Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets could be a sneaky team looking to add a third talented, All-Star level player to their roster this year. With the departures of Jerami Grant, Torrey Craig and Malik Beasley, Denver is extremely thin on the wing and does not have a reliable third scoring option. Will Barton and Michael Porter Jr. have shown flashes of being reliable scorers, but are not proven threats like Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic.
As a result, giving up some future draft assets to bring in Victor Oladipo would be extremely beneficial. Not only would Oladipo take a lot of pressure off of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic on the offensive end of the court, but it would open up the court a lot more for more one-on-one situations for the Nuggets two stars.
Murray thrives in one-on-one situations and with Denver having to resort to playing a lot of “two-man basketball” in the playoffs last season with Jokic and Murray, they could expand their offense to include another high volume scorer like Oladipo. Much like the Mavericks, the Denver Nuggets are a team searching for that player on the wing who can make a difference.
Over the last two seasons, Victor Oladipo has only played in 55 games due to injuries but should be at full strength for the start of the 2020-21 NBA season. The Indiana Pacers will likely hold onto him at the start of the year and if they do decide to move on from Oladipo, it will be near the trade deadline. Not only does this give Denver time to figure out if they need to add a player like Victor Oladipo, but allows them to evaluate if Will Barton, Michael Porter Jr., and Gary Harris can combine on offense to make up what Oladipo would give them.
One of these three players would likely have to be traded to the Indiana Pacers to make the finances work in a trade involving Victor Oladipo, which is why Denver will use the first half of the season as the benchmark for if they need to make a big move. The Nuggets have the draft assets and players on their roster to make this type of trade work, but it all comes back to Oladipo’s injury history and if he can actually play a full season at full strength anymore.
