Denver Nuggets: 4 Greatest Trades In Franchise History
Feb 25, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver (26) attempts a three-point basket against Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) in the third quarter of their game at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 104-87. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
The Denver Nuggets have pulled off some of the best trades in NBA history.
Denver Nuggets fans, you have been hearing trade rumors all week.
If you Denver Nuggets fans haven’t stayed up until 5am refreshing your Twitter feed around the NBA trade deadline, waiting for Adrian Wojnarowski to drop a classic WojBomb on a breaking mega trade, can you even consider yourself an NBA fan?
What? I do so have a life outside of basketball! You’re sad for not doing that! (Kidding, you probably have your life together, unlike me.)
Point is, myself, along with millions of NBA fans across the world love when trade news breaks. It’s exciting. We have something new to talk about. Something new to watch. We can pick apart and analyze the trade with our friends and fellow fans and boldly say what we would do as General Manager of an NBA franchise.
With just six weeks until the trade deadline, and the first trade of the season being complete (Korver to the Cavs), I thought it was a good time to take a look back at the greatest trades in Denver Nuggets franchise history.
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Lets take a look (in no particular order).
Oct 30, 2013; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups (1) shoots a free throw during the fourth quarter against the Washington Wizards at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons won 113-102. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
The Billups for Iverson trade
Nuggets Receive: Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb
Pistons Receive: Allen Iverson
(2008)
The trade that brought hometown hero Chauncey Billups back to Denver at the start of the 2008/09 season was a catalyst in what was arguably the franchises most successful season ever.
The Nuggets were coming off a 50-32 record the previous season, however only managed to secure the 8th seed in an ultra competitive Western Conference. Denver was swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Lakers, marking the 5th straight time they had been eliminated in the first round.
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If the Nuggets were to take the next step, something had to change. Then GM Mark Warkentien pulled the trigger on a deal that sent out future Hall-of-Famer Allen Iverson in exchange for Chauncey Billups. The result of the trade was a trip to the Western Conference Finals and the Executive of the Year award for Warkentien.
Billups, who had led Detroit to a staggering six straight Eastern Conference Finals, had an immediate impact in his hometown, changing the culture and making the squad believe they were capable of winning.
Billups averaged 17.9 points and 6.4 assists per game on 42% shooting overall, including 41% from downtown. He was subsequently named to the Western Conference All-Star team and made the All-NBA third team along with teammate Carmelo Anthony.
Denver finished the season with a 54-28 record, good for 2nd in the West. Billups set the tone in the very first game of the playoffs. He exploded for a career high 8 three pointers en route to a 36 point, 8 assist performance in game one against New Orleans.
Denver went on to secure their first playoff series win since 1995, and made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals, eventually losing to the L.A. Lakers in six games.
The trade was made to look even more masterful due to the fact Allen Iverson struggled to find form in Detroit, playing just 54 games for the Pistons before leaving for Memphis.
Billups meanwhile, turned the Nuggets from a good team into a genuine championship contender during his last tenure in the Mile High.
The Legend Comes to Denver
Nuggets Receive: Alex English, 1st round draft pick.
Pacers Receive: George McInnes.
(1980)
To me, this is the greatest trade in Denver Nuggets history. It was the winter of 1980, and the Nuggets were in the midst of their first losing season since entering the NBA four years prior. At the time, Denver’s roster featured former ABA superstar and NBA All-star forward George McInnes.
McInnes was averaging 15.6ppg to go along with 10.3rpg and was an integral part of the teams makeup as the leading rebounder and this scoring option behind Dan Issel and David Thompson.
McInnes, who was born and raised in Indianapolis and had played for the Pacers the majority of his ABA career, was gifted a homecoming as he was dealt back to the Indiana in exchange for young, unproven forward Alex English.
English, who was in his fourth NBA season, was putting up numbers of 14.9ppg and 7.0rpg coming off the bench for the Pacers. When he was inserted into the starting lineup in Denver, his scoring output exploded. In the 24 games that remained that season, English started all 24 and averaged 21.3ppg on a ridiculous 48% shooting to go along with 9.4 rpg.
At just 26 years of age, English was just entering his prime. The outgoing George McInnes was about to turn 30 and had had already played the best basketball of his career. The Nuggets had effectively traded an aging All-star for a player who would go on to become arguably the greatest Nugget of all time.
Like the Billups-Iverson deal, the trade was made even more impressive due to the fact McInnes struggled in his final stint in Indiana. He had one more productive season after the trade before retiring in 1982 after averaging just 4.7ppg in 17 minutes of action.
English however, went on to play 11 seasons in the Mile High, putting up 25.9ppg during his time in Denver.
He currently leads the franchise in most points scored (21,645), games played (837), assists (3679), offensive rebounds (2038) and minutes played (29,893).
Nov 16, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari (8) defends New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Of course we could not leave the Melo trade off this list
Denver Receive: Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov, Kosta Koufos, Raymond Felton, a 1st round draft pick and 2 2nd round draft picks.
New York Receive: Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Sheldon Williams, Anthony Carter, Corey Brewer and Renaldo Balkman.
Minnesota Receive: Eddy Curry, Anthony Randolph and a 2nd round draft pick.
(2011)
Rumors of Carmelo Anthony wanting out of Denver first surfaced in the summer of 2010. What came next was six months of daily trade rumors and news in what became known as the ‘Melodrama.’
It gripped the city of Denver, as well as the entire sports landscape in America. The league watched, waited and even weighed in on what then Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri should do.
Anthony, a native of Baltimore, wanted to return to the east coast, and the New York market was his desired destination.
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Lucky for the Nuggets, the New Jersey Nets were about to relocate to the brand new Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn and offered an alternative destination to the New York Knicks.
This allowed Ujiri to be picky. He was able to play the Nets and Knicks against each other as they bid higher and higher for Anthony.
The six month wait was worth it, as Masai Ujiri squeezed everything he possibly could have out of the deal, netting up-and-comers Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, big men Timofey Mozgov and Kosta Koufos and, a multitude of draft picks that culminated in the Nuggets swapping picks with the Knicks this year to select Jamal Murray.
The completion of the trade ushered in a new era in Denver, one that started with three successive trips to the playoffs and a franchise record 57 wins in 2012/13.
Ujiri had all the eyes in the league on him and he delivered something special. Very rarely does an NBA franchise trade away their All-NBA superstar and get better. However, Masai Ujiri accomplished that with the Carmelo Anthony trade and in doing so, saved the Nuggets from returning to the cellar of the Western Conference.
The trade that bought Fat Lever to the Mile High is massively overlooked
Nuggets Receive: Fat Lever, Calvin Natt, Wayne Cooper, a 1st round draft pick and a 2nd round draft pick.
Trailblazers Recieve: Kiki Vandeweghe.
(1984)
It was a controversial move when the Nuggets decides to trade then 25-year old budding superstar Kiki Vandeweghe to divisional rival, the Portland Trailblazers in the 1984 off-season.
Vandeweghe was coming off of two consecutive seasons as an All-Star and was averaging 23.3ppg across four, very consistent seasons for Denver.
At the time of the trade, Vandeweghe was the teams leading scorer at 29.4ppg, ahead of the legendary Alex English, who was the second at 26.4ppg.
The Nuggets finished with a 38-44 record during Vandeweghe’s last season in Denver and were trounced by the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs. The franchise was desperate for success, and as such, they took a chance by trading Vandeweghe in exchange for Fat Lever, Calvin Natt and Wayne Cooper.
What transpired after that was a 50-32 overall record during the 1984/85 season and a trip to the Western Conference Finals against the Showtime Lakers.
Incomers Calvin Natt and Fat Lever were instrumental in getting the Nuggets to the next level. Natt posted 23.3ppg on on 54% shooting while Fat Lever took control of the offense. Lever started in every game that season, averaging 12.3ppg, 7.5apg and 5.0rpg.
Wayne Cooper was no slouch either, putting up 12.1ppg in 78 starts for Denver.
The trade went on to have a much bigger impact than just the 1984/85 season, however. Lever played six seasons with the Nuggets, and was named an All-Star twice. Natt also made an appearance as an All-star during his 5 years in Denver.
The Nuggets went on to have one of their most successful era’s in franchise history as a result of this trade, with Alex English, Fat Lever and Calvin Natt forming a dynamic and exhilarating core that at one point, challenged the Showtime Lakers as the most exciting team in the NBA to watch.
