Even after the Nuggets stretched Jonas Valanciunas’s waived contract, Denver is still sitting above the second apron. That leaves the front office with a clear deadline: get under it by next February, or start paying a steeper price in penalties and luxury tax. In other words, some kind of money move feels inevitable.
The obvious name is Zeke Nnaji. He’s due about $7.5 million this season and has a player option for next year, but Denver’s problem is simple: Nnaji alone probably doesn’t bring back enough value.
To move him, the Nuggets would likely need to sweeten the deal with something more meaningful. That’s tough, because Denver has just one tradeable first-round pick and only a thin stash of second-rounders, so hanging onto draft capital makes sense.
Still, Nnaji isn’t the only path out of the second apron if the Nuggets decide they need to act. If Denver gets aggressive, these are the trade chips that matter most - with Nikola Jokic left out of the conversation.
One of the more interesting pieces on the board is the unprotected 2031 first-round pick Denver got from Cleveland in the Peyton Watson sign-and-trade. Before that deal, the Nuggets had no tradeable first-rounders at all. Now they can move either that Cavs pick or their own 2031 first-rounder, and either one should draw real interest.
Cameron Johnson also stands out as a logical trade candidate. He’s the most likely piece to move outside of Nnaji, and his contract makes that easy to understand. The 30-year-old forward is in the final year of a deal worth just over $23 million, which puts him squarely in trade-deadline territory.
Johnson gave Denver solid production last season, averaging 12.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting 48% from the field and 43% from three. He gave the Nuggets exactly what they wanted on the wing: spacing, efficiency, and enough defensive ability to stay on the floor. Denver paid a steep price to get him - Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick - and Johnson rewarded that investment with strong play.
That’s why he profiles as the kind of forward contenders usually chase. He can stretch the floor and defend, which is the kind of skill set every playoff team wants.
The wrinkle is that his market value is still unclear. Denver clearly checked around on him this summer and didn’t find a deal worth making, though that picture could change once the season gets rolling.
Aaron Gordon is harder to pin down. He may be Denver’s second-most valuable player, but his trade value doesn’t sit in one neat place.
At 30, he’s still one of the NBA’s best glue guys - the sort of player who does a little bit of everything and makes a roster feel complete. Even so, his availability has been an issue.
Gordon put up 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game last season, with 49.7/38.9 shooting splits, but he appeared in only 36 games. That followed a 2024-25 season in which he played 51 games. Health is now part of the conversation, and it matters because his contract is heavy: $32 million this season, $34.5 million next season, and a $37.1 million player option for 2028-29.
Any team taking on that deal would want confidence that Gordon can stay on the court. His value could rise by February if he stays healthy, but even with the uncertainty, he remains one of Denver’s most attractive trade assets.
Then there’s Jamal Murray, who is the Nuggets’ most valuable piece behind Jokic. Trading him would cost a massive package, which is exactly why the idea feels remote. Murray is one of the league’s top point guards, and his production last season backed that up.
He averaged 25.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists while shooting 48.5% from the field and 43.5% from deep. It was easily the best season of his career, and that naturally led to some offseason speculation about whether Denver might consider cashing in.
The Nuggets kept him, and that probably was the right call. But if the team finds itself in a pinch before the deadline, his name would still sit near the top of any trade discussion.
The issue, as always, is the price tag. Murray is owed $50.1 million this season, $53.8 million next season, and $57.5 million in 2028-29.
That’s $161.5 million over the next three years, before even getting into the assets another team would have to send back to land him. It’s a huge commitment, but for a desperate team in need of an All-Star point guard, that kind of swing is exactly what creates a market.
In Other News...
Nuggets Just Made A Jonas Valanciunas Move With Bigger Cap Stakes
Jonas Valanciunas is already out of Denver and onto his next stop in Lithuania, but the Nuggets are still sorting through the financial aftershocks. The club will use the stretch provision on the remaining $2 million cap charge from his contract, pushing the hit over three seasons and giving the front office a little more breathing room as it looks ahead to its books.
The effect is less about this season than the one coming next, when every dollar on the cap sheet matters for a team operating deep in the tax. Denvers move trims its projected luxury tax bill in a meaningful way, a reminder that even a waived player can linger in the ledger long after he is gone from the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Suddenly Face A Big Post-Watson Bench Defense Question
The Nuggets addition of DeMar DeRozan gives the bench another proven scorer, but the bigger question left by the Peyton Watson trade is how Denver replaces the defensive value Watson brought off the bench. Watson was the kind of disruptive perimeter presence that helped the second unit hold up against quicker wings and guards, and his departure leaves a role that cannot be filled simply by adding another bucket-getter.
For that job, Denver may have to look to rookie Alpha Diallo, whose defense stood out in the EuroLeague and earned him Defensive Player of the Year honors. Diallo has the length, activity and discipline to profile as the sort of perimeter stopper Watson was asked to be, but the real test is whether that edge carries over to NBA pace and spacing. For a Nuggets team trying to keep its bench balanced, that translation could matter just as much as DeRozans scoring. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Still Have Two Roster Decisions That Could Matter A Lot
The Nuggets have already done a fair bit of reshaping this summer, moving Peyton Watson, adding DeMar DeRozan and then bringing in rookie Bryce Hopkins on a two-way deal. Even with those moves on the books, Denver still has one standard contract spot and one two-way opening available, leaving a little more room for the front office to tinker before the 2026-27 season arrives.
One name to keep in mind for the last standard deal is Lonnie Walker IV, who looks like the most natural fit if the Nuggets decide to use it. The two-way picture is less settled, too, with Julian Reese now in the organization after being part of the Watson trade. He is still expected to be waived, but Denver could also choose to keep him around a little longer as the roster edges toward completion. [Read more 🡒]