The Nuggets are in a dangerous position when the lockout ends with many players up for free agency. One of the biggest problems could be if Nene leaves. In that case, the Nuggets would be without an anchor in the paint.
So, could a possible trade involving Demarcus Cousins workout to bring in a talented, young bigman? My proposal is:
Sacramento: Wilson Chandler, Chris Andersen, future first-round pick
Denver: Demarcus Cousins, Marcus Thornton
Sacramento receives a grit player who is consistent and can play multiple positions. Chandler is young and still improving. He would probably play most minutes at the small forward and some time at the 4. And the Kings lighten up the load of guards they have in Tyreke, Jimmer, and John Salmons. Sacramento also will get Chris Andersen who is an intimidating defensive presence in the middle and who can help with their fan base along with new rookie Jimmer Fredette. Chris the Birdman would probably be the starting Centre as Samuel Dalembert is being looked at by various contenders (Miami, Dallas, Boston). Whether or not Birdman would be successful starting for them, we don't know, but at least Sacramento would let go of headache Demarcus and get a top 20 Centre who can play defence with roughness in return. That's a lot better than having to deal with 3 or so ball hogs on a team. Finally, I understand the Kings have a lot of young players already, but the future first rounder will make for an extra bonus; a tradable piece or another building block.
How about the Nuggets? Well if Nene leaves, Demarcus could start at the 5 or 4, most likely at power forward. Timofey Mozgov and Demarcus Cousins could make for a very big and intimidating front court duo. Mozgov doesn't demand the ball in the post thus giving Demarcus control of the paint. He would most likely be the go to guy for the Nuggets for now. In Sacramento he averaged 14Points 8.6 Rebounds and an underrated 2.5 Assists. Marcus Thornton had a break out year with Sacramento last season averaging 21ppg, 4.5rpg, 3.5apg. Marcus would never average those numbers again next season especially in Sacramento. While his stock is high, Sacramento would be smart to let him go as trade bait. Thornton would provide a good backup for Afflalo because he can score in bunches and is good from deep. Plus, with JR "Earl" Smith gone, Marcus will have all the minutes at backup. But what about Gallo's backup? Well those mintues could be shared by Al Harrington and rookie Jordan Hamilton.
But what if Nene stays?! Wouldn't that cause problems for the two? Maybe, but Nene would be able to play at the 4 (what he would prefer) and Nene wouldn't be forced to grab as many rebounds for Denver to be competitive. But ultimately, this would never work out.
Realistically, could this trade go down? It all depends on the bigmen. Would Nene leave Denver? Would Sacramento get rid of Demarcus Cousins? If the answer to both of those questions were yes, then so would this trade work. I honestly like this trade. Just for fun, this is what the two teams would look like after the trade.
Denver : Timofey Mozgov Kosta Koufu
Demarcus Cousins Kenyon Martin/ Al Harrington
Danilo Gallinari Jordan Hamilton/ Gary Forbes
Arron Afflalo Marcus Thornton
Sacramento: Samuel Dalembert/ Chris Andersen Chris Andersen/ Hassan Whiteside
JJ. Hickson Jason Thompson
Wilson Chandler Francisco Garcia
Tyreke Evans John Salmons
Jimmer Fredette N/A
The Kings have a slightly deeper roster at the 2/3/4 positions without logjams. They would still need to sign a true pg either to start or backup Jimmer. An option could be for them to go after Earl Watson (6 apg), or TJ Ford.
The Nuggets look like a complete team with prominent starters, backup players, and go to guys (Demarcus and Gallo)
Let me know what you guys think. The last post i made was not very good as a lot of people disagreed with what I had to say. Hopefully this makes a bit more sense.
