Why Nuggets Should Consider Trading Jamal Murray This Season

Point guard Jamal Murray is off to a great start, and the Denver Nuggets are still just 4-3 and ninth in the Western Conference.

The gap between how well Murray is playing and how the team is doing is why Denver should consider something that would have sounded crazy a year ago, which is listening to trade offers for its second star.

Murray is averaging 25.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists through seven games while shooting 50.9% from three.

He scored 42 against New Orleans, 39 at Phoenix and 35 against Portland, and head coach David Adelman said after the Portland loss that Murray is playing at his highest regular-season level since the start of last season, as he told the Denver Gazette.

"Since the start of last year, this is the highest level I've seen him play."

That is great news for Denver, but it also means Murray's trade value may never be higher, even if teammates have talked about how much Murray means to the defense and this would not be an easy call.

On his podcast this week, The Ringer's Zach Lowe named Murray as a possible surprise trade candidate, and he said that if the Nuggets are not good, he thinks something could crack in Denver.

The money is the biggest reason to listen, since Murray is making $50.1 million this season on a deal that runs through 2028-29.

Center Nikola Jokic can sign an extension next summer that ESPN reported could be worth up to $360 million over five years.

ESPN's Ben Golliver also wrote this week that there is no plausible path for Denver to pay Jokic, improve the supporting cast and avoid the second apron penalties all at once.

Denver has also traded away its first-round picks in 2027, 2029 and 2032, so it does not have many other ways to add help.

The bench ranks 28th in scoring, according to Golliver, and Murray himself has talked about how the team needs to help Jokic more.

Trading one big contract for two or three good rotation players could fix that problem.

There is a real argument on the other side.

Golliver also wrote that Denver cannot afford to part with Murray given his strong play and track record, and that none of the younger players have played well enough to bring back a big return.

The Murray and Jokic partnership has years of history behind it, and that counts for a lot.

The Nuggets also have injuries to sort through, as veteran DeMar DeRozan has been day-to-day with back spasms, and guard Julian Strawther is out with a knee sprain.

The team was also hurt on the boards in the Portland loss, as Adelman called out the rebounding afterward.

I am not saying Denver must trade Murray, but the front office should take calls and see what is out there before the deadline, because a 4-3 start with few picks left is not a time to stand still.

If the Nuggets are still around .500 in a month or two, listening to offers stops being an option and becomes a must.