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Nuggets get: C Mason Plumlee, 2018 second-rounder
Blazers get: C Jusuf Nurkic, 2017 top-five protected first rounder (from Memphis, via Denver)
Denver was on the right track in terms of knowing that trading away a package of tis pick and Nurkic made sense: they have their own first-rounder for this year's draft as well as a few overseas keepers coming in next season, and the young Bosnian was not coexisting too well with franchise cornerstone PF Nikola Jokic. But simply having a personal desire to trade assets away does not necessarily all of a sudden make them less valuable by any means on the open market, especially when Denver really had no urgency to deal away neither the valuable pick nor Nurkic, who is in fact still on his rookie contract. The Nuggets should've been expecting a great deal in return for such assets.
Now don't get me wrong, Mason Plumlee is valuable, and in my opinion gravely underrated. The Duke product averaged 11.1 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.1 blocks, and 0.9 steals in just 28 minutes per game this season in Portland. He truly can do-it-all, able to stretch the floor with a solid jumper, set good screens, play solid defense, and is overall a hard worker and the type of guy that coaches love having on their team. However, Plumlee is still young, and with an expiring contract, he's also the type of guy that the Nuggets might have to overpay to keep him around past this summer in restricted free agency. Denver didn't quite get ripped off, but they undoubtedly should've acquired another solid and sure-thing piece in this deal beyond just a 2018 second-rounder in order to even the balance.
Grade: C
Nuggets get: C Mason Plumlee, 2018 second-rounder
Blazers get: C Jusuf Nurkic, 2017 top-five protected first rounder (from Memphis, via Denver)
Denver was on the right track in terms of knowing that trading away a package of tis pick and Nurkic made sense: they have their own first-rounder for this year's draft as well as a few overseas keepers coming in next season, and the young Bosnian was not coexisting too well with franchise cornerstone PF Nikola Jokic. But simply having a personal desire to trade assets away does not necessarily all of a sudden make them less valuable by any means on the open market, especially when Denver really had no urgency to deal away neither the valuable pick nor Nurkic, who is in fact still on his rookie contract. The Nuggets should've been expecting a great deal in return for such assets.
Now don't get me wrong, Mason Plumlee is valuable, and in my opinion gravely underrated. The Duke product averaged 11.1 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.1 blocks, and 0.9 steals in just 28 minutes per game this season in Portland. He truly can do-it-all, able to stretch the floor with a solid jumper, set good screens, play solid defense, and is overall a hard worker and the type of guy that coaches love having on their team. However, Plumlee is still young, and with an expiring contract, he's also the type of guy that the Nuggets might have to overpay to keep him around past this summer in restricted free agency. Denver didn't quite get ripped off, but they undoubtedly should've acquired another solid and sure-thing piece in this deal beyond just a 2018 second-rounder in order to even the balance.
Grade: C