It is go time for the Denver Nuggets in this 2026 offseason. Nikola Jokic, though still otherworldly and at his apex, isn’t getting any younger.
The Nuggets’ most recent memories are distasteful. Plain and simple. It is a flat-out failure for a team with a player of Jokic’s caliber to be dominated by an ailing opponent in the first round of the playoffs.
So, how will Denver respond now? Will the franchise run it back, even after all the swirling trade rumors, or is it time for a splashy superstar trade?
Nuggets Could Go All-In By Landing a Superstar for Nikola Jokic
GettyDENVER, COLORADO – APRIL 20: Jamal Murray #27 and Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets celebrate their win against the Los Angeles Lakers during game one of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs at Ball Arena on April 20, 2024 in Denver, Colorado.
With all warranted respect to Jamal Murray, Jokic is the only superstar on the Nuggets roster. But if history has taught us a thing or two, it’s that winning often mandates having two groundbreaking players. The Nuggets could achieve that by acquiring Kawhi Leonard if he moves on from the Los Angeles Clippers this summer.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Nuggets reporter Logan Struck, the Nuggets have the pieces to land Leonard in a trade.
“There are two paths the Nuggets could take, though,” Struck wrote. “They could either offer up Jamal Murray to retain their core pieces around a new star duo of Nikola Jokic and Leonard. Or, they could offer up some of their core pieces while building an expensive star trio of Jokic, Leonard, and Murray.
“For the latter, and more likely scenario, the Nuggets could offer a combination of Aaron Gordon and Cam Johnson to make the financials work. Granted, that could be enough to get it done, and the Nuggets would have to hope so with minimal assets to work with.”
Denver would likely prefer retaining Murray, who is coming off an All-Star season, to form a powerful Big Three with Jokic and Leonard. That trio would be as sound as it gets from a fit and position standpoint.
If the Nuggets were able to land Leonard in exchange for Gordon and Johnson, two key but far from untouchable players, it would be far less risky compared to dealing Murray in a trade.
With Johnson’s inconsistencies and Gordon’s durability concerns, the Nuggets have legitimate reasons to move both players, and if trading both stars would return Leonard, a seven-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion, it is a move the Denver front office couldn’t ignore.
Would This Big Three Lift Denver Past West’s Elites?
GettyATLANTA, GEORGIA – DECEMBER 05: Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets drives around Nikola Jokic #15 against Dyson Daniels #5 of the Atlanta Hawks during the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena on December 05, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia.
To win a championship, it appears Western Conference teams will have to go through the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs for many years.
For Denver, it is all about making the moves that would at least put the franchise on equal footing with Oklahoma City and San Antonio. That will be much easier said than done, especially considering both the Thunder and Spurs are already elite teams with developing talent coming up the pipeline.
The Nuggets would be banking firmly on battle-tested, veteran starpower to take down the titans of the West. For a team possessing arguably the best player in basketball, that wouldn’t be a downright awful approach.
Leonard, the soon-to-be 35-year-old, is an aging star with a rich injury history, but his recent track record would give interested teams more confidence in trading for him.
Last season, Leonard registered the highest scoring average of his 15-year career. He also converted better than 50% of his shots from the field.
If the two-time Finals MVP gave the Nuggets a fully healthy season, it would be hard to imagine adding Leonard would go down as anything less than a genius move for the Nuggets.
Nuggets Proposed to Form Massive $634 Million Big 3 Around Nikola Jokic