Before their season tipped off last September, Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth candidly estimated that “we have nine real guys” on the roster. After the NBA trade deadline came and went quietly in Denver,

The Nuggets remained quiet as other teams in the West made splashy moves (see: Golden State and Los Angeles Lakers ). “I think the best way to describe it is we either had to go big or do nothing,” Booth explained Thursday night before the Nuggets hosted the Orlando Magic.

This year’s NBA trade deadline was jam-packed with jaw-dropping moves. The Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers set the NBA world ablaze with a blockbuster Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis exchange. And yet,