Fresh off another stinging second-round Game 7 loss, the Denver Nuggets have a lot of work to do this summer. They won't have many assets to make moves, but they may have just enough to make an impactful trade if they are creative enough. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs have lucked into an embarrassment of riches.
They not only have two back-to-back Rookie of the Year winners, including one that has the chance to be the best player in the NBA, but also have another star in De'Aaron Fox. Not just that, but their pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, which was projected to be eighth, ended up jumping to second, and they will also have another lottery pick and a high second-round pick.
The Nuggets and Spurs don't have much in common in terms of franchise trajectory, but a proposed trade could actually help both teams in the long run.
Proposed Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs draft trade
The hypothetical trade would see the Nuggets trade a 2030 pick swap and a 2031 top-1 protected first to San Antonio for the 14th pick in this year's draft. Additionally, the Nuggets would swap out Zeke Nnaji for Malaki Branham. Given the Nuggets' roster constraints, this might be the best they can realistically do to add young talent and shed salary.
Trading Nnaji's contract, which will pay him around $8 million a season for the next three years despite him being largely out of the rotation, would be a boon for Denver. Better still, they'd swap him out for Branham, who, while in the Spurs' doghouse, might give them more shooting than Nnaji ever did. Even if he doesn't, he is essentially on a one-year contract, with him unlikely to secure a rookie contract extension.
This deal would remove what could be $16 million in dead salary over the final two years of Nnaji's contract. And while they would be seriously mortgaging their future by trading a 2030 pick swap and a 2031 first, it could help them in the short term.
They'd add a lottery pick as well as a high second-round pick, which they could use to add more shooting and more size. If they can turn those assets into two rotation players, then it could be worth it to make this deal, particularly with the amount of breathing room it would give them under the luxury tax apron.
Would the Nuggets and Spurs do the trade?
While there are several tempting options available at 14, the Spurs getting the second overall pick makes those selections luxuries. They don't need a second lottery pick this season when one could come in handy five and six years from now.
There's a scenario in which the Spurs could have one of the best teams in the league while the Nuggets are a lottery team in five years. In which case, the Spurs could swap picks with the Nuggets in 2030 (or the Minnesota Timberwolves or Dallas Mavericks, each of whom owe swap rights to them that year).
They would also have two picks, including potentially a lottery selection in 2031 from Denver. That's when Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper, and Stephon Castle may all be hitting their stride.
All told, the Nuggets have plenty of reasons to do the aforementioned trade, as do the Spurs. With the NBA Draft a little more than a month away, we won't have to wait long to see if the proposed deal becomes a reality.