In Part 1 of our three part series on the fallout to come from the Denver Nuggets collapse in the 2026 playoffs we discussed changes that could be made in coaching with the lens of knowing the Nuggets are going to retain head coach David Adelman. While there were many who believed the coach did not deserve a second season at the helm following the Nuggets woeful exit from the playoffs, the organization did not share that sentiment. If there are changes going to be made on the coaching front they will be minor. Which means the Nuggets will look elsewhere for significant change. In this part we look at Denver’s roster and the players that make up their core, where indications both from the media and the Nuggets themselves are that change could be coming.
The natural thing to do here is assume the Nuggets will make a big splashy trade and break up their big three by dealing either Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon. They did something similar last year with the trade of Michael Porter Jr. which ended the core four that won a title together so there’s little reason to doubt that Ben Tenzer, Johnathan Wallace and Josh Kroenke would hesitate to make a big move if one came along that they liked. I’m not so convinced they will find one they like though. Whether it’s Jamal’s max contract or Aaron’s waning health there’s reason to think twice about acquiring either player. They are also such massive parts of what Denver does that the Nuggets can’t move them for just anyone, it has to be the right deal that will make them better in some areas while still providing a lot of what AG & Jamal do for Denver. This type of trade is difficult to pull off and even harder to get adequate value from. The Nuggets might be better off with less headline grabbing moves.
For the sake of argument though, what would a Jamal or AG trade look like? Murray by far has the most impact on the court. He’s an all-star, was named to the All NBA third team and is right in the middle of his prime. Yes, his contract is max but he is also coming off the best season of his career and is at his absolute peak and 100% justified the max contract this past year as one of the 15 best players in the league. You’ll pay max dollars but also get max production provided he stays healthy. That second part might be a bigger detractor for some than the salary. Yes, Jamal was for all intents and purposes healthy this year but it’s the first season since 2019 that he’s played more than 67 games. As he transitions into his 30s teams will have to ask themselves if they can trust his health.
While the injuries may be a bigger concern from a long term standpoint, the salary might be the biggest hurdle for the Nuggets and any potential trade partners in the short term. Again, it’s not that Jamal is overpaid, he’s not, but he makes such a significant amount of the salary cap that it’s difficult to find a deal that is: legal by NBA rules, viewed as fair value by both teams and doesn’t involve overhauling the entire roster. In these scenarios a one for one max player for max player swap might make sense. A team looking for a better scoring option in the backcourt might be able to offer up a premium wing or big which could potentially work better for Denver. The big names out there with some rumblings (or loud proclamations) that they may be open to a move are Jaylen Brown with the Boston Celtics and Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Milwaukee Bucks. Denver does not have the package to acquire Giannis sadly. A player with his accolades (an MVP and finals MVP) will likely demand multiple players/picks in return. It’s not really a question of whether that’s fair value for Giannis, but of whether another team is willing to pay that price for him, of which the indications seem to strongly be yes. Trading for Giannis with a Jamal package also brings in the question of fit if Gordon is staying on the roster.
Brown fits Denver’s roster a bit better. He’s not going to come cheap either as a former Finals MVP himself, but he’s certainly not going to bring the same return that Giannis would. Having Brown on the roster would give the Nuggets a high level wing to replace either Christian Braun or Cam Johnson in the starting lineup. Jaylen is an improvement over either of those two players and would give Denver more scoring on the wings without sacrificing defense, something they absolutely need to improve on the roster. It’s also feasible, though unorthodox, to think Brown could just play beside Christian and Cam along with AG and Nikola and that starting lineup would be just fine given both Brown and Jokic’s ability to initiate and run an offense even if there is no true point guard in that group. The trade is also easy enough to figure out. Some combination of Murray and either Zeke Nnaji or Jonas Valanciunas for Brown and one of any of the handful of $3 million or so contracts on Boston’s roster. Throw in Denver’s 1st round pick this year which can be traded on draft night (Denver will just have to do the old make the pick for the Celtics and have the dude walk across the stage in a Nuggets hat thing).
Question is, would a trade like that actually improve Denver’s chances? Sure, Brown is a great player but so is Jamal, arguably the better player even. It also leaves Denver a massive hole at point guard with not a ton of options beyond more trades to shore that up. Do you follow this trade with a Johnson trade to try to get back a starting PG? I also question the fit in Boston for Jamal where the Celtics already have two very capable point guards in Derrick White and Payton Pritchard. Denver is more likely to extract max value from a team that could clearly benefit from a score first guard in his prime. The Houston Rockets seem like a prime candidate for that. A deal of Murray, Jonas Valanciunas and Jalen Pickett for Kevin Durant, Reed Sheppard and Clint Capela works financially. From the Rockets end it provides a nice exit from the KD experiment and essentially just accelerates Sheppard’s development to its endpoint. Jamal would give them a clear number one scoring option to pair with Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson.
The fit is less clear on Denver’s end though. While getting back Sheppard would give you a player that could feasibly slot into Jamal’s starting role (and probably flourish with Nikola), the trade does nothing to improve the Nuggets perimeter defense or rim protection, which was a massive issue in the playoffs, and Durant is going to be on his third team in three seasons. The guy is undoubtedly a hall of famer and one of the greatest scorers of all time but he’s also 37 and clearly struggles to fit with already established rosters. I’m honestly not sure Denver’s locker room is strong enough to handle it and a malcontent KD could derail an entire season which means another lost year of Nikola’s prime.
I think it’s really hard to find a trade involving Jamal that works and it’s almost impossible to get back fair value. As hard as it is to part ways, Denver is may be more likely to find a deal for Mr. Nugget, aka Aaron Gordon, that works for for the Nuggets. The battle will be that Gordon is at an all time low in terms of his trade value. AG has played more than 70 games just twice in Denver and over the past two seasons he’s played 87 regular season games combined. As he heads into his thirties his health is a major concern. There’s not been a significant, massive injury so perhaps that will make him viewed as less of an injury risk, but the persistent soft tissue injuries that drag on for months during the season is reason to doubt his value, at least in trade negotiations if nothing else.
When healthy, Gordon represents a significant part of Denver’s defense as their best option for defending both low post bigs and large wings. When they acquired Gordon the Nuggets were concerned with the likes of LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Gordon was the guy that on one possession could pick up LeBron on the wings and on the next bang with Anthony Davis in the post. There was a clear need in the Western Conference for that type of player. Today, while certainly that skill set is very valuable, the West is more dominated with guards who seek to drive the lane and, unfortunately, draw contact. Gordon, particularly without a full bill of health, is not as effective against these types of players. That was painfully evident in the series against Minnesota where he struggled to stay in front of anyone. It may just be a case of him needing to be healthy, but again, that’s been no guarantee.
There are a number of different options you can go with an AG trade, but getting a decent return will be a challenge right now given his struggles with health. If Denver is looking to trade Gordon they are probably better served waiting until the trade deadline where hopefully he can put together a solid run of games and good health. Of course…if AG is having a solid run of games and good health then the argument to keep him very well may make the most sense.
I think it’s far more likely the Nuggets try to trade Cam Johnson. He is on an expiring deal and at $23 million per it’s extremely workable in a number of trades. Yes, Johnson has his own questions related to health, but he shot 43% from three while working in a complementary role with the Nuggets. He’s already shown he’s a capable top scoring option on lottery teams as well. Dealing Johnson would clear space for Denver to give Peyton Watson a new contract and he’d slide in nicely to Johnson’s starting role. There probably won’t be much, if any return though. The Nuggets are highly unlikely to take back the equivalent salary of Johnson and give Watson a new deal. Doing so would require other major moves to avoid the 2nd apron in the luxury tax, something Denver has demonstrated through their actions that they have no interest in being in.
Denver’s need to clear room via a trade in order to re-sign Watson complicates things. There are three teams with the ability to create the cap space to absorb all or most of Cam’s salary: the Brooklyn Nets (lol), the Los Angeles Lakers (means renouncing LeBron’s bird rights and they probably would rather not help Denver keep Watson) and the Chicago Bulls. Chicago is the clear most likely choice here, but what are you willing to accept as Nuggets fans? Would you accept a Cam Johnson + the 2032 2nd round pick for Tre Jones deal? Because something like that is probably what you’re getting. Such a deal just to be able to sign Watson begs the question “is that really making a change at all?”
Therein lies the rub, if you’re not trading either Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon, then for all intents and purposes you are running it back. Christian Braun’s contract is almost untradeable given the length left on it, a Johnson deal would almost for sure be to just clear space, you’re not trading Nikola….and so there’s really nothing else left to do to bring back major change. Certainly, there are moves to be made in the margins, but Denver’s most likely course of action may very well be to run it back. Josh Kroenke floated this idea during his end of season press conference, and its one will explore in part 3 of this series.
