NBA Mock Trade Adds Veteran Depth to Denver Nuggets Behind Nikola Jokic

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By JH Kubicek | Last updated May 8, 2025 4:23 PM ET

The Denver Nuggets are not a deep team, and they don't have much faith in their young players, as evidenced by the minutes distribution. New head coach David Adelman might have enough faith in his youngsters for that to change next season, but until it does, fans will expect Denver to keep rolling with proven players.

In an effort to add a trusted player to their bench, they could target an overlooked Miami Heat player.

Kyle Anderson narrowly missed out on winning a title, as he was drafted one year too late by the San Antonio Spurs, although he is still a winning, do-all forward who is more than capable of defending some of the best wings in the league despite being dubbed "Slow Mo."

After being included in the Jimmy Butler trade, Anderson remained an effecent low-volume scorer on his new team, and his often-overlooked court vision would fit in well with Jokic.

Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey proposed a mock trade that would land Anderson in the Mile High City.

Mock Trade Details

Nuggets receive: Kyle Anderson

Heat receive: Zeke Nnaji, 2031 first-round pick swap (top-seven protected)

Denver, with its limited draft capital, might not be enthused to give up their final first-round pick, although such a distant asset wouldn't bring in anyone much better. Besides, their title window is now, and they will never have a player as good as Jokic to work with.

Anderson is not going to be the difference between winning 50 and 60 games, but he might be enough to win a series in five games instead of having to seal the deal in seven.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: