A Blockbuster Jamal Murray Trade to Give Nikola Jokic Another NBA Title Shot

The Denver Nuggets bowed out of their first-round series against the injury-riddled Minnesota Timberwolves and are "far away" from title contention, according to perennial MVP candidate Nikola Jokić.

What if an offseason trade could get them back in the mix by addressing the team's core weaknesses: two-way backcourt play, athleticism and a dearth of draft picks to dangle?

What if that same trade could deliver the rising Portland Trail Blazers exactly the kind of elite offensive support Deni Avdija needed all season?

These two franchises are at very different points in their competitive evolutions, but they could come together to help each other out by agreeing to a blockbuster offseason trade.

The Trade

AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post

Denver Nuggets Acquire: Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, 2028 first-round pick (via MIL; top-4 protected), 2029 first-round pick (via BOS)

Portland Trail Blazers Acquire: Jamal Murray

Why Denver Does It

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Murray finally broke through as an All-Star this past season, but wasn't nearly good enough on either end to get the Nuggets out of the first round. He was particularly vulnerable on defense at the point of attack, which was fatal to a Denver team that had no rim protection on the back line.

Murray is the best player changing teams in this deal, but he's also the only positive-value asset Denver is willing to surrender in its search for flexibility and a more playoff-proof roster.

The Nuggets will never trade Jokić, Aaron Gordon's health history makes him difficult to move and nobody's lining up to acquire Christian Braun. Murray is owed an average of $54 million through 2028-29. He isn't a great bang-for-buck value on his own. Practically speaking, trading him is still the only realistic way for Denver to retool around Jokić.

Holiday is in the twilight of his career at 35, but he's a far better and more versatile defender than Murray and has earned two rings as a key support piece on offense. His grit, experience and ability to guard bigger opponents would add new dimensions in Denver. We should also assume he'll join the long list of dependent scorers who perform their best with Jokić setting them up.

Henderson is an upside play who could take care of Denver's second units or perhaps fight his way into the starting backcourt next to Holiday and ahead of Braun. His athleticism and playmaking potential are worth the investment as the Nuggets try to keep pace with younger, bouncier competition.

Lastly, the two future firsts coming in from Portland help replenish a depleted store of draft assets. Denver has been in the business of dealing out its future picks, sometimes merely to save cash, and it's going to need capital to either offload more bad money or swing big on another star.

Why Portland Does It

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Deni Avdija was a one-man show on offense this past season. It's time for the Blazers to give him a worthy second option.

Some might argue Murray is actually the better offensive player, but let's see how things go for him without Jokić as a two-man-game partner before drawing any firm conclusions. What we can say for sure about Murray is that he'll be a massive upgrade over Portland's current offensive support staff.

If only as a spot-up threat and second-side attacker, Murray presents a host of new problems for teams trying to defend the Blazers. Avdija's downhill driving game demands every opponent's full attention. Murray could feast on late closeouts and scrambled rotations. Given his experience running the show without Jokić in Denver, he could easily step into an alpha role whenever Avdija needs a break.

Holiday is a proven winner and a beloved teammate, but he's overstretched as a primary playmaker. While Scoot Henderson has potential, he's also coming due for an extension and might even be in for a role reduction as Damian Lillard returns to the rotation next year.

It'll sting to give up a pair of future firsts in the deal, but the Blazers still have plenty of other incoming draft assets from the Bucks and Magic. Murray's contract is pricey, though, which is why Portland gets away with surrendering only a pair of picks while getting back the best player in the deal.

Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Salary info via Spotrac.

Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.