At this point, I’d trade Will Barton for a box of peanuts. (Assuming they put peanuts in boxes anymore?)

Listen, I don’t want to disparage the man too much. Will the Thrill seems like an overall good guy who’s well regarded by his teammates and respected around the league. Also, before putting anyone on blast, I think it’s only fair to mention his charity work and how he’s always used his platform to help his community.

With that being said, Will Barton the basketball player has turned into an absolute liability for the Denver Nuggets. Last night's performance against the Wizards was the tipping point for me. Not only was he trying to be the worst version of Russell Westbrook on offense, his defense is gone. It has disappeared and I have no hope that it will ever return. What’s even more concerning? He’s putting the blame on his teammates. Did anyone else see him getting absolutely roasted on a drive by Raul Neto (yes THAT Raul Neto, AKA the player you’ve never heard of), then look at Monte Morris like "where’s the help?" It was inexcusable ineptitude.

The problem however, is it wasn’t just last night. Will Barton has been the only player on the Nuggets to consistently hinder ball movement on offense. "Jokic Ball" is a term created by people with appreciation about how unselfish the Nuggets are. It’s looked as though Will Barton has actively tried to be the antithesis of that. He takes shots he shouldn’t. He drives to the basket with no other plan other than to "get his." He’s also very clearly trying to stat pad his rebound numbers. How many ‘boards did he steal from other teammates last night for no apparent reason? I saw this happen at least 3 times. This isn’t who the Michael Malone, Nikola Jokic led Nuggets are. This is who the Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith led Nuggets were…

So what can the Nuggets do? Barton has a 14.66 million player option next year that, with the way he’s playing, would be a head scratching move on his part to opt out of. So the way I look at it, there’s 3 options.

1. Keep him. Pray that he somehow reverts back to what he was at the beginning of last year.

2. Trade him on his own, receiving little more than a 2nd round pick (if that?) from a team looking to take a gamble.

3. Or package him in a deal with Bol Bol to try and get something back in terms of value.

I’m leaning towards option #2, and here’s why:

Option #1, where we keep him and hope he can somehow find his 2019-20 form, only prolongs the inevitable. Let’s say Thrill magically gets back to what he was at his peak; an efficient high volume scorer with above average defense. This Will Barton would either start at the 3 alongside Porter at the 4, assuming Malone doesn’t completely mess up this MPJ situation (see last FanPost). Or the more ideal scenario (in my opinion) where he’s one of the best 6 man options in the league, with the ability to have him closing out games depending on the situation. The problem is, for one, this isn’t likely to happen. We’ve already discussed how he’s played this year. At this point, this scenario seems nothing more than just a pipe dream. And two, the opportunity to develop younger players on the roster goes to the wayside for at least the next 2 years. I’m speaking of P.J. Dozier and R.J. Hampton. Now I’m assuming P.J. would get some run either way, because from all accounts Malone really likes the kid. R.J. Hampton on the other hand? He’ll be riding the bench for one year longer than he should be. Basically, I don’t see either getting the minutes they should with Will Barton on the roster.

As for option #3, I’m not ready to give up on Bol Bol. And even if I was, I don’t think there’s anyone in the league right now that we could get with a package of Barton, Bol Bol (and possibly someone else), that I think would be worth it. Bol’s potential is too high at this point to throw him into a deal that’ll likely not get us over the championship hump.

So that leaves us with option #2. Essentially trading Barton for nothing.

This option has its downsides for sure. For one, I doubt everyone in the organization will be pleased with the decision, specifically the guys on the team that are closest to him personally. And 2, iit wouldn’t be a good look for a team claiming they’re in win-now mode… Other than that, I think it’s the right move for this team. It’ll open up playing time for Hampton, and it will give Dozier the opportunity to prove he belongs as a net positive rotation player in this league.

Most importantly though, this option will improve the Denver Nuggets. Probably in the short term, and most definitely in the long term.

Let me know what you all think. I’ve attached a poll to see what the general consensus is of how to handle this Barton situation. I’d love to hear other ideas in the comments as well.

Thanks for reading.