While all of the other starters for the Denver Nuggets missed a lot of games last year due to injury, Jamal Murray had his healthiest season since 2018-19, playing in 75 games. He backed it up with a career year, garnering All-NBA Third Team honors and an All-Star nod for the first time in his career. So what are the Nuggets to do if something happens to Murray? It's a massive question from Nuggets fans that will probably remain unanswered throughout the offseason.
Sure, we hope to avoid this scenario like we did last year with Murray, but given his past, the odds aren't in our favor. And right now, the only backup to Murray is ball-control specialist Tyus Jones. Jones can't scratch the surface of what Murray does everywhere else, though. And behind Jones is two-way player KJ Simpson. What happens if Murray suffers an injury that lasts for 15 games or more? Or worse? Are the Nuggets really going to stand pat with those two as the backups?
A Murray injury could force the Nuggets to consider a big name to trade
The Nuggets have already been the subject of trade rumors, mostly surrounding sign-and-trades involving Peyton Watson and who the team will trade if Watson were to return. But if the Nuggets enter a nightmare scenario in which they lose Murray and Jones moves to the top of the point guard depth chart for a while, they'll almost certainly have to figure out a trade for a better replacement.
But who would the Nuggets trade? It feels like if this scenario were to occur, they'd have to trade a bigger name like Cameron Johnson, who's in the final year of his contract. Johnson is the easy choice. But Johnson may be traded to keep Watson if the Nuggets do reach an agreement with the restricted-free-agent forward.
It's not pretty beyond that. The options are likely Christian Braun, who a lot of Nuggets fans would be fine with trading given his enormous five-year $125 million extension that starts this season. But then after him, it's either Murray himself or Aaron Gordon. I mentioned the big names because who's going to trade for Zeke Nnaji? DaRon Holmes II? Julian Strawther? It's bleak on the back end of the roster, and they return for any of them wouldn't get the Nuggets much more than a Jones-level replacement.
And if the Nuggets choose to roll with Jones and Simpson if the nightmare hits? Yikes. Jokic's going to have to play point-center. A lot.
Fingers are crossed for a healthy Murray in 2026-27
At this point, Nuggets fans are basically left with crossing their fingers and hoping for another healthy year for Murray. I mean, yes, we do that every year. But it seems worse this year.
Murray may not be the most important player on the Nuggets, but the lack of depth behind him makes it even more critical that he stays on the court.
Add us as a preferred source on Google