Report: Nuggets target draft-night trade, but for who?

The Denver Nuggets want to move up, according to multiple reports.

Two connected reports this week put Denver in the market to climb the draft board ahead of the June 23-24 NBA Draft in Brooklyn — and the price of admission looks like it could be Cameron Johnson and the No. 26 pick.

NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported the Nuggets are among the teams angling to move up.

“The Celtics are mostly mentioned in Giannis trade scenarios these days, but sources say both Boston (at No. 27) and Denver (No. 26) have been increasingly interested in trying to move up the draft board,” Fischer wrote.

Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints shared that Denver has explored what packaging Johnson with the No. 26 pick could return, “especially in terms of moving into the top 20 of the draft.” Siegel cautioned it’s hard to imagine a team in that range biting on that package — but added that Johnson “remains the likeliest player to be on the move from Denver in the coming weeks.”

The Nuggets have more than $203 million in guaranteed money on the books for just eight players next season, and Johnson’s expiring $23 million deal has long been one of the roster’s most movable contracts.

Johnson has surfaced all offseason as one of Denver’s likeliest trade chips, with the front office hunting the financial flexibility to re-sign restricted free agent Peyton Watson without ballooning the luxury-tax bill. Cap insiders have framed it as a Johnson-or-Christian Braun decision — though the front office could be forced to dump Aaron Gordon instead if teams pass on both Johnson and Braun and ownership stays strict about cutting the bill.

But moving Johnson on draft night could be a two-birds move: just a year after Denver dealt Michael Porter Jr. to land him, the Nuggets could flip Johnson to climb the board and clear the room to pay Watson — upgrading the pick and the cap sheet in one night. The sting is the math of it: one year of Johnson’s 12 points a game, plus draft-night bait to move up, in exchange for a near-All-Star and beloved figure in Porter. But that’s in the past now.

Why move up at all? The board. Executives reportedly have first-round grades on just 20 to 25 players, so the back half of the first round — where Denver sits — is a guessing game. On top of that, this is the first draft for co-GMs Jonathan Wallace and Ben Tenzer. The two will need to nail this pick both for the team and their own personal pride.

So who’s worth moving up for? A handful of names fit Denver’s profile if the front office can get into the top 20: Alabama guard Labaron Philon, Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr. and Baylor guard Cameron Carr. Texas wing Dailyn Swain could be there at No. 26, but Denver might have to climb if it truly loves the fit. Then there’s Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg — pegged by some as a top-10 talent, and possibly out of reach, but if Denver can get there, it makes a ton of sense.

The name that keeps surfacing is Morez Johnson Jr. — and it’s the one I keep coming back to, too. On an episode this week of Shapiro and Piro, I called the Michigan big “the No. 1 guy I would be interested in this draft for the Denver Nuggets if he’s still there,” the player I’d be willing to trade up for. Nuggets on SI agreed, calling him “the most obvious prospect worth trading up for.”

The draft guides spell out why. Locked On NBA Draft with No Ceilings (noceilingsnba.com) slots Johnson 12th in its mock — inside the top 20 Denver would have to reach — and lists the 6-foot-10, 251-pound national champ with a 7-foot-3½ wingspan, a 39-inch max vertical and the best lane-agility number among bigs at the combine.

No Ceilings’ Tyler Metcalf pounded the table on Johnson all season. He averaged roughly 13 points and seven rebounds on a loaded Michigan frontcourt that included Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara, and his stock is climbing fast on the strength of captivating workouts. It’s the blend Denver covets: a switchable defender who can play the four or small-ball five behind Nikola Jokic — even if getting to him might mean climbing to 15 and attaching a sweetener.

Also on Shapiro and Piro this week, I argued that there’s a talent cliff this year: the top four could wind up All-NBA players, and “the top 12 probably of this draft are going to be not only impact guys, but eight of the 12 will likely be instant impact guys.” After that it gets really guessy. If one of those dozen names starts falling, the Nuggets may want to do what it takes to snatch that player.

The NBA Draft is June 23-24 in Brooklyn. Denver is on the clock at No. 26 — for now.