Bill Simmons thinks the Denver Nuggets should take a big swing if Jaylen Brown ever becomes available.
On The Bill Simmons Show, Simmons floated a mock deal that would send Brown and Sam Hauser to Denver in exchange for Jamal Murray and Cam Johnson, a move he said would trim $10 million from the Nuggets’ books this year. He also noted that Boston could absorb Johnson into its trade exception.
“And there’s a lot of smoke billowing around Denver in general,” Simmons said. “Some I believe, some I don’t believe.
Murray and Cam Johnson for Jaylen and [Sam] Hauser, which would save Denver $10 million this year. The Celtics could take Cam Johnson in their trade exception.
Murray is 50 million this year, 54, and 57.
“So he’s about 8 million behind Jaylen in each of those years,” Simmons stated. “… Same amount of years, but I’m shaving off 7, 8 million.
I’m adding Cam Johnson, who I can either keep or spin in a trade, and I am getting somebody who I still think is one of the best 25 players in the league back for Jaylen. And I think if I’m on Boston, I’m signing up for that trade.
“If I’m Denver, I’m at least having a six-hour meeting,” Simmons continued. “And it’s a reconstruction of a team because you’re going to remove the Murray-Jokic pick-and-roll.
But you could run a lot of that offense through Joker. You re-sign Peyton Watson with the extra money.
You have him more involved offensively. And you could argue that that team’s better.
It’s bigger, it’s deeper.
“You have Jokic and [Aaron] Gordon and Jaylen as your front line,” Simmons added. “You have more flexibility.
And you have somebody who can really step in if Gordon gets hurt, which he gets hurt every year. And now you’re not getting destroyed if that happens.
And you’re under the tax. And you can get Watson.
That trade makes a ton of sense to me, Zach [Lowe].”
Denver’s interest in Brown lines up with the reality that Aaron Gordon has become a major availability concern. The Nuggets have had a hard time holding up when he’s out, and last season was a rough reminder of that. Gordon appeared in just 36 regular-season games in 2025-26 and then played three games in the playoffs as the Minnesota Timberwolves knocked Denver out in six games in the first round.
Brown would obviously be a different kind of solution. The 29-year-old delivered 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.4 blocks per game for Boston in 2025-26, giving the Nuggets an elite two-way wing who could soften the blow if Gordon misses time. He also might be the best scorer Nikola Jokic has ever played with, and he’d likely arrive with extra motivation after some of the talk surrounding him.
Hauser would also bring value as a perimeter piece. In 2025-26, he averaged 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.3 blocks per game while shooting 39.3% from three. That kind of floor spacing matters next to Jokic.
For Boston, the attraction is Murray’s best season yet. He averaged 25.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.4 blocks per game in the regular season, earned his first All-Star nod in 2026 and made the All-NBA Third Team. His playoff run wasn’t as strong, but the regular-season production was undeniable.
Johnson would give the Celtics another useful piece as well. He started slowly, then settled in and finished 2025-26 with 12.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.4 blocks per game while shooting 43.0% from deep. He’s entering the final year of his four-year, $94.5 million deal, which also leaves Boston the option to move him again.
There are obvious questions on Denver’s side. Brown is not a true point guard, and the Nuggets would be light on secondary creation if Murray were moved. Simmons acknowledged that part of the problem, and Denver would need to find another ballhandler to make it work.
Even so, the financial angle is real, and the possible path to bringing back Peyton Watson only adds to the appeal. Denver isn’t being talked about like a contender right now after last season’s finish, but a deal built around Brown could change that conversation fast.
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