If your favorite NBA team is going to strip the Denver Nuggets of one of their best trade assets, it’s going to cost them.
The Nuggets kinda, sorta took a step toward blowing their roster up when they traded Timofey Mozgov to the Cleveland Cavaliers for two first-round picks. But with guys like Wilson Chandler and Arron Afflalo still in town, hanging around, they’ve yet to take that next step into rebuild mode. In fact the odds makers like basketball odds by William Hill online still regularly show the Nuggets as having a decent shot at winning games, not necessarily in that rebuild mode.
According to The Denver Post‘s Christopher Dempsey, however, they’re prepared to take that next step and trade Afflalo—so long as they get another first-round pick for their rebuild plans:
The Nuggets are holding firm to seeking a first-round pick from teams wanting to trade for shooting guard Arron Afflalo, according to NBA sources.
There have been no takers, although interest remains high for Afflalo’s services. Teams don’t want to relinquish a first-rounder for a player that might walk on them at the end of the season. Afflalo has a player option for the final year of his contract.
It is a snag that prevented Afflalo from being dealt to Charlotte, sources said. The Hornets had been interested in acquiring Afflalo to add firepower to a team that ranks 27th in the NBA in scoring, at just more than 94 points per game. The trade deadline is Feb. 19.
Well, of course no team wants to give up a first-round pick for Afflalo. First-rounders are valuable commodities. They’re cheap, serviceable labor. Hitting in the first-round guarantees franchises a minimum of three to four years of affordable production. Such assets aren’t taken lightly around most parts. First-round selections are no longer traded like baseball cards.
This is especially true when a guy like Afflalo is the prize. He’s earning a very reasonable $7.6 million this season, but he has the right to hit free agency in July. Interested parties are basically forking over a first-rounder for the right to pay him. Unless said team knows Afflalo is going to return, that makes little sense. And even then, paying that premium for his services makes little sense. His efficiency has plummeted since returning to Denver, paling in comparison to the numbers he put up with the Orlando Magic last season.
Could he be a valuable three-and-D contributor on a playoff-bound team? Absolutely. He can keep up with opposing wings and has the off-ball chops to thrive as a spot-up three-point shooter. But with teams well aware he could be a half-season rental or fail to meet expectations the way he has in Denver, don’t bank on the Nuggets finding any takers.
Unless, of course, they come down on their astronomical asking price.
