Are the Denver Nuggets interested in trading for Brook Lopez?

Surely the trade talks for Brook Lopez will continue to heat up as the NBA trade deadline nears, and the deals should certainly get better for the Nets as Lopez continues to play well as of late. With rumored deals involving the Thunder and Hornets, respectively, seeming to have died down, another team that may have some interest in trading for the Nets All-Star center is the Denver Nuggets, according to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post.

He writes:

[T]here will be no shortage of suitors (for Lopez), and the Nuggets are expected to be among them. They’ve already made one run at it, but were rebuffed along with everyone else by the Nets in favor of negotiations with Oklahoma City, and those talks got intense before breaking down.

Dempsey notes that the deal will likely have to include JaVale McGee, who is on the books through next season at $12 million. In order for the money to work, of course, the Nets would have to take on the Nuggets' big man who is currently out with a oblique injury. He also notes that along with taking back McGee and the money, the Nets would want to get a first round pick and/or a young player.

Lopez, as Dempsey points out in his piece, has struggled to stay healthy, missing 128 games over the last four seasons. However, he is averaging 20.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per 36 minutes when healthy, which makes him one of the top offensive bigs in the NBA. This, as Dempsey notes, is what makes him so intriguing to the Nuggets. A player like Lopez will allow the Nuggets to play "inside-out basketball with confidence."

This isn't "close" to being done, by any means, just something that the Nuggets seem to be exploring. But stay tuned, as the trade deadline approaches, because more and more teams are starting to kick the ol' tires on Lopez and see if they have enough assets to unload for the 7-foot former All-Star.

• Nuggets not done exploring Brook Lopez trade - Chris Dempsey - Denver Post
• Would Brook Lopez be a good or bad monster for Denver Nuggets? - Nate Timmons - Denver Stiffs