ORLANDO, Fla. -- On Friday morning, a slew of Pokemon, Street Fighters and some of your favorite video game characters walked through the sunny coffee shop lobby here at the Hyatt Regency, as exactly three identically dressed Waldos (if you were wondering where they were). Then came the South Bay Lakers and Bronny James, who camped out for a few minutes before moving on. Each paid no attention to one another.
The G League Winter Showcase is the NBA's winter gathering place. It brings together the league's executives, scouts and agents in one place to half-watch some basketball and start the slow drip of chatter as they head toward February's trade deadline. This year, the anime cosplay gathering that shared a convention center with the NBA was the talk of the town -- a slew of anime fans in costume and G League players hoping they can one day dress up in NBA uniform all under one large roof.
If that made it an atypical Showcase, so did a few other things. For the first time in more than a half decade, fans were allowed into the event. They flocked to the noon Lakers game to fill up the stands on Court 1 and catch James in action; the stands for the Stockton Kings and Capital City Go-Go on the court were all but empty.
It was also the first time in a while that trades had already taken place by the time the Showcase began. While the Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat got the action going a few days earlier, there was plenty of talk about what will come next.
The Denver Nuggets were, not surprisingly, one of the teams most buzzed about. The Athletic reported Tuesday that the Nuggets have looked at a Michael Porter Jr. for Zach LaVine swap and have canvassed the league for other options. Several executives from other teams believe the 2023 champions will do something ahead of the deadline.
Denver is 15-11 after gutting out an overtime win Sunday over the New Orleans Pelicans and in fifth place in the Western Conference. That standing is illusory; the Nuggets are just a game up on the ninth-place San Antonio Spurs entering Monday night.
While the Nuggets have the sixth-most efficient offense in the NBA, league executives pointed to Denver's need to get Nikola Jokić some help as a primary concern. Jokić has been brilliant. He is averaging 30.9 points, 13 rebounds and 9.8 assists and is again the leader in the MVP race, according to ESPN's latest straw poll for the award.
The Nuggets could use more assets around Jokić. Porter's numbers are nearly at career highs, but he needs help creating his shot. Russell Westbrook has been a roller-coaster ride. Aaron Gordon missed time. But the most troubling part has been Jamal Murray's dip. What began last spring has continued into this season.
Murray's offensive production has dipped -- he is averaging his lowest points per shot since his rookie year, according to Cleaning the Glass -- and his shooting efficiency has tumbled even while taking fewer shots this season than last and playing nearly five more minutes per game. The Nuggets must surely hope Murray's scoring burst -- he averaged 26.3 points over the last three games entering Monday -- can be sustained.
His troubles have even brought problems for the two-man game at the heart of Denver's title run two seasons ago. The Murray-Jokić pick-and-roll just isn't as productive as it used to be. That combo created 1.11 points per possession in each of the previous two seasons but is generating just 0.98 in this one, according to Synergy Sports.
It's not a coincidence, then, that Denver has taken a look at LaVine, as well as Jordan Poole and Jordan Clarkson. Those players can potentially give the Nuggets another playmaker.
Porter is likely to be Denver's best bet to get something done. His contract -- Porter has a $36.86 million cap hit this season -- is large enough to facilitate some deals for the Nuggets, who must deal with onerous collective bargaining agreement first-apron constraints that say they can't trade for a salary a single dollar above what they're sending out. They can also pair it with Zeke Nnaji's $8.89 million salary if they want consolidate for a bigger move.
But one executive, granted anonymity so they could speak freely, wondered if the Nuggets wouldn't be better off trying to get multiple players to add depth to their rotation instead of focusing on just one. Denver is undeniably top-heavy. Four players are averaging more than 34 minutes per game, tied for second-most of any team (only the New York Knicks have more). Jokić is averaging a career-high 37.5 minutes per game. Murray, Porter and Christian Braun are all playing more minutes than they ever have.
A Porter trade could also offer the Nuggets some financial flexibility, if they so choose. He's under contract through the 2026-27 season, and a deal could allow them to get out from future obligations if that's what they pursue. Denver loathed going over the second apron this season. Murray's extension will kick in next season and he'll make $10 million more than he does now; his contract will go from 25.6 percent of the cap to 30. Gordon's salary will remain flat next season but then jump up by a little more than $9 million in 2026-27. That's also the season when Braun and Peyton Watson could start new contracts, if the Nuggets extend them.
That makes the Nuggets one of the most interesting teams to watch before the trade deadline, no matter what they do.
Another situation worth monitoring: the New Orleans Pelicans and Brandon Ingram.
The Pelicans have lost seven straight games, they're 1-9 in their last 10 games and own the second-worst record in the NBA. It's almost inexplicable for a team with such a talented roster, but the Pelicans have also been beset by seemingly nonstop injuries. No team has seen more salary spent on players who could not play this season, according to Spotrac. Only four players have appeared in 20 or more games for the 5-25 Pelicans this year: Yves Missi, Javonte Green, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Brandon Boston Jr.
That sets up a conundrum for the franchise. They must decide whether to sell off some considerable talent, and Ingram might be the most pressing. He is set to be a free agent this summer and the New Orleans front office must figure out how to handle the six weeks before the Feb. 6 deadline. Ingram has also been out since Dec. 7 because of a left low ankle sprain, which complicates this further.
Ingram, 27, has been unable to get the extension he wants and has already changed agents. But he might also find an unfulfilling landscape this summer if he hits free agency. Executives around the league believe New Orleans has the leverage if Ingram wants to work out a deal or try to maneuver elsewhere.
As of now, only Brooklyn is projected to have the cap space to give Ingram a max contract. Just 11 teams are projected to have cap space at all, according to Spotrac. Toronto and Golden State are projected to get there by just a hair. The Nets, Wizards and Hornets are the only ones who are projected to have more than $30 million. Well, and the Pelicans, if Ingram hasn't re-signed.
It will also be more difficult for Ingram to work out a sign-and-trade to a team that can't fit him in with its cap space. Teams can't trade for a player in a sign-and-trade if they are above the first apron or will end up there after the transaction. That could potentially eliminate 10 teams depending on where the first-apron threshold lands next offseason and how adding Ingram would impact their cap. New Orleans could also play hardball and decide not to participate in a sign-and-trade, further squeezing his market.
The Pelicans must not only weigh all that but decide whether they are eventually all right with Ingram walking away for nothing if they can't find middle ground on a new contract, or if trading Ingram away before the deadline is the better play. There is risk for both sides in this dance.
The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery is months away, but it's not too early to look to the 2026 draft. There's already some buzz about how good it might be.
The 2025 class is expected to be strong at the top -- certainly better than last year's. Duke forward Cooper Flagg, Rutgers players Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, and BYU guard Egor Demin are among the highlights.
But teams are already looking ahead to next year because of 6-foot-9 wing AJ Dybantsa, the top player in his class. He could enter the draft as the most intriguing non-Victor Wembanyama prospect in recent years. Future Duke one-and-done Cameron Boozer and Kansas signee Darryn Peterson are also cause to look ahead. One executive in Orlando went so far as to wonder if teams might start positioning themselves for the draft next season ahead of this year's deadline. The race to the bottom has gotten harder in recent years, especially in the Eastern Conference, and the new CBA has made trades more difficult. A little extra time never hurts.