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PHOENIX, ARIZONA - MARCH 24: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets reacts during the second half of the NBA game at Mortgage Matchup Center on March 24, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Nuggets defeated the Suns 125-123.
The Denver Nuggets did more than disappoint with their first-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it may be time to toss the blueprint out the window.
Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic led the franchise to its first NBA title back in 2023, falling in seven-game series in Round 2 to the T-Wolves and the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the next two playoffs, respectively. But after wrapping up the No. 3 seed in a competitive Western Conference despite an array of injuries in 2025-26, Denver won just two postseason contests in 2026 before its exit.
The Nuggets’ front office clearly must make a move, and Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report suggested a “desperate” deal flipping Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson and a first-round pick swap in 2031 to the Houston Rockets for the final two years of an aging Kevin Durant’s contract.
“And after three straight early exits from the playoffs, it may be time to seriously consider moves as drastic as trading Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon,” Bailey wrote. “But the ability to attach a far-flung first-round pick swap to Cameron Johnson and Christian Braun could give them one more shot at contention with the Nikola Jokić-Murray-Gordon core.”
“Durant would be a terrifying catch-and-shoot option for Jokic,” Bailey continued. “And his ability to get his own baskets would take a lot of pressure off Jokic and Murray as playmakers.”
Kevin Durant Aging, Expensive, Offense-First Player
GettyKevin Durant of the Houston Rockets.
Durant, a two-time champion and NBA Finals MVP, is certainly still an elite offensive player. He averaged 26 points per game during his age-37 campaign and made yet another All-Star Game appearance (the 16th of his 18-year career).
But Durant also suffered two separate injuries that cost him five of the Rockets’ six games in a Round 1 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Durant’s sheer size and length render him at least a presence on defense, but he is expensive — $44 million next season and $46 million on a player option in 2027-28 when he will be on the doorstep of 40 years old.
Attempting to trade for Durant would represent a win-now swing for Denver that tosses more of its youth and future draft capital out the window in the name of a last gasp for the title-trio of Jokic, Murray and Gordon that may have already run its course as a true contender in the West.
Nikola Jokic Calls Out Nuggets as “Far Away” From Title Contention
GettyNikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
If the Nuggets are interested in maximizing the last years of Jokic’s prime in a conference with the ascending San Antonio Spurs and the reigning champion Thunder, Denver should be looking to get younger rather than of older and better on defense rather than piling more offense atop Jokic and Murray.
“We just lost in the first round,” Jokic said during his postgame press conference. “I think we are far away.”
The Nuggets should not necessarily consider themselves above a desperation trade this offseason, but making that move for Durant seems, in several ways, the opposite direction of the way the team ought to be headed from a personnel standpoint.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group's family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible