The Denver Nuggets are entering the offseason with all options on the table outside of trading Nikola Jokic, and that means speculation about upcoming trades will be rampant. So far, the biggest and most frequently mentioned name is Jamal Murray. And the latest rumor postulates Murray linking back up with a familiar face in Brooklyn, and Michael Porter Jr.
Bill Simmons was discussing trade possibilities for the Nets and the number six pick of the NBA draft, and he thought the Nuggets and Jamal Murray would make an interesting swap. No specifics on the financials or anything like that were given. Simmons just thought it could make sense for the Nets and that they could target Murray to pursue it.
But it's an interesting thought. Would bringing in the possible sixth pick, at the moment rumored to be Darius Acuff Jr., be the right move for the Nuggets?
It's an interesting proposition that gives the Nuggets upside
Denver fans love Mal, and losing him would be a large heartbreak. But the Nuggets have all options except for trading Joker on the table, so it's something that fans are going to have to accept as a possibility. At least this possibility brings in someone who profiles very similarly to Murray, but who is about a decade younger.
Acuff, a freshman point guard from Arkansas, averaged 23.5 points and 6.4 assists in the 2025-26 season. He was a first-team AP All-American, and at just 19, he has a big upside the Nuggets could chase. But does that upside appear in his rookie season, when the Nuggets need it to compete for a championship? Odds would say probably not.
But you have Joker, who makes everyone around him better on offense. You never know how it could work out with a younger point guard.
Murray's name is going to be tossed around a lot
Trading Murray is going to have to net something that gets the Nuggets back into the championship conversation next year, not in years down the road. The championship window shrinks as Jokic gets older, even though with the right team around him, he could probably lead them to a title for the next half of a decade.
At the end of the day, the Nuggets' biggest trade piece is Murray, and his name is going to be tossed into the trade conversation a lot as we get closer to the end of the playoffs. He's coming off a career year, and his value has never been higher. The Nuggets will listen to offers, but the question is, will anything be good enough to entice them to actually trade Murray?
Add us as a preferred source on Google