Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets locker room:

NBA Insider

There appears to be a difference of opinion between Aaron Gordon and the Nuggets.

“I’m ready,” Gordon said after Saturday’s game in Minnesota. “I don’t feel my calf anymore. Yeah, I’m ready. So, it’s on the training staff and the coaching staff.”

Denver’s training staff and coaching staff appear to feel differently. Gordon continued to play as a part of Denver’s second unit in Monday’s game at Chicago. After Saturday’s loss, Nuggets coach Michael Malone didn’t sound like a change of plans was coming anytime soon.

“We’re just going to continue to stay with it, bring him off the bench for the time being and utilize him in any way that we can to help us get wins,” Malone said Saturday.

Gordon played 25 minutes in Saturday’s loss, the most he played since he strained his right calf muscle on Dec. 25. He sounded like he thought he could’ve been of more assistance against a big and strong Timberwolves squad.

“It’s a big, balanced team. They have big wings. They got a big center, big power forward. They’ve got good size, good skills, so it is a very physical team. You’ve got to match their physicality,” Gordon said.

“Just to have a chance with that team, you’ve got to match their physicality first.”

Gordon and Peyton Watson were the first two players off Denver’s bench Monday in Chicago. Gordon’s next opportunity to join the starting lineup comes Wednesday in New York. Gordon did looked little hindered after a dunk in Minnesota, two of his 13 points in the game. But it wasn’t related to the injury that’s limited him to 25 appearances this season, with nine of those coming off the bench.

“It was something else. I’m fine,” Gordon said. “It wasn’t my calf. I’m good.”

What I’m Thinking

With less than two weeks before the NBA trade deadline, Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth should be answering the phone, but he shouldn’t be making many calls.

Despite an ugly showing Saturday in Minnesota, the Nuggets entered Monday’s slate fourth in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City is the only team above the Nuggets that’s probably out of reach by the end of the regular season, and Denver has a favorable schedule until the deadline. With the roster getting healthy at the right time, Booth should feel comfortable without making a major move. A less exciting move to address the back-up center spot makes sense, but it won’t be easy to pull off given the restraints Denver faces as a team that’s in the first apron of the luxury tax. Michael Malone also appears quite comfortable using DeAndre Jordan throughout the regular season and using Aaron Gordon as needed in more important regular-season games and the playoffs.

Going for one of the big names on the market like Jimmy Butler or Zach LaVine is an unnecessary risk that could prematurely close Denver’s championship window. Booth’s best bet is to let other teams get more desperate as the deadline nears before making too many calls.

What They’re Saying

By this point, the Nuggets should have a pretty good idea what to expect when it comes to the physicality with which the Timberwolves play. That didn’t seem to help Saturday.

“A lot to a little,” Malone said of Minnesota’s physicality compared to his team’s after the game. “They were definitely a lot more physical, a lot more aggressive, a lot more urgent. It was like we kind of showed up like a team that was 12-3 in our last 15 games, feeling good about ourselves, and thinking we could just show up to a division game against a team that beat us on our home floor last year in a Game 7. You’ve got to give them a ton of credit. Definitely disappointing way to start this road trip.”

Nikola Jokic scored 13 points in the first quarter of that game but finished with 20.

“We probably could’ve featured Jok a little bit more in this game,” Gordon said. “He came out torching, so if he’s doing that, you’ve got to just feed him.”

Jokic also committed two of his seven turnovers in the quarter, but said the Timberwolves weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary on him defensively.

“It just happened other guys were getting open,” Jokic said. “I think they didn’t make any different adjustments.”

What I’m Following

– Another week, another development in Miami’s Jimmy Butler drama. The latest is an indefinite suspension after Butler reportedly walked out of the team’s shootaround after he was informed he would no longer start for the Heat.

– The field for the dunk contest is set and full of players with limited name recognition. Mac McClung, who has appeared in one NBA game this season with Orlando, will look to win his third dunk contest. The rest of the field features two rookies – Spurs guard Stephon Castle and Chicago wing Matas Buzelis – and Andre Jackson Jr. a second-year wing for the Bucks.

– The injury bug has made its way to Dallas. First, it was Dereck Lively II, who is expected to miss at least a couple of months with a fractured ankle. Then, Maxi Kleber suffered a foot fracture in Saturday’s loss to the Celtics. That has left Daniel Gafford as the team’s only healthy big man. Dallas had lost three of four heading into Monday’s game.

What I’m Reading

ESPN’s Kevin Pelton looked at 10 players on the trade market who could help a contending team win a title. The Nuggets are listed as a “best possible fit” for Chicago’s Zach LaVine, but Pelton notes a trade is less likely given how well Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook have played recently.

The List

The odds for the next NBA champion have featured some movement in the last couple of weeks. The Nuggets are among the five teams with the best odds, per BetMGM.

1. Boston Celtics, +240

2. Oklahoma City Thunder, +240

3. Cleveland Cavaliers, +700

4. Denver Nuggets, +1,200

5. New York Knicks, +1,300