The final practice before the trade deadline was a fun exercise for the Denver Nuggets.

“We played dodgeball,” Aaron Gordon said before the team boarded a flight to Los Angeles for Thursday’s game against the Lakers.

Gordon was impressed with Nikola Jokic’s game and added that he eliminated an opponent with a move from his days on the playground.

“He’s a man of many talents, very talented, very skilled dodgeball player,” Gordon said of Jokic.

“I hit somebody with the okie-doke. Throw a ball high, you know know what I mean, somebody looks up, and you bean them. Old school, man.”

It was players against coaches with each side winning one of the two games before Nuggets coach Michael Malone decided against a rubber match. He predicted the coaches would’ve won the third game and didn’t want his players feeling dejected on the flight.

“The players came out on fire. I felt targeted. I took it a little personally. Jamal (Murray) got me first game; Joker (Jokic) got me second game. The smiles on their faces were a little disturbing when they did that,” Malone said.

“These are the dog days. We’re just trying to find different ways to get guys loose, bring some fun to the gym.”

The choice to keep things light seemed to be more about the four games separating the Nuggets from the All-Star break than Thursday’s 1 p.m. trade deadline. Malone said he hasn’t had the need to have conversations with any players involved in trade talks. After a few conversations with general manager Calvin Booth, Malone has expressed publicly that he likes his team’s make up, though he maintains there’s another gear the team, as currently constructed, can reach.

“I haven’t spoken to anybody. The only time I’m ever going to speak to somebody is if there’s something active going on,” Malone said.

“I’ve talked with Calvin, met with him a few times, but I don’t feel there’s a need to really address something that isn’t there. I think all of our players understand this is a business. You never know what kind of phone calls you will get. You have to answer that phone in Calvin’s job. That’s his number one responsibility. You’re always looking at ways to get better.”

The Nuggets reportedly had an interest in a back-up guard but facilitating a trade appears to be difficult task. Denver’s committed to its championship starting five and is prioritizing the development of a few young reserves. Couple that with the team’s financial situation on the brink of the second apron of the luxury tax and a lack of picks to offer in a trade, and acquiring any addition help becomes a much more complicated exercise.

“We’re in a pretty good place,” Malone said with his team tied for first in the Western Conference with the Timberwolves, Thunder and Clippers heading into Monday’s slate. “If something comes up, I’ll grab guys and kind of give them a heads up and talk to them about it, but that hasn’t happened as of yet.”

Nuggets coach Michael Malone competes Sunday in Denver.

The Associated Press