Denver Nuggets

Why Denver Nuggets Were Right To Keep Scoring Wings

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:49 a.m. ET

Fansided, Joe Hulbert/FanSided via Hoops Habit

The Denver Nuggets opted to keep Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari at the trade deadline and this was the correct strategy for the good of their future.

The trade deadline was a rather uneventful event as many teams opted against changing their rosters. The Denver Nuggets didn't quite fit that category, but despite many rumors surrounding Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari, those players remained in Denver.

Denver did make one small move at the deadline, sending a heavily protected second-round pick to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for center Roy Hibbert, but that was nothing compared to the moved they had been rumored to be linked to in advance of Feb. 23.

Some Nuggets fans were disappointed with this as they found out that Denver had enquired about Paul George, but I firmly believe that the Nuggets were right not to make a move that would have been extremely narrow-sighted.

While the talks didn't actually go anywhere, Nuggets fans should be grateful for this, as they kept together an intriguing core of players that plays in an incredibly designed system.

Michael Malone has built an offensive system in Denver most comparable to that of the Rick Adelman Sacramento Kings system, a system designed wholly around the talents of a versatile big man.

Nikola Jokic is the center of this offense and he is surrounded by shooters, cutters and pick and roll partners who can initiate offense quickly. Adelman designed a similar system in Sacramento based on the talents of Chris Webber and it was a system that was ahead of its time.

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One of the things that makes the Denver system so effective is that outside of Jokic, they don't have any players who demand a lot of the ball. Gary Harris and Chandler are not isolation-heavy players and they space the floor enough for Jokic to cause chaos on the interior.

To break up this core of players that is creating the eighth-best offense in the NBA would have been a bizarre move.

Chandler was seen as the biggest trade chip for the Nuggets as he was linked with moves to teams such as the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder.

While he probably isn't a long-term piece for the Nuggets in the way that Jamal Murray and Juan Hernangomez are, he is still a player who is currently playing a huge role in the Nuggets offense.

Chandler is shooting 45 percent from the field, which is his best mark since 2012-13, and he has become a pivotal part of the offense as he is an in-and-out type threat.

Chandler's versatility is supported by the advanced stats, as he ranks in the 81st percentile as a pick and roll ball handler and the 88th percentile as a cutter.

While his 34 percent clip from downtown isn't ideal, that number should improve eventually, but even if it doesn't, he is contributing in multiple ways which is key to a high-powered offense.

He has also been the second-best defensive player on the Nuggets behind Gallinari, which is important, as the Nuggets have had a defense with little resistance this season.

For Denver to have offloaded a versatile offensive piece who is a good defender for a draft pick or a role player would have been a strange decision. Unless they were putting pieces together to get a star who would be a natural fit alongside Nikola Jokic, the move would have made little sense.

Denver needd off-ball players, so Chandler is a much better fit for their system than George, who needs the ball in his hands a lot.

Philosophically it also makes sense that Denver kept their players, as this is a team in a comfortable position that doesn't need to make desperate moves. General manager Tim Connelly has built a terrific roster; they have a lot of cap room and they have a lot of depth.

It makes sense to retain this current roster and work towards developing Murray and Jokic, who are the two franchise cornerstones.

Denver does not need more young players; they already have an amazing core, so acquiring extra picks would just create a logjam unless the picks were used on international draft-and-stashes.

A couple of days ago, Miami Heat president Pat Riley said that it would have been pointless if Miami had made "lateral" moves purely for the sake of getting a look at other guys.

This logic was probably also employed by Connelly, who decided to keep the same core of players intact as they are currently in the midst of a race to make the playoffs.

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Unless Denver was going to package multiple assets for a star that fits alongside Jokic, then they didn't need to make any moves. It is highly unlikely that anyone they would have gotten in return for Gallinari or Chandler would have been a better player than them.

Chandler is a player who helps Denver now and he can help them for the next couple of years as they aim to gradually progress up the Western Conference.

Denver's defende needs to improve; being 30th in defensive efficiency is something that will get you obliterated in the postseason, but none of the options that were available would have drastically changed their fortunes.

Sure, they could have gone for someone in the mold of Serge Ibaka, but I question whether he would be a good fit in the Nuggets' high-powered, fast-paced system. Instead, they kept hold of guys who, at a minimum, can contribute on the offensive end.

The Mason Plumlee trade was a fair move because they acquired a player who fits their offensive system, in place of one who didn't in Jusuf Nurkic. Plumlee was also a considerable upgrade in terms of rim protection, as Zach Harper pointed out.

Plumlee is 8.2% better than Nurkic there this season but sure. https://t.co/pnE8LntYjd

— Zach Harper (@talkhoops) February 12, 2017

Connelly may have been tempted to make another move on deadline day, but he avoided the temptation and because of this, Denver can go into the rest of the season without having to let new players settle into Malone's offensive system.

While many people are tempted to put the New Orleans Pelicans as their predicted eighth seed due to the acquisition of DeMarcus Cousins, I predict that Denver will make it purely because they have continuity and familarity on their side.

The players are used to the system they are currently playing, and they have the potential to blow anyone out of the water–the Golden State Warriors found this out the hard way. The future is bright in Denver and Connelly's excellent deadline day strategy has contributed to this.