After the 2018 season, not many fans or experts, expected the Denver Nuggets to be sitting in the #2 seed at the start of the 2019 playoffs. But, that’s exactly where your Denver Nuggets found themselves.

After investing in their own talent PG Jamal Murray for 5/$170, the Nuggets made a quiet trade during the Thunder fire sale and acquired F Jerami Grant for the Nuggets 2020 1st round pick. This pick should be relatively low in the first round so the value was clearly not as high as Grant who is under contract thru the 20-21 season.

Grant joins the already crowded front court which already has Will Barton, Paul Millsap, Torrey Craig, Juancho Hernangomez, Mason Plumlee and Jarred Vanderbilt getting playing time. That doesn’t include the redshirt rookie Michael Porter Jr who, if healthy should regularly get 20 minutes a game. Millsap was kept with his 30 million dollar team option and Vanderbilt is an intriguing young player whose contract is very manageable given his selection in the 2nd round of the 2018 draft.

Standing pat could be a safe option and valuable in the event that injuries hit the team as they seem to be problematic each year. Or they could go all-in and try to make a run at a title by obtaining a perennial all-star SG who's entering the prime of his career.

Could a package which could include any combination of Barton, Plumlee, Hernangomez, Craig and SG’s Harris and Beasley get a player like SG Bradley Beal?

Aside from Beal and the currently injured PG John Wall the Wizards roster is lacking any talent that could even make fans excited about a playoff run. With Wall likely not returning until the middle of the season when the Wizards will be more interested in ping pong balls than W’s for this rebuild to get going.

From a salary cap perspective, it will likely take SG Gary Harris, Hernangomez, either Barton or Plumlee, and some draft capital picks to get the Wizards to engage in the trade. Per ESPN’s trade machine this would have a +- of 8 wins/losses for both franchises. It will be interesting to see how long the Washington franchise will patiently let Beal's super max contract sit unsigned.

Without the Nuggets making a bold trade, they run the risk of having a locker room full of upset ego's who are no longer getting the playing time they had from the previous season.