To alleviate that salary-cap crunch, the Nuggets could opt to trade one of those four expensive pieces, and Porter's $35.9 million salary paired with his talent seems very movable. But according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, trading Porter wouldn't fly among the Nuggets owners in the Kroenke family.

Michael Porter Jr. is one of the better players on the Denver Nuggets. That doesn't mean change isn't coming in Denver, though, not after the surprise late-season firings of head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth.

“The Kroenkes have a fondness for Porter that stems from deep ties to their shared alma mater: Missouri,” Stein wrote. “Sources with knowledge of Denver's thinking have maintained for some time that they struggled to envision ownership ever approving a deal that would send Porter away from the franchise.”