When’s the last time J.J. Hickson played for the Denver Nuggets? If you guessed January 8th, good guess but what about before then? Exactly one month before his most recent appearance game to be exact, he played on December 8th and recorded his second double double on the season.
In total, Hickson has played 18 games and started nine games midway through the Nuggets season. The 27 year old isn’t a bad player but he’s just stuck in a bad situation. The Nuggets have younger players getting more minutes ahead of him despite his high energy play and tenacious rebounding ability. It appears to be time for general manager Tim Connelly, who just got an extension from the team, to move Hickson.
Following from ESPN’s Marc Stein.
One of the first orders of business for newly extended Nuggets GM Tim Connelly: Trying to find a new home via trade for big man J.J Hickson
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) January 20, 2016
Nuggets, I'm told, actively trying to find workable deal that would send Hickson elsewhere in advance of the NBA's Feb. 18 trade deadline
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) January 20, 2016
The Nuggets have a surplus of talented, young big men in Kenneth Faried, Nikola Jokic, Jusuf Nurkic, Joffrey Lauvergne and even a veteran forward in Darrell Arthur so Hickson just doesn’t fit unless someone gets hurt. Not to mention, if the Nuggets want to go small they can also use Danilo Gallinari or a healthy Wilson Chandler at the four spot.
Hickson staying with Denver for the remainder of the season shouldn’t be an option at this point. Help the man move on and try to continue what could be a pretty solid career, if he is in the right situation.
