To think, it was only 10 months ago that Kevin Durant opened Twitter — his preferred social media platform — and sparred with Nuggets fans while he was in Paris, preparing for one of the most important basketball games of his life.
Team USA had pulled off a miraculous comeback to thwart Nikola Jokic and the Serbians one day earlier in the Olympic semifinals. As the gold medal game loomed for Durant, he noticed a faction of online Nuggets fans who had been rooting against the Americans. “Cornballs,” he called them during an entertaining exchange. (I understand that Durant’s social media presence is controversial, but I find his candor delightful.)
People forgive and forget fast, evidently. I’ve received emails from a few readers since the end of Denver’s season inquiring about the feasibility of trading for Durant this summer. Indeed, the two biggest storylines unfolding parallel to the NBA Finals right now are the looming trade sweepstakes for Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
We’ll see about the latter. But Durant is a certainty. Phoenix is shopping him before the last year of his contract, and seeing as he is Kevin Durant, the market is robust. Speculation has proliferated as to his potential fit alongside other stars. Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, Amen Thompson, Jalen Brunson, etc.
How about Jokic? It would be irresponsible of the Nuggets not to at least have a brief discussion. Heck, I can’t envision the Slim Reaper and Joker being anything but a natural pair. The dribble handoff game would be a thing of beauty. Durant’s one-on-one talent would ease some of Jokic’s immense shot-creating burden. Even last season at 36 years old, Durant averaged a league-leading 1.16 points per possession in isolation on the sixth-most isos in the NBA.
It bears mentioning that in that same tweet directed at the “cornballs,” Durant also gave Jokic his flowers, acknowledging that “most (players) are in awe of his brilliance.”
Let me be clear. Durant is highly unlikely to be a Nugget next season. Please remember this as you read on.
But the fact remains that Denver is a frustrated championship contender, and Jokic has never had a teammate named to an All-Star or All-NBA team. Judging by my inbox, fans are clearly interested in the possibility of Durant. So I’m happy to entertain it here, for the sake of content.
I feel pretty confident saying that under their previous regime, the Nuggets would have tried to be a suitor for Durant. Former general manager Calvin Booth believed Jokic could benefit from more star power at his side, as evidenced by his past trade interest in Paul George and Zach LaVine.
No matter who the general manager is, though, Denver’s obstacle would be its lack of draft capital. The Spurs, Rockets and dare I say Thunder each possess first-round picks to spare. The Nuggets can dangle only one. Bidding wars do not favor them.
Some other housekeeping notes to illustrate the difficulty of pulling off this type of transaction under the current collective bargaining agreement: Neither the Nuggets (first apron) nor Suns (second apron) can take back more salary than they send out in a trade, meaning a third team would have to be involved. In the two example trades below, I’ve used the Brooklyn Nets as the stand-in for a third party, because their cap space makes them the best-equipped tanking team to absorb random contracts.
Unless they find a way to shed enough salary to get under the second apron, the Suns also cannot aggregate contracts to complete a trade. That means a package sending both Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon to Phoenix is nearly impossible, and that Denver would probably have to be the team sending salary to a third team.
For this exercise, I’m using 2025-26 salaries that take effect as the league calendar resets. On the (extremely) off chance that Denver actually did this, it would make more sense in July, when a new GM is in place and certain pay raises can support salary-matching.
Jamal Murray for Kevin Durant
Nuggets receive: Kevin Durant (incoming salary of $54.7 million, outgoing salary of $56.1 million).
Suns receive: Jamal Murray, Peyton Watson, Denver’s 2031 or 2032 first-round pick, (incoming salary of $50.7 million, outgoing salary of $54.7 million).
Nets receive: Dario Saric, Denver’s 2032 second-round pick, 2030 first-round pick swap rights with Denver, (incoming salary of $5.4 million).
Breakdown: The Nuggets get Durant and get off Saric’s bad contract. They also spend pretty much all of their remaining draft resources, leaving their asset pool in rough shape to find a lead ball-handling guard who can replace Murray. The Suns might prefer to acquire a shorter-term contract than Murray, who’s a four-year commitment with an iffy injury history. But maybe they could reasonably talk themselves into building around an all-Kentucky backcourt of Murray (point guard) and Devin Booker (shooting guard), both of whom are only 28. Their cap sheet is toast for the next two years anyway with Bradley Beal taking up space. At least with this move, they be getting their core reorganized on the same timeline for the post-Beal era. Turning Durant into Murray, Watson and a compelling future first-rounder makes you younger.
The MPJ and Christian Braun package
Nuggets receive: Kevin Durant (incoming salary of $54.7 million, outgoing salary of $54.9 million).
Suns receive: Michael Porter Jr., Christian Braun, Russell Westbrook, 2030 first-round pick swap rights with Denver (incoming salary of $46.7 million, outgoing salary of $54.7 million).
Nets receive: Zeke Nnaji, Denver’s 2031 or 2032 second-round pick (incoming salary of $8.1 million).
Breakdown: If Porter is the main chunk of salary going to Phoenix instead of Murray, it’s hard to imagine the Suns saying yes unless the ascendent Braun is the other key piece. For salary-matching purposes on Denver’s side, Nnaji needs to go to Brooklyn instead of Saric (higher asking price for a more burdensome salary dump), and Westbrook has to be tacked onto the Phoenix return. Porter and Braun can both be valuable players, and both are younger than 28 — but the Suns can simply demand first-round picks from other teams, rather than merely a swap from Denver. In all of these scenarios, the Nuggets are also confronted with an increase of roster spots to fill without much money to do it. Remember, Jokic believes they need depth, too.
Wild card play: Trading Aaron Gordon and MPJ
Nuggets receive: Kevin Durant, Noah Clowney (incoming salary of $58.1 million, outgoing salary of $61.1 million).
Suns receive: Aaron Gordon, Nic Claxton, Maxwell Lewis, 2030 first-round pick swap rights with Denver (incoming salary of $50.4 million, outgoing salary of $54.7 million).
Nets receive: Michael Porter Jr., Denver’s 2031 or 2032 second-round pick (incoming salary of $38.3 million, outgoing salary of $30.9 million).
Breakdown: Is your head spinning yet? Salary-matching is, uh, difficult. But here’s one more option that works, according to Fanspo.com. It might actually be one of the most attractive returns for Phoenix, short of pick-based packages. Gordon is every team’s dream role player, and Claxton offers a 26-year-old solution at center, a position of need. The Nuggets are exchanging two for two here, but the fan base might have some choice words about the idea of moving Gordon in addition to Porter.
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