Only four teams remain in the rigorous gauntlet that is the NBA Playoffs. The Oklahoma City Thunder are moving on to the Western Conference Finals following a massive, 125-93 win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 7.

Former Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso was a driving force behind the Thunder’s 32-point victory. The 6-foot-5 Caruso pestered three-time MVP Nikola Jokic to no end. The 7-foot big man finished with only 20 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. He turned the ball over five times and looked flustered, with Caruso playing an aggressive brand of basketball.

The 31-year-old scored 11 points, recorded three steals, and finished the game with an incredible plus/minus of plus-40. Caruso is only the third player in NBA history to record a plus-40 in a Game 7. Caruso and the Thunder’s hoard of pesky defenders stymied the Nuggets. Denver shot merely 39.3 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 23 times.

With an ailing Jamal Murray and an injured Aaron Gordon, the Nuggets’ need for a secondary scorer was evident throughout the contest. Christian Braun finished with 19 points to finish second on the team in scoring. Denver’s third-highest scorer during the regular season, Michael Porter Jr., chipped in six points on 3-of-8 shooting. The 26-year-old forward averaged just 7.4 points per game, shooting 32.2 percent from the floor in the series.

Porter Jr.’s lackluster, inefficient series will surely be a talking point for critics prior to a decisive offseason in Denver. The 6-foot-10 forward is owed $78 million over the next two seasons before entering unrestricted free agency with his sights likely set on another significant long-term pact as a 29-year-old in 2028. What Denver does with Porter Jr. this offseason will have substantial future implications.

The Nuggets were close to acquiring Zach LaVine in December

However, this would not have been the case if the Nuggets jumped on a hypothesized trade in December. The Nuggets were said to be “canvassing the league in pursuit of a player who can offer significant help offensively,” amid an uneven start to the 2024-25 campaign. As a result, the Nuggets’ preferred target was reportedly ex-Bull and hot trade candidate at the time, Zach LaVine.

The theorized trade centered on Porter Jr. for LaVine, which nearly met the financial requirements. Adding seldom-used reserve Zeke Nnaji would have validated the trade. However, Nnaji’s inclusion in the proposed swap reportedly ruffled the Bulls’ feathers and ultimately derailed the deal.

The trade never materialized, and LaVine was eventually sent to the Sacramento Kings two months later in exchange for three role players and a first-round pick that was Chicago’s to begin with. Remaining dormant ahead of the trade deadline will undoubtedly be one of Denver’s biggest regrets following the 32-point drubbing.

LaVine would have added an entirely different dimension to the Nuggets’ one-dimensional offense. Denver shot only 10-of-45 from beyond the arc and relied exclusively on Jokic to generate offense. An ill Murray was incapable of replicating his back-to-back strong performances in a crucial Game 7. The 6-foot-4 guard looked gassed attempting to make something out of nothing against Oklahoma City’s litany of perimeter stoppers. Another on-ball scorer would have done wonders for the Nuggets.

Looking back, ditching Porter Jr. for LaVine was assuredly the right move, perhaps even for the Bulls, whose return for the two-time All-Star was less than stellar. A Matas Buzelis-Porter Jr. frontcourt is tantalizing to say the least. Still, who’s to know if Chicago would have entertained such an idea without absorbing a draft pick in the hypothetical swap?