The Denver Nuggets help the Utah Jazz find a second star
After signing Lauri Markkanen to a long-term extension during the offseason, one of the Utah Jazz's biggest priorities heading into this season had to involve trying to find a worthy supporting star. The first option for the Jazz was always going to the hope of one of their young players developing into such a role. However, through the first few weeks of the season, the idea of that is very much unlikely. That could lead the Jazz to shift their focus to searching the trade market for help.
The Denver Nuggets and Michael Porter Jr. could make at least some sense for Utah. In the event that the Jazz is open to trading some of their depth for a proven "star" who could immediately play a big role next to Markkanen, there is a deal that could be had between both sides. It begins with including John Collins due to contract reasons. But at this point in his career, he could be a worthy gamble for a team like the Nuggets. In addition to Collins, Jordan Clarkson could make sense as a scoring option off the bench for Denver.
Two other rotation-worthy players who could be involved in the deal are Brice Sensabaugh and Walker Kessler. The Jazz also have the luxury of including a future first-round pick to cement a deal to help them land a strong supporting star next to Markkanen. I'm not sure how great of a fit MPJ would be next to Markkanen, but this move could end up being a worthy gamble for a Jazz team that has gotten off to an extremely rough start to the season.
The Jazz would take a big leap forward and would have two strong foundational pieces in Markkanen and MPJ and could get even more aggressive to add a difference-making guard by utilizing their draft capital if they wanted. The Nuggets would get four new rotation players that could immediately make a difference for the team. The big question is, would they be that much better where this move would be worth it? Either way, there's no question that objectively, this is a move that could make sense for both sides.