At this point in the NBA season there are trade rumors involving virtually every team in the league and the Denver Nuggets are no exception. The Nuggets are 11-14 and currently in the eighth spot in the Western Conference but there is a feeling that they might unload some players. The Nuggets have some big names that might be able to get them a nice return but as of right now it appears they are just shopping Randy Foye and J.J. Hickson, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
Players like Danilo Gallinari would likely garner huge interest on the trade market but he just signed an extension with the Nuggets and is likely not available unless they are offered a "franchise changing deal." The Nuggets though, are still expected to get rid of some talent at some point this season and as of right now that means Foye and Hickson.
Hickson is currently in the final year of his deal with the Nuggets and will become an unrestricted free agent after this season which is valuable. Hickson has been in and out of the Nuggets' rotation all season but when he has played he has actually been quite productive as he is averaging 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in just 17.2 minutes per game with a very nice PER of 17.3. The Nuggets have an extremely young frontcourt that is starting to get healthy now so moving Hickson makes sense and he might draw some interest.
Foye has appeared in all 25 games for the Nuggets this season and even started six but it has been a huge struggle for him so far. Foye is averaging 5.5 points per game but is shooting just 32 percent from the field and 24 percent from three. The 32 year old guard is also in the final year of his contract with the Nuggets which gives him some value but over the past two seasons he has really struggled to shoot so it is fair to wonder whether he would draw any interest.
Neither of these players really inspires that much excitement when talking about trades but the fact that they are expiring contracts gives them some value. Hickson has played well in minimal time so far this season and could maybe help out another team and Foye, although he hasn't shot it well this or last year, has shot the three ball at 37 percent for his career so there may be a team that finds that useful. The Nuggets shouldn't expect to get much of anything back for these two players but it is worth it to see if they can maybe get a second round pick out of these two guys.
