The Denver Nuggets have been going through a big slump and with tensions running high on all sides, point guard Andre Miller and head coach Brian Shaw got into a dispute on the bench on Wednesday after the star was benched for the game and that has led to speculation about a possible trade heading towards the deadline in February and teams like the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, Lakers or Wizards could be a fit and the Kings appear to be favorites.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Nuggets are looking to trade Miller over the next two days and the Sacramento Kings have emerged as players and they look like the favorite to trade for him to add a backup point guard and comes after deals for Rudy Gay and Derrick Williams.
The Nuggets have been up and down with first year head coach Shaw this season after having a great year under George Karl and now the issues with Miller have come up as the team is on an eight game losing streak. The problem with Miller arose after the point guard was given the first "did not play, coach's decision" of his career as a healthy scratch and according to Pro Basketball Talk, Miller lashed out at Shaw on the bench during Wednesday's loss against the Philadelphia 76ers and that led to the team suspending the point guard for two games for conduct detrimental to the team. According to SB Nation, both the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors are two teams that are interested in Miller's services.
Shaw said on Thursday that he spoke with the team about the incident and in general about the losing streak and what is going on with the overall atmosphere and said that things are being "figured out". The Nuggets went through a big revamp in the offseason, changing Karl at head coach and also losing general manager Masai Ujiri to the Toronto Raptors after he built a very consistent team that won over 50 games. Miller will miss out against the Memphis Grizzlies and also the game on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers and that game is on the road.
Ty Lawson has been the leading point guard on the team this season and he is averaging nearly 20 points with eight assists and nearly two steals per game, while JJ Hickson has been tops with nine boards per contest. The team has not been playing well over the past few weeks and now they are under .500 and one reason they lost against the Sixers was giving up over 40 points in the second quarter and defense like that will only make the streak last longer.
While Miller is no guarantee to get traded, the Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, Lakers or Wizards could be in use of a player like him heading towards the playoffs. The Lakers are totally decimated at the point guard position with Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar, while the Bulls could be looking to try and replace Derrick Rose at least for the time being to avoid a slight rebuild. The Raptors have been a team that's willing to trade after moving Andrea Bargnani and Rudy Gay over the past year and the Mavericks could be a fit as well.