While their adversaries in the Western Conference arms race attempted to fortify their rosters, the Nuggets observed from their championship perch.
The Nuggets traded the rights to Ismael Kamagate to the Los Angeles Clippers for $2.68 million in cash, a league source told The Denver Post, but no trades were made involving the team’s 18 roster players before the 2024 NBA trade deadline Thursday.
Kamagate was the No. 46 pick in the 2022 draft, his rights changing hands between Detroit, Portland and Denver. The 6-foot-11 center from Paris plays for Bertram Derthona Tortona in the Italian league Lega Basket Serie A.
As expected, Denver sat out the trade deadline for the most part, keeping its current 15-man active roster intact. As the 1 p.m. cutoff passed without a depth move occurring, the Nuggets were locked in a three-way tie atop the West standings with Minnesota and Oklahoma City. All three teams were 35-16 entering Thursday’s slate of games (including Denver’s matchup at the Lakers), while the Clippers were half a game behind at 34-16.
The Timberwolves added former Nugget Monte Morris as a backup point guard. The Thunder traded for Gordon Hayward from Charlotte in one of the most notable moves of the day.
The Nuggets explored the market but ultimately stood pat due to a combination of factors that limited their ability to execute a beneficial deal. Salary cap constraints were the biggest obstacle. Denver is already over the first luxury tax apron and hard-capped at the second apron, leaving fewer than $5 million to add in new salary.
On top of that, salary-matching in a trade would have had to be within 110% due to first-apron restrictions, and the Nuggets’ most tradable contracts (Zeke Nnaji and Reggie Jackson) conflicted with their needs to the extent that risk/reward would have been shaky in most feasible deals.
The Nuggets also didn’t have a first-round draft pick available to trade because of the “Stepien Rule,” which prevents teams from being without first-rounders in consecutive drafts. However, because of the salary cap factors already restricting Denver’s options, trading a first-round pick might not have been worth the cost even if one was available to move. Any player Denver could have received in a trade wouldn’t have had a salary much higher than $10 million, and even that would have required aggregating Jackson, Nnaji and possibly others. General manager Calvin Booth has also established a reputation for making the most of late first-round picks, from Christian Braun to Peyton Watson.
In short, the Nuggets are dealing with the consequences of already building a championship-winning team. They don’t have it all that bad, either. All five starters from last season’s 16-4 playoff run are still in Denver, leaving the bench as the only area of the roster Booth would even consider changing this season.
The passing of the deadline means this is the first time the Nuggets will not make an in-season trade involving their 18 roster players since 2018-19. Last year, they acquired Thomas Bryant on deadline day while moving Bones Hyland and Davon Reed. In 2021-22, they were involved in a three-team trade that added Bryn Forbes and sent Bol Bol to Boston. In 2020-21, they made multiple significant moves, trading Isaiah Hartenstein and picks for JaVale McGee while also landing Aaron Gordon from Orlando. The team moved Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley in a four-team trade before the 2019-20 deadline.
Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis.
