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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - MAY 05: Nikola Jokic #15 and Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets talk during the third quarter of Round Two Game One of the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center on May 05, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

Just over a week ago, it was unfathomable for the Denver Nuggets to even be in this position.

Let alone the idea of trading their top players being floated. 

The Nuggets have fallen down 1-3 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs. Sudden questions have emerged on the team’s spirit and effort. If they are even trying. Whether they believe the series is already over. 

Even against a Minnesota team that will be without stars Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo for the remainder of the series, these questions are still being asked. 

An equally daunting narrative the Nuggets have been hit with is the shocking play of Nikola Jokic. 

No, not that kind of shocking. The other kind. 

Jokic, 31, went from being most people’s “best in the world” to the third-best player on his team, or so it seems. 

Now the Nuggets are facing elimination — and potentially a lot more if their season ends Monday night. 

Denver Nuggets to Explore Blowing Up Star Core?

Three seasons ago, everyone felt this was a team that was going to be around for a while. 

Jokic was 28 and ascending, Jamal Murray was 26 and playing like a bonafide star, Aaron Gordon was the perfect front court pairing with his three-time MVP winning, past-first teammate. 

It was going to be the Nuggets league and no one was going to do anything about it.

GettyINGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 14: Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets at Intuit Dome on February 14, 2026 in Inglewood, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the GettyImages License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Or so we thought.

Considering what Denver has shown the world over the last three games, another loss tonight won’t be stunning. The door will then swing open to a realm of possibilities — the uncomfortable questions that no franchise wants to ever encounter. 

According to Matt Moore, a Nuggets reporter for over 10 years and host of the “Locked on Nuggets” podcast, if Denver’s season crashes and burns in Game 5, a major question will be on the organization’s mind. 

“If they lose the series, the next question becomes, ‘Is Nikola Jokic gonna sign the extension?’

Jokic is in the third year of his five-year supermax deal. The Nuggets star big man is under contract through the upcoming 2026-27 season. He’ll have a player option for the season after that. 

But NBA fans have come to learn the book all too well on superstars. If they are winning and perennially competing for a championship, all stays well; otherwise things can become insufferable. 

In another episode, Moore even discussed the potential for Jokic asking to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, believing that’s where the three-time MVP may want to go if he decides he’s had enough in the Mile High City.

Jokic is a megastar and deserves to have a winning supporting cast around him. If he decides after this season he can’t win another title unless he moves elsewhere, things could get sticky fast.

What About the Other Stars?

The other route Jokic and the Nuggets could take is to continue their marriage but make overhauling changes to the rest of the roster. 

That immediately brings Murray and Gordon to the forefront because they are the two pieces the Nuggets could move and ideally receive plenty in exchange for.

Said Moore: “If this isn’t working and you have to reconfigure, everything is on the table. There’s nothing that is off the table except for trading Nikola; everything else has to be on the table. AG, Jamal, Christian [Braun], [Peyton Watson] … everything has to be on the table for correcting it.” 

Added Moore: “The only way to accomplish real chance is by trading one of the most beloved players, either Jamal, AG or both. Neither one of them deserves that. AG’s been a folk hero. Jamal’s had his best season and he might get moved because they don’t have a better option. It’s insane, but the stakes are that everything changes.” 

Winning solves everything. If the Nuggets win Game 5 at home and are able to take down the shorthanded Wolves again in Game 6, then they have Game 7 back on their home floor where they’ll like their chances. The series is far from over. 

But if any of the recent trend continues, then they’ll be forced to welcome an offseason of sweeping national speculation.