The Denver Nuggets have emerged as a potential suitor for Dwyane Wade, but they would be smart to stand pat and stick with the roster they have.
Until Friday, no one really expected Dwyane Wade to leave the Miami Heat. He’s won championships there, he’s taken pay cuts to stay with the team, and he’s undoubtedly the most influential player in the franchise’s 28-year history.
But now, Wade’s Miami return is no longer a foregone conclusion.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Wade has offers from four teams in the $20 million annual range. The teams include the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks, and Denver Nuggets.
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This is shocking for a few reasons, mainly because most people didn’t expect this many teams to actually have a chance at luring Wade away from Miami, and the ones that did expect it certainly didn’t think the Nuggets would be among those in contention for his services.
This impromptu courtship likely stems from the somewhat insulting offer Wade received from the Heat. In the same report, Wojnarowski says Miami’s first offer to their star player was for just $10 million annually.
It’s tough to justify offering your franchise player a deal like that after all he’s done for the team. It would’ve made more sense for them to either offer him the money he deserves or tell him it’s time to part ways; making a disrespectful offer helps no one.
But how do the Nuggets fit into all of this? Well, if they end up offering the most money, there seems to be a real chance they could tempt Wade to come to the Mile High City. From a fan’s point of view, this would be an exciting move since Denver is usually not in on any big-name free agents. Wade would be Denver’s first true superstar since Carmelo Anthony‘s departure in 2011.
But would this move really make sense? Aside from the obvious star power this would bring in, the short answer is no, it wouldn’t make much sense at all.
The Nuggets have been a rebuilding team for the last few seasons and they’re in a great spot right now. They have an extremely young roster with a ton of potential and if all goes according to plan, they could be a real contender in a few years. Adding Wade into the equation would throw a wrench into these plans.
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Would adding Wade make the Nuggets a playoff team in 2016-17? Yes, it probably would. Would it make them a championship contender? That’s a tough call, but probably not. Assuming this deal would only be for two or three years, this would delay the Nuggets’ development as a team since so many of their young guns would have to sacrifice playing time.
The biggest problem in all of this is Wade’s position. The Nuggets are overloaded at shooting guard right now with Gary Harris, Jamal Murray, Will Barton, and Malik Beasley all on the roster. None of those guys are half the player Wade is, but since they’re the ones who will be around in the long run, they’re the ones who need the minutes now.
It was shocking enough that head coach Michael Malone announced Gary Harris would keep his starting job over a rookie with as much hype as Jamal Murray, so can you imagine what would happen with Wade in the mix?
Murray wouldn’t get nearly enough minutes and guys like rookie Malik Beasley and Will Barton, who was in the running for the 2015-16 Sixth Man of the Year Award, would barely play at all.
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In the short-term, pursuing Wade would be exciting and would put Denver in playoff contention. In the long-term, signing Wade makes almost no sense at all. Although it would be the biggest splash they’ve made in some time, the Nuggets would be smart to stay out of the Dwyane Wade sweepstakes.