The Nuggets have already been handed a pretty clear offseason warning: don’t let a trade pursuit leave one of your core players stranded and unhappy.
That lesson is sitting right there in Boston. The Celtics put Jaylen Brown on the table in a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo, only to watch Milwaukee go with the Heat’s offer instead. The result has been an awkward situation for Boston and its star guard, to the point where a trade is now on the table not because the Celtics necessarily want to move him, but because the relationship has been damaged.
Denver can’t afford to let that happen with Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon, whether the Nuggets are chasing Brown or some other player. If they get outbid and come up empty, it could create exactly the kind of tension Boston is dealing with now - the kind that can turn a big swing into a problem.
And according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Denver doesn’t sound like it’s going around actively trying to move those guys anyway:
“With that in mind, league sources say they’re fielding calls for their players but not shopping them.”
That’s the line the Nuggets have to walk this summer. Josh Kroenke already said weeks ago that everything is on the table except Nikola Jokić.
That naturally put Murray and Gordon in the conversation. But there’s a difference between listening and making one of your key guys the face of a failed chase.
Boston’s situation is the cautionary tale. The Celtics would not have made Brown available if they didn’t believe a deal for Antetokounmpo was possible, but that gamble didn’t pay off. They were looking at a potential upgrade to a team that had already been very good, and instead they’re left managing the fallout.
The timing only makes it messier. Boston won the title two years ago, then a year later Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles in the playoffs and missed most of the 2025-26 season.
What was supposed to be a down year still ended with the Celtics as the No. 2 seed in the East, though they were bounced in the first round. Now Tatum is expected to be closer to his normal self next season, which keeps Boston in the mix again - but only if Brown is still there.
That part should sound familiar to Denver.
Murray in that kind of limbo would be a dangerous game for a Nuggets team that can still win a championship with Jokić. Gordon matters too, even if his injury history over the last couple of seasons makes the comparison a little different. His importance to Denver is not in question.
The bigger point is simple: the Nuggets need to stay focused on maximizing the window they still have with Jokić, and that window has gotten tougher to work with since 2023. The last thing they need is a frustrated Murray or Gordon creating another layer of noise - especially with Jokić already reportedly considering not signing an extension this summer, according to The Stein Line.
For Denver, the priority is clear. Don’t turn a busy offseason into a chaotic one.
In Other News...
Nuggets May Be Losing A Shooting Fix They Can't Afford To Replace
Tim Hardaway Jr. gave Denver the kind of perimeter pop the roster has been short on in recent years, and his fit was obvious during a strong season in Nuggets colors. But even with that value, the franchises financial picture makes a clean retention plan tough, which is exactly the problem when a useful shooting specialist hits free agency.
The squeeze gets tighter if Denver decides it needs to move Cam Johnson for cap relief, a step that would chip away at the teams three-point depth even further. If those moves come to pass, the Nuggets would be leaning harder on internal volume from Peyton Watson, Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic to keep the floor spaced, and that is a lot to ask when the roster already looks thin in the one area it can least afford to lose. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Just Sent A Surprising Message About Jalen Pickett's Future
Jalen Picketts place in Denver has taken a sharp turn after a brief but meaningful run with the Nuggets. The 32nd pick in the 2023 draft has appeared in 126 games for the team, a sign that the organization saw enough in him to keep developing him as a backcourt piece, even if his role never fully settled into something permanent.
Now the Nuggets are signaling a different direction as they sort through their guard rotation and look ahead to the offseason. Moving on from Pickett opens another question in a backcourt that already needs more handling and depth, and it leaves Denver weighing how to fill those minutes as it continues reshaping the roster around its core. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Pursuit Of Jaylen Brown Just Hit A Brutal Reality Check
Denvers interest in Jaylen Brown has been real enough to keep the idea alive, but the market around him has quickly made the conversation more theoretical than practical. Bostons stance has already put a heavy price tag on any potential deal, and for a Nuggets team built around contending now, the challenge is figuring out whether a swing that big still makes sense.
The bigger picture in Denver is still centered on Nikola Jokic, who remains the franchises anchor and, according to reports, is committed to staying despite the contract uncertainty hanging over the situation. With that as the priority, the Brown pursuit has cooled, and for the moment a move that once sounded intriguing now looks increasingly out of reach. [Read more 🡒]