Two veterans remain in trade talks as the Nuggets try to figure out how to build around Nikola Jokic this summer.
Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray both landed on Bleacher Report's newest trade board this week, with Murray checking in at No. 2 and Gordon at No. 5, making Denver the only team with two players on the list.
It isn't a total surprise given how the Nuggets' summer has played out so far.
Nuggets president Josh Kroenke set the tone back in May when he said "everything's going to be on the table" outside of trading Nikola Jokic, and the reporting since then has backed that up.
Denver has been floated in trade talks involving both players even as the front office tries to figure out how to build around its three-time MVP.
Why Gordon Keeps Coming Up
Gordon turns 31 in September, and durability has become the real question mark around him.
He only played 36 games this season after a pair of hamstring injuries, each one costing him more than a month, and then he sat out half of Denver's first round series against Minnesota.
When healthy, though, he gave the Nuggets exactly what they've come to expect, guarding multiple positions and averaging 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists a night while posting some of the best shooting numbers of his career.
Denver leans on him as a defensive anchor next to Jokic, and that fit is why plenty of contenders would still call about him even at his age and price tag.
Murray's Value
Murray is coming off the best season of his career, and that's exactly why his name keeps surfacing too.
He averaged 25.4 points, 7.1 assists, and 4.4 rebounds a game, earning his first All-Star nod and first All-NBA selection, and his numbers were career highs across the board.
The Nuggets have leaned on the Jokic-Murray combination since Murray was a rookie, and it's hard to picture Denver's offense without it.
But if the front office feels like the roster has fallen behind the rest of the West, trading Murray while his value peaks might be the quickest way to bring back real help.
He struggled in the loss to Minnesota, shooting just 35.7 percent from the field in that series, but that stretch hasn't cooled off the interest in him.
The Money Behind a Possible Trade
There's also a financial piece to this, since Denver finished the season 54-28, third in the Western Conference, before Minnesota knocked the Nuggets out in six games, and re-signing restricted free agent Peyton Watson is still the front office's top priority.
Denver sits close to the second apron with Gordon and Murray combined making more than 80 million dollars next season, so clearing one of those salaries would help get a Watson deal done.
Nuggets reporter Harrison Wind has said multiple trades are coming before that happens, and with the Nuggets' championship window tied so closely to Jokic's prime years, Denver can't afford to stand still.
Whether either trade actually happens is still unclear, but both players figure to stay in the rumor mill the rest of the offseason.
