In case you missed it, the Denver Summit — the Mile High City’s new NWSL team — made quite a debut today:
Denver, CO
Should The Denver Nuggets Significantly Shake Up Their Core?
DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 25: Jamal Murray (27) of the Denver Nuggets leads Michael Porter Jr. (1) and … [+]
The Nuggets are getting antsy, as it relates to their hopes of securing another championship during three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic’s prime years.
After a magical run to a title in 2023, Denver is trying to decide whether or not it’s worth it to keep their core intact. Jokic isn’t going anywhere, neither is Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon who recently inked hefty contract extensions.
If the Nuggets want to move a player on the roster to potentially obtain a game-changer who can be the much-needed accelerant for another Finals push, Michael Porter Jr. is the obvious choice.
And so far, Denver has shown a willingness to discuss Porter in win-now transactions, a league source told Forbes Sports.
One of the transactions being bandied about currently in league circles is whether Denver will pull the trigger on acquiring score-first All-Star guard Zach LaVine from the Chicago Bulls.
According to Sam Amick and Tony Jones of The Athletic, Denver has been putting out feelers on the trade market to acquire a jolt of scoring punch. Not only has LaVine been discussed in a serious manner, but all of the following veterans have been connected to the Nuggets recently: Cam Johnson, Jordan Poole, Jordan Clarkson, and Jonas Valanciunas.
As you can see, Denver is looking across the board at upgrades — and a lot of those roster flaws point back to a disastrous offseason period. The Nuggets certainly look like they swung-and-missed on Dario Saric as a backup center signing in free agency. Also, most of Denver’s young prospects have failed to take a step forward, which was of the upmost importance with their team-building strategy.
Denver is in the middle of the pack in a loaded Western Conference, which shouldn’t be happening when you realize the type of historical dominance Jokic is once again putting together. The Serbian big man is on his way to a fourth MVP award averaging 30.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and 9.9 assists per game. Only Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook have put together historic statistical campaigns in line with Jokic, and his brilliance is the true DNA of Denver’s roster.
How can the 14-10 Nuggets best maximize another season from Jokic where he’s undeniably the best player in the Association? It’s likely going to involve an uncomfortable conversation around breaking up their entrenched core four of Jokic, Murray, Porter and Gordon, and the 26-year-old wing from Missouri would be the trade chip in this scenario.
For a Porter blockbuster deal for Denver, LaVine is the obvious match. And those talks continue on into the early portion of NBA trade season.
Chicago has been trying to sell off on LaVine over the past 18 months, but no team has shown significant interest prior to this sudden pursuit from the Nuggets.
The Pistons were a potential match at the 2024 trade deadline before they backed out asking for a young prospect in return. The Lakers, Warriors, Clippers, and Kings put out feelers last summer, but no franchise felt comfortable absorbing LaVine’s remaining $110+ million salary.
Why would the Nuggets feel comfortable swapping out Porter for LaVine? The on-ball creation from LaVine, and the heliocentric offense being built around Jokic, would be a beautiful synergetic match from an on-court standpoint.
Imagine Jokic running a hand-off flare action with LaVine running around him to get open. LaVine is one of the best in the Association at hand-off actions, shooting 66.7% in those situations this season but only attempting less than one per game. Compared to Murray and Porter, who are both shooting well below-average on higher volume, LaVine could be fully unlocked playing alongside Jokic in the Rocky Mountains.
Also, the Nuggets have been a complete disaster offensively whenever Jokic rests. Incredibly, the Nuggets rank No. 1 in offensive rating at 123.1 with Jokic on the court, but nosedive to the worst when he sits on the bench scoring only 96.3 points per 100 possessions. A massive gulf exists between how Denver operates with and without Jokic, so acquiring an alpha scorer who can take the burden off him appears necessary at this rate.
Another factor to note is the Nuggets have already been showing significant buyers remorse on the four-year extension for backup big man Zeke Nnaji. The former Arizona Wildcat signed a $32 million deal last year before the rookie-scale extension deadline, but he’s continued to show no real developmental jumps in Denver while now being viewed as an albatross contract.
An early framework discussed between Denver and Chicago revolves around LaVine and Porter, per a league source, which includes Nnaji as the necessary salary filler.
Keep an eye on veteran wing Torrey Craig being a potential add into the deal, if talks continue to progress. Craig, a former Nugget, would be included alongside LaVine while receiving Porter, Nnaji and another minimum salary to make the trade legal under apron restrictions.
For Denver, Chicago presents the opportunity to acquire a former All-Star scorer who is quietly putting together one of the most efficient seasons of his career. LaVine is averaging 21.7 points while carrying 50.1/42.8/80.0 shooting splits, and it’s hard to imagine that figure dipping if he’s paired next to Jokic.
A key note is how including Nnaji wouldn’t require draft capital, which has been the hold up for Denver in other talks around the league due to limited draft assets. Denver hasn’t shown an appetite to attach their only tradeable first-round pick in 2031.
Would swapping out Porter for LaVine be the necessary antidote to cure Denver’s inconsistencies? At this moment, it appears to be an idea they are open to. And from Chicago’s perspective, they would be willing to take on Porter’s salary as a better long-term fit for their youth movement headlined by Coby White, Josh Giddey, and recent lottery pick Matas Buzelis.
Keep an eye on the Nuggets throughout NBA trade season, because they appear to be one of those teams ready to make an aggressive move to potentially maximize their window with Jokic.
Denver, CO
Game Thread: Denver Nuggets vs Golden State Warriors. March 29th, 2026. – Denver Stiffs
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Denver, CO
Colorado No Kings protests draw crowds across Denver, state
Carol Swan went to her first-ever protest in Denver’s Civic Center on Saturday dressed like Lady Liberty — a tiara of crystals and wire, a teal bedsheet-turned-dress that belonged to her late grandmother and a torch fashioned from aluminum foil.
The 74-year-old Lochbuie resident doesn’t like crowds. She normally protests alone every weekend on a busy street corner in the north metro area.
“But when we face our fears, they become less and less,” she said.
Swan was among tens of thousands of Coloradans who joined demonstrations across the state on Saturday to protest policies carried out by President Donald Trump’s administration as part of the nationwide “No Kings” movement.
No Kings organizers have criticized the administration’s use of masked federal agents for “terrorizing our communities,” the war in Iran and “attacks on our freedom of speech, our civil rights, our freedom to vote.”
Protesters filled Civic Center and spilled into surrounding streets Saturday as speakers led songs and chants and encouraged attendees to stand up for what they believed in.
Swan’s reason for driving into the city was simple: to be among the voices saying they don’t support the president.
“Trump swore at his inauguration that he would uphold the Constitution, and he’s done anything but that,” she said.
This is the third nationwide No Kings demonstration in less than a year, with previous protests in June and October also drawing tens of thousands of people onto the streets across Colorado. More than 70 protests were scheduled statewide Saturday, from Burlington to Steamboat Springs and Cortez to Fort Collins. No Kings organizers said nearly 4,000 demonstrations were planned nationwide.
Denver’s No Kings protest began on the steps of the Capitol shortly before noon, with attendees hoisting signs criticizing cuts to foreign aid and sharing expletive-laden messages against Trump. Several woman dressed as suffragettes in floor-length dresses, formal pantsuits and hats and carried signs or wore sashes that demanded “Votes for Women.”
Lifelong Denverite Christina De Luna, 29, was watching the crowd mill around a closed-off Broadway with a Mexican flag tied around her shoulders.
“I come from a family of immigrants, and I feel like this is a way of supporting them and taking a stance on the right side of history,” she said.
De Luna said she thinks the protests make a difference: They raise awareness about what’s going on in the U.S. and remind people to come together as a community.
“What’s going on in the world right now with immigrants and anyone who looks and sounds different, it’s not OK,” she said. “We should all be treated equally, and coming out here is about fighting for equality and basic human rights.”
Partners Diane Larson, 67, and Don Hiser, 72, drove from Parker to join the No Kings demonstration in downtown Denver. The couple said they were dismayed by what was happening in the country — that they lived through the Vietnam War and civil rights movement, and things had never been this bad.
“I think this is a start,” Hiser said. “You have to start somewhere, and if you don’t show up, you don’t change anything.”
“We care about what happens to people,” Larson added. “It’s really important to make sure everyone’s voices are heard, because we’re not standing idly by.”
Saturday was also the first time Ajani Brown, 33, attended a protest. Brown came to the park dressed as Captain America to pass out flyers with his union. He shared a hug and fist-bump with a passing Spider-Man.
“It feels like I’m doing something that’s a lot bigger than myself,” he said. “It’s about righteousness. It’s about freedom of expression.”
Demonstrators began marching through downtown about 1:30 p.m., with the crowds spanning city blocks. A video taken from a high-rise at 19th and Lincoln streets and shared on social media by Christine Piel shows marchers at 19th Avenue and Lincoln Street, with the crowd stretching south down Lincoln and out of view toward Civic Center.
Although the protest appeared to stay largely peaceful, Denver police officers used smoke cannisters and pepper balls to disperse a “small group of demonstrators” who blocked the road near 20th and Wazee streets, where police were staged to stop people from marching onto Interstate 25, agency officials said.
Police declared an unlawful assembly at 2:35 p.m. and used the smoke cannisters, switching to pepper balls when someone threw a cannister back at police. Eight people were arrested, and one person was arrested about two hours later for throwing things.
No Kings protests across the Front Range also saw significant crowds, including at least 3,000 people in Longmont.
Carlos Álvarez-Aranyos, founder of the Boulder-based group American Opposition, criticized Trump’s handling of the war with Iran and the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“If one man can ignore the law, detain people without due process and drag this country into a war without the consent of its people, then we are no longer living in a democracy,” he said. “We are living under a king, and we are here today because we refuse to accept that.”
More than 1,000 people gathered at Lincoln Park in downtown Greeley, where residents Kyleen and Kathy Gilliland carried a large flag as they marched with the group around the streets near the park.
“Our country is in distress,” Kyleen Gilliland said. “It’s going upside down because the rich are empowered and the little guy is left behind. And that’s not what America stands for.”
Times-Call reporter Dana Cadey and Greeley Tribune reporter Anne Delaney contributed to this report.
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Denver, CO
Purple Row After Dark: Is Denver the best sports town in the US?
The game ended on a 0-0 draw, but what a great day for Denver sports.
And that raises an interesting question: Is Denver the best sports town in the United States?
The sooner the Mile High City gets a WNBA team, the better.
Me, I think you can’t beat Denver for sports. But I’m willing to entertain other perspectives. Let us know in the comments!
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