David Zalubowski/Associated Press

NBA Rumors: Denver Nuggets 'Confident' They Can Trade for 'Disgruntled' Star

Tyler Conway

The Denver Nuggets nearly packaged their assets to trade for a star earlier in November. They had a package on the table that included Emmanuel Mudiay and a first-round pick in exchange for disgruntled point guard Eric Bledsoe.

ESPN.com's Zach Lowe categorized the deal as being in the "red zone" before the Nuggets backed away. The Phoenix Suns later traded Bledsoe to the Milwaukee Bucks for Greg Monroe and a first-round pick.

"We chase every opportunity to improve ourselves," Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly told Lowe. "We've had a lot of excellent players offered to us for our young talent. There's a fine line between overvaluing your own players and being too aggressive chasing short-term results."

The Nuggets have been notably timid in their trade negotiations in the past. They chose to allow Danilo Gallinari to walk in free agency rather than trade him for picks and have allowed Will Barton to become an expiring contract rather than dealing him a year ago for future compensation.

Lowe also indicated Denver refused to throw its hat into the Kyrie Irving trade talks because it would not part with Jamal Murray. The second-year guard has struggled this season in more of a full-time point guard role, averaging 13.2 points and 2.4 assists per game while shooting just 28.8 percent from the floor.

Jamal Murray. David Zalubowski/Associated Press

The Nuggets have spent most of the campaign trying to figure out how to distribute point guard minutes between Murray and Mudiay, who have not gotten much on-court time together.

A roster jumble at multiple positions is nothing new for Denver; it's become something of a franchise character trait. Ever since the Nuggets traded Carmelo Anthony for a host of talent in 2011, it seemed like they were always one move away from acquiring their next star.

Lowe categorized the Nuggets as "confident" they could be in the running to trade for the next star-level player who becomes available on the trade market.

Doing so without dealing either Murray or Gary Harris seems unlikely at best. Juancho Hernangomez and Malik Beasley are not centerpieces ready to be moved for a star. Hernangomez has played 14 minutes all season long. Beasley barely played during his rookie season and isn't doing much with the limited burn he's gotten this year.

Even Harris and Murray are players you're going to need to attach at least one first-round pick to in order to make a deal work. Harris' $84 million extension is going to look shaky if he doesn't take a step up and increase his ability to create for himself off the dribble. His averaging less than a free throw per game isn't going to cut it despite the fact he is an otherwise efficient scorer and solid defender.

Murray is working through the kinks of his own game and might not be capable of being a primary ball-handler in the NBA.

   

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