets is going to give Gordon some culture shock -- he's not used to this kind of ball movement, and they don't need much, if any, playmaking from him.
Denver thinks Gordon needs a fresh start and will look better with more talent around him, according to the Denver Post's Mike Singer. Join the club. Ideally, he will play All-NBA-caliber defense, feast as a cutter and finisher, make a decent percentage of his open 3s and significantly raise the Nuggets' ceiling. Skeptics will argue that he might have trouble adjusting to the system, feel marginalized next to Jokic, Murry and Will Barton and present the same spacing problems that Harris did. The Denver Post reported that Gordon is excited about playing with Jokic and was impressed with the way the ball moved when he played against the Nuggets on Tuesday, but it's much more important how he feels once he gets on the court with them. In any case, this is the same conversation we've been having about Gordon leading up to the trade deadline for more than four years now. Finally, there is going to be something new to talk about.
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