Nikola Jokic , the three-time regular season MVP winner and the leading center of the Golden Nuggets , is still showing epic dominance worthy of his MVP status this season. Jokoqi currently averages 30.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and 9.9 assists per game and continues to rank first in the MVP rankings. However, the overall strength of the Nuggets this year has not increased but decreased, even though Jokoqi struggled to play 37.3 minutes per game, a new high in his 10-year career. , but it’s hard to stand alone. The team’s record so far is only 14 wins and 10 losses, temporarily ranking fifth in the Western Conference.
The other main players of the Nuggets, such as Jamal Murray , are in poor condition, and the bench depth and experience are insufficient. The team can provide Jokoqi with too little assistance, making him very tired from time to time. Facing Jokoqi who is at the peak of his career, the Golden Nuggets should not just waste the opportunity to compete for the championship again. What is testing them now is that even if they want to change the lineup through mid-season transactions, they will seek differences. The chemical effect and the limitation of salary space also make it difficult for the management to show their talents.
First of all, Murray, whose offensive performance has declined significantly this year, often seems unable to integrate into the team on the court. His personal rhythm is weird, and he cannot organize the team well. His tacit understanding with Jokoqi’s two-person team partner is not as good as before. In terms of statistics, his three-point shooting percentage this season is only 34.8%, and his field goal percentage is 42%. Both data dropped by 6 to 7 percentage points respectively compared with last season, and his scoring average fell below the 20-point mark. , this was written in a career-high 35.9 minutes in a single game. In the past, Murray’s magical performance in frequently saving the team in the playoffs, I think it is difficult to see it again. After he returned from injury, his explosive power, shot selection and accuracy were not at the same level. Even though the coaching staff was willing to give him time to adjust, the effect was not as good as expected. If the Golden Nuggets hadn’t extended his contract with him in March this year and couldn’t be traded at this moment, he would have a good chance of being put on the player trade shelf.
Similarly, Aaron Gordon’s outside ability has greatly improved this year, and his market value and salary are more valuable than Murray’s. However, because of the transaction restrictions that only renewed his contract in April this year, the team cannot move to Aaron Gordon. Log in to do reinforcements. Then the team’s top four tradable players with the highest salary and who can listen to market quotations at this time fall on Michael Porter Jr.. The Golden Nuggets have been paying the luxury tax for three consecutive seasons. Jokoqi has nothing to say with the super maximum salary. Murray, Porter, and Gordon have salaries as high as 36 million, 35 million, and 22 million U.S. dollars. If these few Poor performance for a long time is actually a heavy burden for gold nuggets.
Recently, it is rumored that the Golden Nuggets intend to use Porter as the main dish to explore various transaction possibilities. Although his performance is not bad, his growth curve has also stagnated, and there is a back injury concern. At this time, the Golden Nuggets threw him out to test the water temperature. That’s reasonable. For example, Pelicans star Brandon Ingram, who has a similar salary to him and is involved in trade rumors, also has a painful physique, but in terms of statistics, his 22.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists are exactly Beport’s 18.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists. The assist CP value is a little higher.
