National Basketball Association

Roundtable: Should the Denver Nuggets Trade for LaMarcus Aldridge?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:12 p.m. ET

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Nov 27, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) shoots the ball against Denver Nuggets forward Darrell Arthur (00) during the first half at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets are in need of a star, but could the aging LaMarcus Aldridge be the answer? All this hype means that the Nugg Love team must discuss it.

From Bleacher Report to the renown Zach Lower, it seemed the buzz surrounding a LaMarcus Aldridge trade would only grow. With that said, it would be interesting to see if the Denver Nuggets would be a team to call. Ever since then, the rumors have quieted, but the question still remains.

Aldridge is 31 and is most likely past his prime. Nevertheless the big man is just one season removed from averaging 24.3 points per game with the Portland Trail Blazers. After that STELLAR season, LaMarcus Aldridge took his talents to San Antonio.

Sep 26, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) poses for photos during media day at the Spurs training facility. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

But personally, he took he a step backwards. With the might Spurs team, Aldridge averaged less points, rebounds, assists, and an overall lower usage rate. The move to San Antonio seemed to almost help his former team as they were able to succeed into the second round of playoffs.

LA still has several solid years left to give, and with the Spurs adding Pau Gasol this offseason, the front court is still strong as ever, but they are not deep. If Aldridge is traded, it could be to the Denver Nuggets in return for a young big and a solid guard.

The real question is: “If you were Tim Connelly, would you pick that phone up?”

Now, we will take a look at what six of our Nugg Love writers thing about a LaMarcus Aldridge trade.

Oct 21, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12, left) and Kawhi Leonard (2, right) talk on the bench during the second half against the Houston Rockets at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Tim Hart (@Timmypharts)

I would absolutely love to see Lamarcus Aldridge in Denver. His offensive skillset displays the same sort of versatility and consistency that the Nuggets, as a team, continuously struggle to uphold.

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Since Denver has a lot of streaky scorers and rebounders, adding somebody like LA could mean FINALLY establishing a reliable foundation for the streaky players to work off of. As of now, the goal seems to be developing Nikola Jokic into that foundational player, but he’s not quite there yet. And with no rock holding the team together, they seem to bounce back and forth between catching absolute fire, and being collectively ice cold. It is quite rare for the Denver Nuggets to produce two similar box scores in any given month.

Danilo Gallinari is poised to provide consistency on a points basis, but he has been injury prone, and counts on getting to the line for much of his scoring. These two elements of Gallinari’s indentity as a player make him too the subject of inconcsistency on a short-term, game-to-game basis. Long time fans of Gallinari should know that even though he can certainly ball, every game that he plays feels like a toss-up between a red-hot or ice-cold night.

LA is not perfect in this sense either, but he is more likely to produce his (high) averages on any given night, where Gallo is more likely to either come up short, or blow his averages out of the water. Essentially, if the Denver Nuggets want to start winning more consistently, they’ll need more consistency to the team. Instead of relying on developing Jokic (and/or Nurkic) I’d say go get that dependability now, and trade for LA.

Of course, he may want nothing to do with Denver. But if he wants to take the reigns of a team, and regain the lifeblood status that he had in Portland, then the Denver Nuggets just might be the team for Aldridge.

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Even though it would be bittersweet, I would support a trade for Aldridge that sent either Nikola Jokic, Jusuf Nurkic, or Juan Hernangomez (all of which would fit into the Spurs program quite well) to San Antonio, likely along with either Kenneth Faried or Wilson Chandler.

Regardless of which stud(s) Denver would have to give up for LA, there would still be one or two left for the Nuggets to keep developing, and they would now get to do so alongside one of the best power forwards in the league.

Sep 26, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) stands in front of a green screen during media day at the Spurs training facility. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Standfield (@KyleStandfield)

I’m all in if the Nuggets elect to go in this direction.

The last genuine superstar Denver had was Carmelo Anthony in 2011. Since then, the Nuggets been relegated to Western Conference obscurity and have seen a decline in attendance to the point of being dead last in the entire league.

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Granted, in that time the front office has been able to assemble arguably the best young core outside of Minnesota, but the chance to land a superstar in the Mile High is to0 good to pass up. The organization needs for both the fans in Denver and the league in general to remember the Nuggets.

That starts with bringing in big names.

Oct 8, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) shoots the ball over Atlanta Hawks center Walter Tavares (22) and forward Mike Muscala (31) during the second half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Blake Holmes: (@NuggetsNation21)

The Nuggets have an interesting arsenal of players that they could offer to San Antonio for Aldridge, along with draft picks.

This being said, one question remains, what should the Nuggets be willing to give up to get the star power forward? If there’s something that Denver has been looking for in recent history, it’s a star that they could receive in Aldridge.

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While it is nice to think about, the Spurs will not take Faried and Nelson off our hands in a package deal giving us three elite big men. As much as I love Jurkic, there is still an off chance they don’t pan out with how they are still young. If this does become clear in the middle of the year, and Aldridge hasn’t been dealt yet, then the Denver Nuggets should pull the trigger.

Aldridge may be exiting his prime, but he would finally provide Denver with a star and potentially lure more to Denver to catapult them not only into the playoffs, but maybe even championship contention.

If Jokic and Nurkic continue with their nice development, then you don’t mess with the process and let the growth continue. The real question is: “Would the Denver Nuggets give up Nurkic for LA?”

Sep 26, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) interviewed during media day at the Spurs training facility. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Taylor Hunt (@taybobhunt)

The Denver Nuggets should not, ever, trade for LaMarcus Aldridge.

Trading for Aldridge would completely mess up the plan that the Nuggets have laid out for the future. Not only is his age a huge problem, but the fact that he has came out and said that he doesn’t want to be overshadowed by any other players proves that he is a selfish player and the type of player that the Nuggets need at all.

As for his age, Aldridge is 31 now and by the time the core of the Nuggets were in their prime, or nearing it, Aldridge would be way too old and possibly out of the league by that point. Aldridge would take minutes from the young players as well and with the state the Nuggets are in, that is the exact opposite of what should be happening.

The young players SHOULD be getting minutes as they need experience to develop. Adding Aldridge would mess up the minutes that the young players are getting and with the Nuggets likely ending as a lottery team again this season, it doens’t make sense to trade for someone of the caliber of Aldridge.

At this point in his career it’s better off that the Nuggets avoid Aldridge in general and wait to see how their future pans out before making any blockbuster moves.

Apr 2, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) makes a jump shot against the Toronto Raptors during the second quarter at the AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

J.J. Vega (@Bebo1796)

Any team in the NBA would love to have Aldridge in their team. He is, in my opinion, a top 3 PF in the NBA. He is a great big man with amazing footwork and a super smooth jump shot.

Would I like for him to go to the Mile High City? Of course.

Would I give up key and young players like Jokic, Nurkic or even Barton? Of course not.

Aldridge is a great player and a superstar. But I think the Nuggets are building something really great with what they have.

This was a great discussion with outstanding views from some dedicated members of our team. We hope you enjoyed the different perspectives, and we will be trying to do more of these on hot topics throughout the season.

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