NBA Trade Verdict

Nuggets Win

Chicago sent rights to Jusuf Nurkic, rights to Gary Harris, 2015 second round pick (less favorable of Blazers, Bulls picks) (#53-Dom Pointer) for Anthony Randolph, rights to Doug McDermott, and the outgoing package produced materially greater realized value.

June 26, 2014 Chicago Bulls / Denver Nuggets Record confidence: High

Chicago Bulls Received

Player Anthony Randolph
Draft Rights rights to Doug McDermott

Denver Nuggets Received

Draft Rights rights to Jusuf Nurkic
Draft Rights rights to Gary Harris
Draft Pick 2015 second round pick (less favorable of Blazers, Bulls picks) (#53-Dom Pointer)

Chicago Bulls

Denver Nuggets

A+

Trade Analysis

The Package in Full

This June 26, 2014 transaction between Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets is best read from the complete exchange rather than from one familiar name. Chicago sent rights to Jusuf Nurkic, rights to Gary Harris, 2015 second round pick (less favorable of Blazers, Bulls picks) (#53-Dom Pointer) for Anthony Randolph, rights to Doug McDermott, and the outgoing package produced materially greater realized value. The trade included 5 pieces: Anthony Randolph, rights to Doug McDermott, rights to Jusuf Nurkic, rights to Gary Harris, and 2015 second round pick (less favorable of Blazers, Bulls picks) (#53-Dom Pointer). That matters because players, draft rights, picks, cash, and transaction mechanisms can serve very different purposes even when they appear in the same deal. The retrospective question is therefore not which side received the longer list. It is which package produced the stronger basketball or asset value that the record can actually trace.

How the Value Separated

The verdict is Nuggets Win, with Denver Nuggets graded A+ and Chicago Bulls graded F. The realized-value outcome is a clear loss for Chicago. Nurkic and Harris both became quality long-term starters, while McDermott never justified the consolidated cost in Chicago. This was a severe draft-night overpay. That existing evaluation provides the spine of the grade rather than a new theory layered on top of it. The separation comes from comparing what each side actually received: Denver Nuggets took in rights to Jusuf Nurkic, rights to Gary Harris, and 2015 second round pick (less favorable of Blazers, Bulls picks) (#53-Dom Pointer), while Chicago Bulls took in Anthony Randolph and rights to Doug McDermott. Timing, roster fit, salary structure, and front-office intent can explain why a deal was made, but the final grade follows the durable value that emerged from the exchange.

Why Denver Nuggets Grades Higher

Denver Nuggets' side of the trade centered on rights to Jusuf Nurkic, rights to Gary Harris, and 2015 second round pick (less favorable of Blazers, Bulls picks) (#53-Dom Pointer). Denver converted Doug McDermott's rights and Anthony Randolph into Jusuf Nurkic, Gary Harris, and a second-round pick. Both incoming players became quality starters and core assets, creating a decisive draft-night win. The combination of peak performance and years of team value makes Denver's advantage clear. Read together with the list of assets, that perspective supports the A+ grade without requiring every incoming piece to become a major success. A winning trade can be driven by one high-impact player, a converted draft asset, several useful contributors, or a combination of basketball value and flexibility. Here, the stronger package is the one that better converted the return into value tied directly to this transaction, which is why Denver Nuggets sits on the favorable side of Nuggets Win.

The Case for Chicago Bulls' Return

Chicago Bulls received Anthony Randolph and rights to Doug McDermott. The realized-value outcome is a clear loss for Chicago. Nurkic and Harris both became quality long-term starters, while McDermott never justified the consolidated cost in Chicago. This was a severe draft-night overpay. The F grade does not mean that the losing side received nothing or acted without a plausible objective. It records the gap between that return and the value created by Denver Nuggets' package. The distinction is useful in historical grading: a team can gain a rotation player, financial relief, a pick, or a short-term fit and still lose the broader exchange if the other side captures substantially more production, longevity, or asset conversion.

Final Verdict

Nuggets Win. The grades are Denver Nuggets A+ and Chicago Bulls F. The decision rests on the package and the value it produced: Denver Nuggets' return was led by rights to Jusuf Nurkic, rights to Gary Harris, and 2015 second round pick (less favorable of Blazers, Bulls picks) (#53-Dom Pointer), while Chicago Bulls' side was built around Anthony Randolph and rights to Doug McDermott. The grade does not retroactively judge every front-office motive; it judges the completed exchange. On that basis, the stronger realized return belongs to Denver Nuggets, and the distance between the two grades reflects how clearly the transaction's most meaningful value finished on that side.

For Hardcore NBA Heads

Chicago Bulls–Denver Nuggets: What the Trade Became

The deeper story of the June 26, 2014 deal is how a transaction that can look compact on a ledger produced a lasting separation in value. The four locked transaction sources establish the exchange from both franchise histories, while the canonical analysis explains why the result is graded Denver Nuggets A+ and Chicago Bulls F. The useful historical exercise is to follow the assets after the agreement without drifting into unrelated later transactions. That keeps the focus on what this deal itself delivered: Anthony Randolph, rights to Doug McDermott, rights to Jusuf Nurkic, rights to Gary Harris, and 2015 second round pick (less favorable of Blazers, Bulls picks) (#53-Dom Pointer).

The Most Important Piece

The center of the winning return was rights to Jusuf Nurkic, rights to Gary Harris, and 2015 second round pick (less favorable of Blazers, Bulls picks) (#53-Dom Pointer). The realized-value outcome is a clear loss for Chicago. Nurkic and Harris both became quality long-term starters, while McDermott never justified the consolidated cost in Chicago. This was a severe draft-night overpay. Those details matter more than simple asset count because trade value is rarely distributed evenly across every line item. A single starter, premium draft conversion, or high-leverage piece can outweigh several smaller considerations. In this case, the trade identifies the outcome that created the decisive gap, and the A+ grade captures that advantage while remaining tied to the actual exchange documented on June 26, 2014.

Depth, Picks, and Supporting Value

The secondary pieces still matter because they define what each front office paid to reach its objective. Denver Nuggets received rights to Jusuf Nurkic, rights to Gary Harris, and 2015 second round pick (less favorable of Blazers, Bulls picks) (#53-Dom Pointer), while Chicago Bulls received Anthony Randolph and rights to Doug McDermott. When a package includes cash, draft rights, protected picks, exceptions, or lower-usage players, those items are treated as supporting value rather than automatically equated with a proven contributor. The record weighs what they became, what role they served, and whether they materially narrowed the gap created by the leading assets. Here, they did not overturn the direction of the verdict.

Intent Versus Realized Value

Both sides can have understandable trade-day logic without producing equal outcomes. Denver received rights to Jusuf Nurkic; rights to Gary Harris; 2015 second-round pick (less favorable of Blazers, Bulls picks) (#53-Sir'Dominic Pointer / Dom Pointer) from Chicago Bulls, sending Anthony Randolph; rights to Doug McDermott in return. Chicago sent rights to Jusuf Nurkic, rights to Gary Harris, 2015 second round pick (less favorable of Blazers, Bulls picks) (#53-Dom Pointer) for Anthony Randolph, rights to Doug McDermott, and the outgoing package produced materially greater realized value. Those team descriptions help preserve the original shape of the bargain: one franchise was acquiring rights to Jusuf Nurkic, rights to Gary Harris, and 2015 second round pick (less favorable of Blazers, Bulls picks) (#53-Dom Pointer), while the other was taking back Anthony Randolph and rights to Doug McDermott. Historical grading separates rationale from result. Salary needs, roster balance, timing, and opportunity cost belong in the context, but they do not erase the later evidence when one return produces more useful or more durable value.

What the Historical Record Shows

The grade spread—Denver Nuggets A+, Chicago Bulls F—is consistent with the trade details rather than with a generic winner/loser label. Denver Nuggets' side is credited for the value attached to rights to Jusuf Nurkic, rights to Gary Harris, and 2015 second round pick (less favorable of Blazers, Bulls picks) (#53-Dom Pointer); Chicago Bulls' side is credited for Anthony Randolph and rights to Doug McDermott and any legitimate purpose those assets served. The final margin reflects the difference between those outcomes. That is especially important for trades involving multiple asset types, because a pick, player, cash payment, or contractual mechanism should be judged by its documented consequence instead of by the fact that it occupied a line in the package.

Deep-Dive Verdict

Nuggets Win. The grades support the same conclusion: Denver Nuggets A+, Chicago Bulls F. Public sources confirm what changed hands, and the two analyses show how each team viewed the package. The deciding evidence is the realized value described in the analysis, not the number of components or the reputation of a single name in isolation. Denver Nuggets' return, centered on rights to Jusuf Nurkic, rights to Gary Harris, and 2015 second round pick (less favorable of Blazers, Bulls picks) (#53-Dom Pointer), finished ahead of the value Chicago Bulls obtained from Anthony Randolph and rights to Doug McDermott. That makes the verdict durable as a historical judgment while still leaving room to recognize any useful pieces or defensible objectives on the losing side.

Research sources (4)