Should Nuggets Consider Trading Aaron Gordon After Slow Start to Season?

Forward Aaron Gordon has not looked like himself early in the season for the Denver Nuggets, and now his name is showing up in trade talk.

ClutchPoints insider Brett Siegel said on the Clutch Scoops podcast that Gordon and forward Cameron Johnson are the two names that keep coming up around the league, and that rival teams have had both players on their boards since last season's trade deadline.

Siegel was careful with his words, though.

In a follow-up post on Friday, he said the Nuggets will take calls and hear what teams have to offer, but that does not mean they are actively looking to trade either player, and he wondered whether Denver could be more open to a move if the team is hovering around .500 by the deadline.

There is no denying the slow start.

Gordon scored 20 points on opening night in Oklahoma City but has not reached 20 in any of the nine games since, and he is averaging 11.0 points per game on 38.0% shooting and 25.6% from three after putting up 16.2 points on 49.7% shooting and 38.9% from three last season.

He went 3-of-11 for nine points in Wednesday's 123-118 win in Memphis, and since the opener he has topped 50% from the field just once, in a 7-of-9 night against Toronto.

Before that game, head coach David Adelman talked about what gets Gordon going, according to The Denver Post's Bennett Durando.

"I find when Aaron's game really takes off is when he finds the free throw line. He sees the ball go in. It usually leads to more fluidity from 3."

That lines up with what Adelman has asked of the whole team, since he has wanted more aggressiveness from the offense.

The good news is that Gordon has played in all 10 games after he strained his right hamstring twice and played just 36 games last season.

Even when he was one of five starters listed on the injury report before the Houston game, he stayed on the floor, and I value that more than a cold shooting stretch.

Gordon is making $33,658,037 this season, and his deal runs through 2027-28 with a player option for 2028-29.

That is a big number for a player scoring 11 points a game, which explains why teams would ask about him, but Denver is 6-4 and ninth in the West and does not need to panic.

My take is that the Nuggets should listen, just like Siegel reported they will, without making a deal right now.

Gordon is a big part of how Denver defends, and the team already has questions on the wing with Johnson playing only seven of the 10 games.

Johnson is the other name in this conversation, and moving both would leave a hole.

The Nuggets play in New Orleans on Saturday and then host Phoenix on Monday and Boston on Wednesday.

If Gordon starts getting to the line the way Adelman wants, I expect this talk to fade on its own, but if the shot keeps missing and Denver is near .500 closer to the deadline, it becomes a real question.