Winners and Losers of the Denver Nuggets/Washington Wizards Trade
*As a Nuggets fan, I am going to put my fandom aside and try to look at this Denver Nuggets trade with the Washington Wizards from an unbiased standpoint*
News broke of a trade between the Denver Nuggets and Washington Wizards on June 29, with the Nuggets sending Will Barton and Monte Morris to Washington in exchange for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith.
Now, on paper, this just looks like an even swap of guards and forwards, but when you really dive into the stats and details of it all, it is a hard trade to wrap my head around. I know I said that I am going to keep bias out of this, but there will be a point in this article where I just can’t. Stay tuned. With that being said, let’s look at the big winners and losers in this trade.
Winner: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
The biggest winner here is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Caldwell-Pope leaves a Washington team that has not been playing good basketball for a long time now, and he joins a team that can contend for an NBA Championship next year. Caldwell-Pope will bring great wing defense and consistent perimeter shooting to a team in desperate need of a reliable 3-and-D wing player. He should fit in nicely in Denver, plus it is always good to be playing with the back-to-back MVP in Nikola Jokic.
Loser: Monte Morris
Well, sort of.
Listen, I along with every Nuggets fan around the globe love Monte Morris. The 27-year-old has really carved himself a role in Denver. When Jamal Murray went down with a torn ACL, many wrote off this Nuggets team. But Morris stepped in and did an incredible job this season, averaging 13 ppg and four assists, along with great defense and an ability to keep possession. He is a loser in this trade because he is going to Washington, though. No one wants to go to Washington. But he is sort of a winner because I think Morris will do great things in the role of a true starter and can make a household name for himself.
Winner: Nuggets Fans
Remember when I said I was going to try and be unbiased?
Remember when I said Caldwell-Pope was the big winner in this Nuggets/Wizards trade?
WRONG.
The smile that came across my face when I read that Will Barton was leaving Denver. Oh my god. It’s no secret that I despise Barton. So, when the news broke that he was out of Denver I nearly did jumping jacks. Barton is as inconsistent as they come, was a complete liability on defense, and his shot selection was that of an AAU player who heard there might be a scout in the building. There’s nothing about his game I enjoyed, and it is a pleasure to replace him with someone who actually fits this team. Don’t let the door hit ya on the way out.
Loser: Ish Smith’s Family
Poor Ish Smith. But my sympathies go out to his family. If Smith hits the floor once during the regular season for the Nuggets, this will be his 13th team he has suited up for, which will be an NBA record. This man has had to sit his family down and explain to them 12 times before this that they are moving, and they have to pack up and move out. As a military brat who moved four times, I thought that was not fun, but man, moving 13 times is brutal.
Time will tell who the real winner and losers of this trade is, but on paper, it does seem like Denver got the better end of this deal between the Nuggets and Wizards. Caldwell-Pope will transition seamlessly into this rotation and could be that missing piece, along with health, that Denver needs to make a deep run into the playoffs.
If you would like to read the Nuggets’ offseason guide, click here.
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