Woke up today with my phone buzzing like crazy – apparently everyone’s losing their minds over whether the Denver Nuggets might trade Michael Porter Jr. Saw #MPJTrades trending on Twitter while I was brushing my teeth. Figured hey, why not break this down step by step like I always do? Grabbed my coffee and got to work.
How I Started Digging
First thing I did was open my ESPN app and NBA Trade Machine on my laptop. Kept seeing all these “league sources say” tweets popping up. Scrolled through Shams and Woj’s timelines for like 20 minutes straight. Real messy stuff – half these reports contradicted each other! Took screenshots of the juiciest rumors so I wouldn’t forget.
Next, I pulled up MPJ’s contract details on Spotrac. Man owes over $200 million still? Nearly spilled my coffee. No wonder Denver might wanna move him! Tried plugging him into different teams using the Trade Machine:
- Mock traded him to Charlotte for Gordon Hayward plus picks. Made the money work but felt unrealistic.
- Tried sending him to Utah with Collins coming back. Got invalidated faster than I could blink.
- Threw in KCP as salary filler to Portland. Almost worked until I remembered Portland ain’t tryna compete.
The Real Roadblocks I Found
Kept hitting walls every time I tried building a trade scenario. Here’s why:
- That massive contract scared off most teams I tested. Ain’t many franchises willing to gamble on a guy with back issues and that kinda money owed.
- Denver’s luxury tax hell got realer the more I looked. Owners paying triple the salary? Nah. Can’t blame ’em for sweating.
- MPJ’s no-trade clause slapped me in the face halfway through. Forgot the dude can veto trades to 8 teams! Makes moving him ten times harder.
Started reading Denver fan forums around lunchtime – place looked like a warzone. Half wanted him gone yesterday, other half called it betrayal. Bookmarked some wildest takes for my notes.
Putting It All Together
Sat back and compared everything after my sandwich break. Noticed a pattern – every “realistic” trade floated online involved Denver accepting literal garbage just to dump salary. Nah. Ain’t no way the defending champs blow up their core like that. Jokic needs shooters! Unless MPJ’s back acts up again or some desperate team offers real assets? This whole thing smells like offseason hot air.
My final notes basically said:
Could it happen? Maybe.
Is it likely? Doubt it.
Is Denver’s front office losing sleep over this? Probably sipping margaritas laughing at the noise.
Hit save on my messy doc around 3 PM. Whole process took like 5 hours? Coffee’s cold now but man, this trade machine stuff’s addictive. Way harder than it looks on Twitter.
