Although the Denver Nuggets didn’t make it past the second round this season, they took the OKC Thunder to seven games and plausibly could have been playing in the Finals if more things had gone their way. Accordingly, they are going to be a fascinating team to watch this offseason. Currently, they do not have enough depth around Nikola Jokic. They are limited in the assets they can give up, but one of their most intriguing is forward Michael Porter Jr. Porter Jr helped them win a title two years ago, but it’s possible that the right offer could entice them to move on from him. With his contract, injury history, and poor defensive play, who will trade for him? Denver may have to attach an asset to go along with him and depending on the package, they could be a better team by moving on from MPJ.
One team that has the cap space to take on MPJ’s deal and might be interested in such a move are the Charlotte Hornets. The duo of LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller is incredibly exciting on offense and they can add to their roster with the No. 4 pick in this years draft. However, it’s still unclear which players are going to be long-term solutions for Charlotte. They tried parting ways with Mark Williams at the deadline and Miles Bridges seems to be another guy who could be on the move for a good deal. Because the East is relatively wide open next season and the Hornets have not made the playoffs in quite some time, they may opt to strike a balance between collecting more assets and retooling the roster.
Because the Nuggets are under such tight cap constraints, adding a third team to the deal could make some sense. The Hawks could be that third team. Atlanta has a ton of financial flexibility this summer, which they can use to address their needs at interior defense, front court depth, shooting, and maybe a backup lead guard/ball handler. NBA insider Marc Stein has already reported that Atlanta could also look to be facilitators this summer in the trade market due to their financial flexibility, depending on if the team brings back any of Caris LeVert, Clint Capela, or Larry Nance.
Given the needs of all three teams, what would a trade between them look like? Here is one possible framework for a deal.
Atlanta Hawks Receive: Peyton Watson, Grant Williams
Denver Nuggets Receive: Miles Bridges, Josh Okogie, Kobe Bufkin, 2025 1st round pick (via LAL, from ATL, #22)
Charlotte Hornets Recieve: Michael Porter Jr, Georges Niang, Zeke Nnaji, 2031 1st-round pick (top-5 protected)
Feb 1, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Josh Green (10) is defended by Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. (1) during the first half of play at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images / Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images
Why the Hawks would do this deal: Watson is an excellent defender, recording an elite BLK% of 2.6% that finished in the 99th percentile among all forwards last season. He cut down his fouling percentage from last season on defense, so there are signs that he can remain on the court to defend at a high level. Watson can line up at PF in case of a Jalen Johnson injury and he’d be an excellent lob threat for Young to utilize. Williams is an experienced, smart veteran who can also play PF or even small-ball center at times. He brings more on defense than Georges Niang does, finishing with an excellent STL% of 1.6% (81st percentile). He’s a career 37.7% shooter on 3.1 attempts per game, and he was an important contributor towards the Celtics’ playoff runs during his time with Boston.
Why the Hawks would not do this deal: Watson is still very limited on offense and playing with Jokic should have been enough to make him more viable on offense. However, that simply wasn’t the case for Denver last season and while he took some strides, it wasn’t consistent enough. Williams is under contract for the next two seasons, so there are some short-term ramificatons for their cap space if the deal doesn’t work out.
Why the Nuggets would do this deal: Bridges could slot in as the third option on the Nuggets easily and might reach a new level of offensive utility by playing alongside Jokic. He averaged 20.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game on 54.1 TS% last season and would give Denver a fairly big lineup by sliding in as the small forward next to Aaron Gordon. He had a career-best AST% of 20.3% last season (88th percentile last season) and he’s a very disciplined defender, only fouling on 1.8% of his defensive plays (95th percentile last season) and rebounding 18.1% of his defensive rebounding opportunities (95th percentile). Okogie is a good defender who has limitations on offense, but there’s no question that the Nuggets could use more perimeter defenders. Bufkin has showed defensive flashes when he’s been on the court and Denver also gets a first-round pick in this deal.
Why the Nuggets would not do this deal: Bridges hasn’t been a particularly efficient player and there’s no sample size on how he would fare in the playoffs. He’s also an inconsistent shooter and wasn’t a particularly good passer due to his turnovers. Okogie isn’t a very good shooter and that could be a problem for the Nuggets’ spacing while Bufkin has had tons of trouble staying on the court. Furthermore, replacing a high-volume shooter with no proven shooters is a worrying facet of this deal for Denver.
Why the Hornets would do this deal: Porter Jr’s main value lies in his shooting – he’s a career 61.8 TS% who shot 39.5% from deep on 6.4 attempts per game while averaging 18.2 points and 7 rebounds a game. He’s also a great finisher at the rim, shooting 74% at the rim (91st percentile among all forwards) and he can feast off of Ball’s passing into catch-and-shoot threes. Niang is a great floor-spacer who has played with the Jazz before and has shot above 40% from deep on respectable volume for six out of the nine years of his career. Charlotte finished 28th in 3P% last season, so there’s no question that they need more shooting. Nnaji is on a bad contract, but he might develop into frontcourt depth.
Why the Hornets would not do this deal: Nnaji and Porter Jr are both on highly expensive contracts that could limit further team-building for the Hornets. Furthermore, Niang is a target on defense and replacing Williams with him might be a loss from both a defensive and leadership perspective considering how much value Wlliams brought to the team as a leader and veteran voice.