One Nuggets Trade That Could Change Everything After Lottery

While many (including myself) have circled Johnson as a prime trade candidate the Nuggets could shed in order to shed salary cap space, this move wouldn't exactly do that.

Denver would save just over $2 million on the books in this deal, which still leaves a bit more room to go before this team can both evade the luxury tax and sign Peyton Watson this summer.

But what this move does do for the Nuggets is allow them to check off three major roster needs that David Adelman himself highlighted at his end-of-season presser: defense, ball handling, and athleticism.

Williams fits the mold of a physical defender in the frontcourt who can also be a connecting piece for Denver offensively, shooting a solid 38.8% from three during his last season with the Hornets.

He played in just 36 games in a season returning from injury, but was a routine piece of Charlotte's rotation when active.

Tre Mann also provides a spark of ball-handling as one of the best in the league within that category. His game does have a few glaring holes that left him progressively phased out of the Hornets' rotation, but he has the game and skillset that could leave Denver open to giving him a shot.

And by trading up nearly 10 spots into the middle of the first round, the Nuggets could also get their hands on a solid, high-rated defender with both length and athleticism to add cheap, necessary talent on that end of the floor, plus a future second.

Adding three potential bench players into the rotation isn't a trade that's going to jump off the page, especially in a deal shipping off the guy landed in the Michael Porter Jr. trade. But considering the lack of flexibility Denver has for this summer, this could be one of their better options on the table.

Why the Hornets Say Yes

This could be an easy opportunity for Charlotte to add a starting-level forward in Johnson into their lineup for a pretty cheap cost, all things considered.

Johnson fits perfectly within the Hornets' offense and their high-volume shooting, considering Charlotte was first in the NBA last season in three-pointers made, and second in threes attempted.

The Nuggets forward, despite some up and downs in his efficiency , finished the year as the second-best shooter on the roster (min. 100 attempts) behind only Jamal Murray and his career best season.

So the Hornets would have no worries about him fitting right in as a plug-and-play contributor on the frontcourt, either off the bench or starting next to Brandon Miller.

Denver can also sweeten the pot by throwing in DaRon Holmes, who hadn't landed as many runs as he would've liked with the Nuggets this past season, but could have an ideal fit with more opportunity in Charlotte to unlock his true potential.