NBA Trade Thread #11

[Muzbar]

Seems like most likely Bulls trade is Zach to the Nuggets. Rumors there's an offer and Nnaji being included is the holdup. Contract doesn't even look that bad, three years 23 mill left, player option third year, descending every year. Shot over 40% from three on 1.5-2 attempts per game his first two years, poorly last two, 6'9, 240, 24 years old. Not getting minutes behind Saric and Aaron Gordon. Hell, add another player and they take Carter, I'm cool with taking a shot on Nnaji.

I personally don't have an issue on taking a chance on Nnaji, especially if they're going the rebuild route. I'd be demanding their 2031 pick unprotected to take on Nnaji (if that's the sticking point) and maybe negotiate a swap pick of 2028 or 2030 (not a deal breaker) then they can add Saric and the Nugs take Carter.

LaVine/Craig/Carter

For

MPJ/Nnaji/Saric/2031 FRP (and maybe a pick swap).

Or push harder and make them include Strawther?

It's certainly not a sexy trade and I'm not a big fan, but there are some serious conversations going on apparently.

[2weekswithpay]

Seems like most likely Bulls trade is Zach to the Nuggets. Rumors there's an offer and Nnaji being included is the holdup. Contract doesn't even look that bad, three years 23 mill left, player option third year, descending every year. Shot over 40% from three on 1.5-2 attempts per game his first two years, poorly last two, 6'9, 240, 24 years old. Not getting minutes behind Saric and Aaron Gordon. Hell, add another player and they take Carter, I'm cool with taking a shot on Nnaji.

I think you're being too generous to Nnaji here. The Nuggets have had a bad bench for a while now, and Nnaji can't crack the rotation. Saric is washed and hasn't played in a month and Gordon has also missed half the season. Even when both Gordon and Saric don't play Nnaji still doesn't get any playing time.

Not an expert on Nnaji at all. Like I said, I see his three point shot has been way worse the last two years, that could have something to do with it. Have you actually watched him play? Nuggets have Vlatko Cancar, Daron Holmes, and Hunter Tyson also listed at PF. So 6 players listed at PF, plus 6'10 PJ Hall listed at center, played PF in college. MPJ also plays PF at times, probably starts there when Gordon is out. Lot of competition for minutes.

He never plays so it's hard to watch him play.

Daron Holmes is hurt, he tore his achilles before the season started. Cancar is also hurt, he had knee surgery. PJ Hall is in the G-league. Hunter Tyson is the only one who can play and he isn't good.

If Nnaji can't crack the rotation then he probably just isn't good. There isn't that much competition on the bench.

[Infinity2152]

I think you're being too generous to Nnaji here. The Nuggets have had a bad bench for a while now, and Nnaji can't crack the rotation. Saric is washed and hasn't played in a month and Gordon has also missed half the season. Even when both Gordon and Saric don't play Nnaji still doesn't get any playing time.

Not an expert on Nnaji at all. Like I said, I see his three point shot has been way worse the last two years, that could have something to do with it. Have you actually watched him play? Nuggets have Vlatko Cancar, Daron Holmes, and Hunter Tyson also listed at PF. So 6 players listed at PF, plus 6'10 PJ Hall listed at center, played PF in college. MPJ also plays PF at times, probably starts there when Gordon is out. Lot of competition for minutes.

He never plays so it's hard to watch him play.

Daron Holmes is hurt, he tore his achilles before the season started. Cancar is also hurt, he had knee surgery. PJ Hall is in the G-league. Hunter Tyson is the only one who can play and he isn't good.

If Nnaji can't crack the rotation then he probably just isn't good. There isn't that much competition on the bench.

Again, there are 10 guys who can play the position. Even with injuries there are probably 5-6 at any given time that can play. They JUST gave the man a 4yr/32 mill extension last October, that's a clear indication they value the player, regardless of the minutes he plays. And it shows how much they value him, it wasn't 2 yrs/12 or 3 yrs/18. Are you saying they don't value him, and still decided to give him a 4 year extension with a PLAYER option? For what possible reason?

They're a championship team, he turned 24 this year. Championship teams rarely play young guys unless they're exceptionally good, vets will get the priority, sometimes even worse vets. Gordon played 73, 68, 75 games the last three years btw, so a lot of PF minutes gone right there. All those guys haven't been hurt at the same time for the last 3-4 years, lol. They also have Spencer Jones 6'7, 235lb forward. Peyton Watson 6'7, 200. MPJ plays a fair amount of PF minutes when Gordon sits and he doesn't.

I'm with you, it's been impossible to watch him play. So the sole objection is he didn't crack the Nuggets rotation? The very same team that just gave him an extension and the starter's averaged over 70 games the last three season?

[2weekswithpay]

Not an expert on Nnaji at all. Like I said, I see his three point shot has been way worse the last two years, that could have something to do with it. Have you actually watched him play? Nuggets have Vlatko Cancar, Daron Holmes, and Hunter Tyson also listed at PF. So 6 players listed at PF, plus 6'10 PJ Hall listed at center, played PF in college. MPJ also plays PF at times, probably starts there when Gordon is out. Lot of competition for minutes.

He never plays so it's hard to watch him play.

Daron Holmes is hurt, he tore his achilles before the season started. Cancar is also hurt, he had knee surgery. PJ Hall is in the G-league. Hunter Tyson is the only one who can play and he isn't good.

If Nnaji can't crack the rotation then he probably just isn't good. There isn't that much competition on the bench.

Again, there are 10 guys who can play the position. Even with injuries there are probably 5-6 at any given time that can play. They JUST gave the man a 4yr/32 mill extension last October, that's a clear indication they value the player, regardless of the minutes he plays. And it shows how much they value him, it wasn't 2 yrs/12 or 3 yrs/18. Are you saying they don't value him, and still decided to give him a 4 year extension with a PLAYER option? For what possible reason?

They're a championship team, he turned 24 this year. Championship teams rarely play young guys unless they're exceptionally good, vets will get the priority, sometimes even worse vets. Gordon played 73, 68, 75 games the last three years btw, so a lot of PF minutes gone right there. All those guys haven't been hurt at the same time for the last 3-4 years, lol. They also have Spencer Jones 6'7, 235lb forward. Peyton Watson 6'7, 200. MPJ plays a fair amount of PF minutes when Gordon sits and he doesn't.

I'm with you, it's been impossible to watch him play. So the sole objection is he didn't crack the Nuggets rotation? The very same team that just gave him an extension and the starter's averaged over 70 games the last three season?

The biggest indication of how much you value a player is playing time. NBA teams hand out bad contracts all the time. Nnaji was drafted in the first round and given an extension but still doesn't play even when the team is dealing with injuries. Championship teams normally don't play rookies. Nnaji is almost 24 and in his 5th season. The Nuggets were playing Braun off the bench in the playoffs during his rookie season. Championship teams will play anyone if it helps them win. Spencer Jones is on a two-way contract. Nnaji fighting for minutes against rookies on two-way contracts in his 5th season is very bad.

Why did they give him that extension? Because the GM is an idiot. The best possible answer I could give you is that they wanted to use Nnaji's salary for a trade but messed up by giving him a fully guaranteed contract. If the 3rd and 4th years were non-guaranteed the contract wouldn't be that bad. Similarly, the Sixers gave KJ Martin a 2-year 16M extension. A clear overpay but they can attach a first and trade him for a solid player making similar money. The Sixers only made the first year of KJ Martin's contract guaranteed.

Remember when the Bulls gave Felicio a 4 year 32M contract? NBA teams make mistakes. Nnajiis on pace to play the fewest amount of minutes since his rookie season.

[Infinity2152]

He never plays so it's hard to watch him play.

Daron Holmes is hurt, he tore his achilles before the season started. Cancar is also hurt, he had knee surgery. PJ Hall is in the G-league. Hunter Tyson is the only one who can play and he isn't good.

If Nnaji can't crack the rotation then he probably just isn't good. There isn't that much competition on the bench.

Again, there are 10 guys who can play the position. Even with injuries there are probably 5-6 at any given time that can play. They JUST gave the man a 4yr/32 mill extension last October, that's a clear indication they value the player, regardless of the minutes he plays. And it shows how much they value him, it wasn't 2 yrs/12 or 3 yrs/18. Are you saying they don't value him, and still decided to give him a 4 year extension with a PLAYER option? For what possible reason?

They're a championship team, he turned 24 this year. Championship teams rarely play young guys unless they're exceptionally good, vets will get the priority, sometimes even worse vets. Gordon played 73, 68, 75 games the last three years btw, so a lot of PF minutes gone right there. All those guys haven't been hurt at the same time for the last 3-4 years, lol. They also have Spencer Jones 6'7, 235lb forward. Peyton Watson 6'7, 200. MPJ plays a fair amount of PF minutes when Gordon sits and he doesn't.

I'm with you, it's been impossible to watch him play. So the sole objection is he didn't crack the Nuggets rotation? The very same team that just gave him an extension and the starter's averaged over 70 games the last three season?

The biggest indication of how much you value a player is playing time. NBA teams hand out bad contracts all the time. Nnaji was drafted in the first round and given an extension but still doesn't play even when the team is dealing with injuries. Championship teams normally don't play rookies. Nnaji is almost 24 and in his 5th season. The Nuggets were playing Braun off the bench in the playoffs during his rookie season. Championship teams will play anyone if it helps them win. Spencer Jones is on a two-way contract. Nnaji fighting for minutes against rookies on two-way contracts in his 5th season is very bad.

Why did they give him that extension? Because the GM is an idiot. The best possible answer I could give you is that they wanted to use Nnaji's salary for a trade but messed up by giving him a fully guaranteed contract. If the 3rd and 4th years were non-guaranteed the contract wouldn't be that bad. Similarly, the Sixers gave KJ Martin a 2-year 16M extension. A clear overpay but they can attach a first and trade him for a solid player making similar money. The Sixers only made the first year of KJ Martin's contract guaranteed.

Remember when the Bulls gave Felicio a 4 year 32M contract? NBA teams make mistakes. Nnajiis on pace to play the fewest amount of minutes since his rookie season.

The biggest indication of value is money. Period. Costs the organization little to nothing to bench a player or not play him. If he's crap, let him go or sign him to a cheap contract. You're presuming he didn't get in because of talent. We have NO idea why he hasn't played more, there could be several. We paid Felicio because we planned to keep him. And it was stupid. And he's a center, hardest position to fill in the NBA. I posted Aaron Gordon's games, Nnaji was basically competing for bench minutes 70+ games a season. Again, when Gordon sits and MPJ doesn't, do they throw in another PF or a guard/SF? Saric played 64 games last season, at 17 minutes for GS. You call him washed, at least two NBA teams don't seem to think so. He's only 30, who's washed at 30? He's averaging almost 14 minutes for the Nuggets when healthy, the only time ANY of those backup gets in is when Saric is out, Gordon plays 31. He's also had injuries, like a dislodged shoulder, that kept him out for some time.

Nnaji played in 58 games last season, averaging 10 minutes. Played in 53 the season before, averaging 14 minutes. 41 the year before, averaging 17 minutes. So he's played in more games each season for the past three years, where are you getting that he doesn't get in? This season is the first since his rookie year he's not averaging 10 mins/gm in games he plays. They added Saric this year. Seems like you're basing his value on this year, less than half a season, playing behind Gordon and Saric.

A bit arrogant to think if a guy doesn't get more than 10-15 minutes/gm with the Nuggets, he's not good enough to be on our bench. Nuggets are way better than us. Nnaji could be as good as our STARTING PF and still not get huge minutes on the Nuggets if he's not hitting threes. They want to keep Jokic surrounded by shooters the entire time, and Nnaji has shot poorly the last two years.

[ChettheJet]

I personally don't have an issue on taking a chance on Nnaji, especially if they're going the rebuild route. I'd be demanding their 2031 pick unprotected to take on Nnaji (if that's the sticking point) and maybe negotiate a swap pick of 2028 or 2030 (not a deal breaker) then they can add Saric and the Nugs take Carter.

LaVine/Craig/Carter

For

MPJ/Nnaji/Saric/2031 FRP (and maybe a pick swap).

Or push harder and make them include Strawther?

It's certainly not a sexy trade and I'm not a big fan, but there are some serious conversations going on apparently.

When playing with rumors you have to take them all as being equally possible or fake. If the Bulls are willing to trade Lavine for MPJ then Nnaji is just filler. To me most of this is some wannabe WOJ GenZ trying to act like he's got the pipeline for info. The big gamble for the Bulls would be MPJ's health, everything else in the trade is just normal, where's the potential do the other guys ever reach it.

At this point if most 2 team trades were really being discussed they could have been done before the season. The Bulls know who the DEN players are, DEN didn't need to see Zach have a good 20 games to conform what kind of player he is or what his contract is. When Zach gets traded it looks more and more to me that it will involve 1 or 2 other teams and at least big dollar player and the hold up is finding that other 1 or 2 teams that want to get in. DEN would still get Lavine but what that does is give the Bulls more options on what to get back than just what DEN has to offer. Maybe one of those teams with a stockpile of picks wants to keep their core together and add MPJ, DEN is trying to stay contenders in Jokic's window where the Bulls would really rather have a pick in the next couple of years as they slow retool.

[Infinity2152]

The problem with Nnaji is undoubtedly his contract length. and the fact the Bulls don't want full size power forwards for some reason. We're paying Jevon Carter almost $7 mill next year. Can't imagine a world where Nnaji, as one of two players 6'9 and up after Vuc is gone, would have less value at less than $9mill and descending. Don't think the Nuggets included him because they don't like or want him. Outside their top 4 players (and Saric (5 mill) who's 30 and too old for our timeline), Nnaji is the only player making over $3mill to help match Zach's salary. Get a pick and keep it moving. Then move MPJ for more picks/prospects this summer or redirect him picks/expirings/prospects in the Zach trade.

[sco]

The problem with Nnaji is undoubtedly his contract length. and the fact the Bulls don't want full size power forwards for some reason. We're paying Jevon Carter almost $7 mill next year. Can't imagine a world where Nnaji, as one of two players 6'9 and up after Vuc is gone, would have less value at less than $9mill and descending. Don't think the Nuggets included him because they don't like or want him. Outside their top 4 players (and Saric (5 mill) who's 30 and too old for our timeline), Nnaji is the only player making over $3mill to help match Zach's salary. Get a pick and keep it moving. Then move MPJ for more picks/prospects this summer.

I don't think Nnaji is a PF...he's an undersized C. Regardless, the deal that works $wise that I'd do is MPJ, Strawher and Saric for Zach.

Optimistically Coby and Pwill start playing better so that we can try to trade them by the deadline, or by draft night.

[Infinity2152]

The problem with Nnaji is undoubtedly his contract length. and the fact the Bulls don't want full size power forwards for some reason. We're paying Jevon Carter almost $7 mill next year. Can't imagine a world where Nnaji, as one of two players 6'9 and up after Vuc is gone, would have less value at less than $9mill and descending. Don't think the Nuggets included him because they don't like or want him. Outside their top 4 players (and Saric (5 mill) who's 30 and too old for our timeline), Nnaji is the only player making over $3mill to help match Zach's salary. Get a pick and keep it moving. Then move MPJ for more picks/prospects this summer.

I don't think Nnaji is a PF...he's an undersized C. Regardless, the deal that works $wise that I'd do is MPJ, Strawher and Saric for Zach.

Optimistically Coby and Pwill start playing better so that we can try to trade them by the deadline, or by draft night.

Undersized center would be ok, we're trying to move Vuc anyway. Bulls are probably trying to get the exact trade you're suggesting, but the Nuggets aren't coming off Strawther. He's the young guy who looks like he has the highest potential. With the Nnaji deal, I'm trying to get picks, at least seconds if not that 2031 first, so that makes up some of the value difference. We need some big bodies, hopefully with potential, we have NO big man depth. What if Vuc or Smith, or God forbid, both get injured right now?

[sco]

The problem with Nnaji is undoubtedly his contract length. and the fact the Bulls don't want full size power forwards for some reason. We're paying Jevon Carter almost $7 mill next year. Can't imagine a world where Nnaji, as one of two players 6'9 and up after Vuc is gone, would have less value at less than $9mill and descending. Don't think the Nuggets included him because they don't like or want him. Outside their top 4 players (and Saric (5 mill) who's 30 and too old for our timeline), Nnaji is the only player making over $3mill to help match Zach's salary. Get a pick and keep it moving. Then move MPJ for more picks/prospects this summer.

I don't think Nnaji is a PF...he's an undersized C. Regardless, the deal that works $wise that I'd do is MPJ, Strawher and Saric for Zach.

Optimistically Coby and Pwill start playing better so that we can try to trade them by the deadline, or by draft night.

Undersized center would be ok, we're trying to move Vuc anyway. Bulls are probably trying to get the exact trade you're suggesting, but the Nuggets aren't coming off Strawther. He's the young guy who looks like he has the highest potential. With the Nnaji deal, I'm trying to get picks, at least seconds if not that 2031 first, so that makes up some of the value difference.

I'm not doing a deal that doesn't bring back Strawher or a 1st...IMO MPJ is a negative value deal because he doesn't play at a level worth his deal and we won't be able to unload his contract without attaching other positive assets.

[Infinity2152]

I don't think Nnaji is a PF...he's an undersized C. Regardless, the deal that works $wise that I'd do is MPJ, Strawher and Saric for Zach.

Optimistically Coby and Pwill start playing better so that we can try to trade them by the deadline, or by draft night.

Undersized center would be ok, we're trying to move Vuc anyway. Bulls are probably trying to get the exact trade you're suggesting, but the Nuggets aren't coming off Strawther. He's the young guy who looks like he has the highest potential. With the Nnaji deal, I'm trying to get picks, at least seconds if not that 2031 first, so that makes up some of the value difference.

I'm not doing a deal that doesn't bring back Strawher or a 1st...IMO MPJ is a negative value deal because he doesn't play at a level worth his deal and we won't be able to unload his contract without attaching other positive assets.

That's basically what I said, if you count a couple of earlier seconds (say 2026, 2028) as roughly equal to a Denver 2031 first. Doubt a Denver 2031 1st has much more trade value.

[2weekswithpay]

Again, there are 10 guys who can play the position. Even with injuries there are probably 5-6 at any given time that can play. They JUST gave the man a 4yr/32 mill extension last October, that's a clear indication they value the player, regardless of the minutes he plays. And it shows how much they value him, it wasn't 2 yrs/12 or 3 yrs/18. Are you saying they don't value him, and still decided to give him a 4 year extension with a PLAYER option? For what possible reason?

They're a championship team, he turned 24 this year. Championship teams rarely play young guys unless they're exceptionally good, vets will get the priority, sometimes even worse vets. Gordon played 73, 68, 75 games the last three years btw, so a lot of PF minutes gone right there. All those guys haven't been hurt at the same time for the last 3-4 years, lol. They also have Spencer Jones 6'7, 235lb forward. Peyton Watson 6'7, 200. MPJ plays a fair amount of PF minutes when Gordon sits and he doesn't.

I'm with you, it's been impossible to watch him play. So the sole objection is he didn't crack the Nuggets rotation? The very same team that just gave him an extension and the starter's averaged over 70 games the last three season?

The biggest indication of how much you value a player is playing time. NBA teams hand out bad contracts all the time. Nnaji was drafted in the first round and given an extension but still doesn't play even when the team is dealing with injuries. Championship teams normally don't play rookies. Nnaji is almost 24 and in his 5th season. The Nuggets were playing Braun off the bench in the playoffs during his rookie season. Championship teams will play anyone if it helps them win. Spencer Jones is on a two-way contract. Nnaji fighting for minutes against rookies on two-way contracts in his 5th season is very bad.

Why did they give him that extension? Because the GM is an idiot. The best possible answer I could give you is that they wanted to use Nnaji's salary for a trade but messed up by giving him a fully guaranteed contract. If the 3rd and 4th years were non-guaranteed the contract wouldn't be that bad. Similarly, the Sixers gave KJ Martin a 2-year 16M extension. A clear overpay but they can attach a first and trade him for a solid player making similar money. The Sixers only made the first year of KJ Martin's contract guaranteed.

Remember when the Bulls gave Felicio a 4 year 32M contract? NBA teams make mistakes. Nnajiis on pace to play the fewest amount of minutes since his rookie season.

The biggest indication of value is money. Period. Costs the organization little to nothing to bench a player or not play him. If he's crap, let him go or sign him to a cheap contract. You're presuming he didn't get in because of talent. We have NO idea why he hasn't played more, there could be several. We paid Felicio because we planned to keep him. And it was stupid. And he's a center, hardest position to fill in the NBA. I posted Aaron Gordon's games, Nnaji was basically competing for bench minutes 70+ games a season. Again, when Gordon sits and MPJ doesn't, do they throw in another PF or a guard/SF? Saric played 64 games last season, at 17 minutes for GS. You call him washed, at least two NBA teams don't seem to think so. He's only 30, who's washed at 30? He's averaging almost 14 minutes for the Nuggets when healthy, the only time ANY of those backup gets in is when Saric is out, Gordon plays 31. He's also had injuries, like a dislodged shoulder, that kept him out for some time.

Nnaji played in 58 games last season, averaging 10 minutes. Played in 53 the season before, averaging 14 minutes. 41 the year before, averaging 17 minutes. So he's played in more games each season for the past three years, where are you getting that he doesn't get in? This season is the first since his rookie year he's not averaging 10 mins/gm in games he plays. They added Saric this year. Seems like you're basing his value on this year, less than half a season, playing behind Gordon and Saric.

A bit arrogant to think if a guy doesn't get more than 10-15 minutes/gm with the Nuggets, he's not good enough to be on our bench. Nuggets are way better than us. Nnaji could be as good as our STARTING PF and still not get huge minutes on the Nuggets if he's not hitting threes. They want to keep Jokic surrounded by shooters the entire time, and Nnaji has shot poorly the last two years.

It costs quite a lot to bench a player you just paid. It would be more or less accepting dead money on the roster and you have to attach assets to get rid of dead money. Take a wild guess as to why Nnaji can't play despite the Nuggets having a bad bench. Why didn't the Bulls play Felicio when they paid him all that money? Because he wasn't good. Nnaji is in the same situation, he isn't good and doesn't play.

Have you seen Saric play? He can't move at all. He is out of the rotation now for a reason. The Nuggets blew out the Suns yesterday and he couldn't even touch the court in garbage time. He was the only one that didn't play.

Nnaji played 576 minutes last season. 728 and 698 the years before that. The Nuggets' have played 27 games this season and Nnaji has played a total of 83 minutes. He's on pace to play 250 minutes this season which would be the lowest in his career. This is an obvious indication that he's not good. He isn't competing for minutes anymore.

Oh, Nnaji is good enough to sit on the bench. Just not good enough to actually play non-garbage time minutes. Riding the bench for a good team doesn't mean he is good. Not even a Pat fan but he'd play over Saric and Hunter Tyson.

[Infinity2152]

The biggest indication of how much you value a player is playing time. NBA teams hand out bad contracts all the time. Nnaji was drafted in the first round and given an extension but still doesn't play even when the team is dealing with injuries. Championship teams normally don't play rookies. Nnaji is almost 24 and in his 5th season. The Nuggets were playing Braun off the bench in the playoffs during his rookie season. Championship teams will play anyone if it helps them win. Spencer Jones is on a two-way contract. Nnaji fighting for minutes against rookies on two-way contracts in his 5th season is very bad.

Why did they give him that extension? Because the GM is an idiot. The best possible answer I could give you is that they wanted to use Nnaji's salary for a trade but messed up by giving him a fully guaranteed contract. If the 3rd and 4th years were non-guaranteed the contract wouldn't be that bad. Similarly, the Sixers gave KJ Martin a 2-year 16M extension. A clear overpay but they can attach a first and trade him for a solid player making similar money. The Sixers only made the first year of KJ Martin's contract guaranteed.

Remember when the Bulls gave Felicio a 4 year 32M contract? NBA teams make mistakes. Nnajiis on pace to play the fewest amount of minutes since his rookie season.

The biggest indication of value is money. Period. Costs the organization little to nothing to bench a player or not play him. If he's crap, let him go or sign him to a cheap contract. You're presuming he didn't get in because of talent. We have NO idea why he hasn't played more, there could be several. We paid Felicio because we planned to keep him. And it was stupid. And he's a center, hardest position to fill in the NBA. I posted Aaron Gordon's games, Nnaji was basically competing for bench minutes 70+ games a season. Again, when Gordon sits and MPJ doesn't, do they throw in another PF or a guard/SF? Saric played 64 games last season, at 17 minutes for GS. You call him washed, at least two NBA teams don't seem to think so. He's only 30, who's washed at 30? He's averaging almost 14 minutes for the Nuggets when healthy, the only time ANY of those backup gets in is when Saric is out, Gordon plays 31. He's also had injuries, like a dislodged shoulder, that kept him out for some time.

Nnaji played in 58 games last season, averaging 10 minutes. Played in 53 the season before, averaging 14 minutes. 41 the year before, averaging 17 minutes. So he's played in more games each season for the past three years, where are you getting that he doesn't get in? This season is the first since his rookie year he's not averaging 10 mins/gm in games he plays. They added Saric this year. Seems like you're basing his value on this year, less than half a season, playing behind Gordon and Saric.

A bit arrogant to think if a guy doesn't get more than 10-15 minutes/gm with the Nuggets, he's not good enough to be on our bench. Nuggets are way better than us. Nnaji could be as good as our STARTING PF and still not get huge minutes on the Nuggets if he's not hitting threes. They want to keep Jokic surrounded by shooters the entire time, and Nnaji has shot poorly the last two years.

It costs quite a lot to bench a player you just paid. It would be more or less accepting dead money on the roster and you have to attach assets to get rid of dead money. Take a wild guess as to why Nnaji can't play despite the Nuggets having a bad bench. Why didn't the Bulls play Felicio when they paid him all that money? Because he wasn't good. Nnaji is in the same situation, he isn't good and doesn't play.

Have you seen Saric play? He can't move at all. He is out of the rotation now for a reason. The Nuggets blew out the Suns yesterday and he couldn't even touch the court in garbage time. He was the only one that didn't play.

Nnaji played 576 minutes last season. 728 and 698 the years before that. The Nuggets' have played 27 games this season and Nnaji has played a total of 83 minutes. He's on pace to play 250 minutes this season which would be the lowest in his career. This is an obvious indication that he's not good. He isn't competing for minutes anymore.

Oh, Nnaji is good enough to sit on the bench. Just not good enough to actually play non-garbage time minutes. Riding the bench for a good team doesn't mean he is good. Not even a Pat fan but he'd play over Saric and Hunter Tyson.

You keep using total minutes instead of minutes per game, first of all. How many games was he injured during that time? In his second year he played 17 minutes/gm WHEN he played. That's a lot of minutes. He averaged 10 minutes/gm last year. That's decent bench minutes, that's not 12th man minutes. He played in over half the games. Again, you're focusing on this half-season, which is weird to me, since they just got Saric this season and I told you Saric is averaging 14 minutes along with Aaron Gordon's 31. That's 45 minutes when both play. If the Nuggets thought Saric was washed, they wouldn't have JUST added him and wouldn't play him. So he's not beating out the free agent PF they just acquired. Saric shoots three's better, wonder why they're playing him more with Jokic?

This is like the argument of downgrading Giddey because the Thunder benched him the last two games, you can't judge players by coaches decisions. Knew little to nothing about Nnaji before this started, almost every article I've read since say good things about him. Only reason Matas got in was because Pat got hurt, I'm NOT judging players based on how many minutes their team plays them. We played the vet Craig over him. We had Drummond for years, barely played him. We've barely played Julian Phillips, looks like he could be decent. Nnaji played 10 minutes a game in 53 games last year, that's a lot more than a LOT of bench players. and he was injured last year. He was listed as the key backup to Jokic, even worse in terms of free minutes, lol! Sco was correct, he's more a backup center, playing behind the best guy in the league, who played 35 minutes, 79 games last year.

If we're going to say whether he's good based on how Denver played him, that means we think Denver is super smart right? Smart enough where without knowing anything else, we can base a player's ability on how much they play them. On the other hand, they're so bad at evaluating his ability and worth that they signed him to a 4 yr contract for no apparent reason. Decided he was worth $9 mill in cap space. So are they so smart or so stupid, or both?

[leo921]

I want the Nuggets 2031 1st, which would be a huge asset to us.
Jokic is 30 in February so by 2031 he will be 36, either retired or greatly diminished in comparison to now.

That 2031 pick will be probably a top ten pick or higher.
We can either keep it as a future gift to ourselves or we can trade it in a package for a star down the line.

[leo921]

Vuc trade ideas

Warriors would be a good fit - Looney/GP2 (expiring)
Heat- Robinson (expiring)
Lakers - Russell/Hayes (expiring)

all good fits, get expiring money, make the team worse this year.
I think 1-2 2nds should close the deal

[Dan Z]

I want the Nuggets 2031 1st, which would be a huge asset to us.
Jokic is 30 in February so by 2031 he will be 36, either retired or greatly diminished in comparison to now.

That 2031 pick will be probably a top ten pick or higher.
We can either keep it as a future gift to ourselves or we can trade it in a package for a star down the line.

I agree, but I don't think AK looks that far down the road (unfortunately). Not that he needs to think about 6 years from now, but he should consider the teams future more than he does (at least in my opinion).

[Rose2Boozer]

I wonder if the Bulls could get back their 2025 draft picks, or at least renegotiate the terms of the protection.

Bulls: Barnes, Collins, Protected Bulls 1st(25: Lottery, 26:Top 10, 27:Top 5).

Spurs: White, Williams, and Duarte

The Spurs might want to make us take Keldon Johnson.

[Muzbar]

Vuc trade ideas

Warriors would be a good fit - Looney/GP2 (expiring)
Heat- Robinson (expiring)
Lakers - Russell/Hayes (expiring)

all good fits, get expiring money, make the team worse this year.
I think 1-2 2nds should close the deal

Warriors would need to add 1 more salary to match Vuc’s. But I'd also hope there'd be picks coming back.

I still don't see the fit with the Heat, but I'd want more than DuncRob.

If you could move D'Lo to the Pistons for THJ then you wouldn't further logjam the back court, I'd also be looking for picks from LA.

[2weekswithpay]

You keep using total minutes instead of minutes per game, first of all. How many games was he injured during that time? In his second year he played 17 minutes/gm WHEN he played. That's a lot of minutes. He averaged 10 minutes/gm last year. That's decent bench minutes, that's not 12th man minutes. He played in over half the games. Again, you're focusing on this half-season, which is weird to me, since they just got Saric this season and I told you Saric is averaging 14 minutes along with Aaron Gordon's 31. That's 45 minutes when both play. If the Nuggets thought Saric was washed, they wouldn't have JUST added him and wouldn't play him. So he's not beating out the free agent PF they just acquired. Saric shoots three's better, wonder why they're playing him more with Jokic?

This is like the argument of downgrading Giddey because the Thunder benched him the last two games, you can't judge players by coaches decisions. Knew little to nothing about Nnaji before this started, almost every article I've read since say good things about him. Only reason Matas got in was because Pat got hurt, I'm NOT judging players based on how many minutes their team plays them. We played the vet Craig over him. We had Drummond for years, barely played him. We've barely played Julian Phillips, looks like he could be decent. Nnaji played 10 minutes a game in 53 games last year, that's a lot more than a LOT of bench players. and he was injured last year. He was listed as the key backup to Jokic, even worse in terms of free minutes, lol! Sco was correct, he's more a backup center, playing behind the best guy in the league, who played 35 minutes, 79 games last year.

If we're going to say whether he's good based on how Denver played him, that means we think Denver is super smart right? Smart enough where without knowing anything else, we can base a player's ability on how much they play them. On the other hand, they're so bad at evaluating his ability and worth that they signed him to a 4 yr contract for no apparent reason. Decided he was worth $9 mill in cap space. So are they so smart or so stupid, or both?

You can look up his injury history. Not a single injury this season and is getting less playing time than ever before. He also didn't sit out games due to injury until March of last season. If the Bulls traded for Nnaji they would get the current version of him. Why wouldn't the current season be the most important one? I used total minutes to make it as clear as possible that Nnaji's role on the team was decreasing before being taken out of the rotation entirely this season.

The Nuggets thought Saric could help them. They signed him, played him for a few weeks, realized he wasn't good, then took him out of the rotation. Which part of this is complicated? Saric hasn't played since Thanksgiving. Saric isn't in the rotation anymore and Nnaji still only plays garbage time minutes.

Yes, you can. People watched the playoffs and saw that the Mavs had Gafford or Lively guarding Giddey. OKC needed more shooting so Giddey was moved to the bench and a smaller role. Matas is a rookie, and Nnaji is in his 5th season. Phillips is in the rotation and has played every game except for the one missed with an injury. Drummond played over 2000 minutes as a Bull.

Why can't he beat a 36 year old Deandre Jordan for minutes if he's a backup center? DJ shouldn't be stopping him from playing if he was any good.

The coach Mike Malone chooses not to play him. The GM Calvin Booth is the one that gave him the extension. Two different people. The GM made a mistake, I've said this already.

[ImSlower]

I'm impressed; this is the first time on realGM that I've seen someone defend Zeke Nnaji. He has absolutely zero NBA skills. He is a poor shooter, creator, passer, and defender. He is taking up $8 million of roster space until 2028. If he got playing time on the Bulls, it would be out of desperation or sunk-cost fallacy, not optimism.