The Denver Nuggets felt they were on a championship path at the 2021 trade deadline, so they acquired Aaron Gordon from the Orlando Magic but had to part ways with Gary Harris to complete the deal.
A few weeks later, Jamal Murray tore his ACL and the lack of backcourt depth — in part because of Harris being traded — ultimately ended their title chance.
A year later, the Nuggets are in the playoff mix awaiting the return of Murray while Harris is on a team that is in rebuilding mode. Harris will make his return to Denver when the Magic visit on Monday night.
Harris, 27, is in his eighth NBA season and first full one with Orlando. He earned a reputation for being a great perimeter defender, something that helped the Nuggets reach the Western Conference final in 2020. He has also shown he can score, averaging 17.5 points a game for Denver in 2017-18.
His offense has fallen off, however. He is averaging just 11.4 points a game this season and just 7.3 over the last four games.
Orlando overall has struggled, especially on its four-game road trip that ends Monday night. After opening with a win at Portland on Tuesday, the Magic have lost by 15 and 27 points at Utah and Phoenix, respectively, the past two games.
At 13-45, Orlando is dealing with growing pains and is learning on the fly against better teams.
“That’s something we can all fix. For us to go through those situations as a young group, we see where we stand in this league,” Wendell Carter Jr. said. “I look at the positive out of it. It’s a good test for us to see where we stand as a unit and individually.
“The turnovers cost us a lot. That’s just something we can correct as a team. It’s a good challenge for us to go against these upper-echelon teams.”
Orlando will be tested against the Nuggets, who are coming off a dramatic win at Toronto on Saturday night. Nikola Jokic won last season’s MVP award due to his offense but he saved the 110-109 victory with a block on OG Anunoby with 0.3 seconds left.
Jokic was the defensive hero but had help on offense, especially from rookie Bones Hyland, who hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:16 left and fed Jokic for a basket on the next possession. Hyland has seen more playing time with Monte Morris out due to a concussion and he is embracing the big moments.
“I want to be out there, I want to take those big shots,” he said after the game. “That’s the type of player I am.”
Morris is likely to miss Monday’s game and Zeke Nnaji’s status is questionable after he sat out Saturday’s game with a right hamstring injury. Nnaji has come on as the season has progressed and gives coach Michael Malone another presence in the frontcourt.
Nnaji is averaging just 6.8 points a game this season but is averaging 24.5 minutes a game in February, up from 15.9 in January.
