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The nuggets are throwing away Jokic’s prime by having him play with Murray. Yeah he’s great when he’s on but when he’s off he kills his team like no other player. He’s extremely selfish and arrogant and he can’t positively impact the game if he’s not scoring, which happens a lot because he’s not a consistent scorer. No lead is safe if he’s on your team. I see a lot of people blaming MPJ but I think Murray is a big reason for his problems. He just can’t get into rhythm because of Murray’s ball hogging and chucking.

If Denver doesn’t trade Murray this summer they will be forced to give him an absurd 5/250 max contract or lose him for nothing. They can’t screw over Jokic like that. What are some possible Murray trades? I like sending him to the Lakers for Austin Reeves and JHS.

He was dog water these playoffs but I think that was due to injury. They need to retool and get better role players and a decent bench.

MPJ is a bigger problem than Murray. Murray can still perform well if not injured.

That being said if there was any possibility to trade Murray for a star guard I would pull the trigger.

Murray was a demi-god last season when he won the ring and now he's holding Jokic back?

The biggest difference aside from Minny's growth was the loss of Bruce Brown and stagnation from Denver's secondary pieces. MPJ has to be much better, Jamal does too. Denver just was not that deep and relying on old Reggie Jackson is not conducive to playoff success in 2024.

Braun, MPJ have to take massive steps next season. Denver has to retool around Jokic and Murray + Gordon but the core is meant to be held onto.

PaulKellerman wrote:Murray was a demi-god last season when he won the ring and now he's holding Jokic back?

Yeah he was playing like a top 10 player in the playoffs last season and was a major part of their success. He's also just not getting traded no matter what. Malone wouldn't allow it.

Jamal just had 35 in a game 7, he's part of the core you keep. He's been injured and not able to play at his best, unlike last year.

Nuggets need to try to use some picks to get some bench players and just go on another run.

Health is key for him. He also needs to come into training camp in shape. He is notoriously a slow start due to his conditioning is not always there to start the season. With that comes consistency. I hope he treats the off season seriously

MPJ is making 30+ million a year. He was ATROCIOUS this playoffs. In fact outside of Jokic and Aaron Gordon, Jamal and MPJ + bench looked really bad.

Denver should of literally traded MPJ for Siakam or done a move like so (perhaps Lauri in Utah?).

They need a secondary tweener type of forward. I'd even do MPJ + picks for Ingram.

They should get him a new heat pack.

Finding a better physical therapist might be a good start. After that? Who knows.

Trade him to the Toronto Raptors.

It is hard. You cannot expect an injury-prone, streaky, borderline all star player to significantly upper his game every playoffs. You cannot let him walk either. No team will offer a capable replacement and needed depth to Denver for him.

The issue is Porter, not Murray. They need to
make some tweaks.

The nuggets have a flawed #2 and #3. Murray is streaky and mainly a poor defensive player and MPJ is only a plus player when he is hitting 3's at a super high rate. I have said it before that the Joker is most of that team. Nuggets need a better 2nd and 3rd banana. But they won't replace those guys and come up short again next year.

Murray just dropped 35 last night. Yes, there is more to the game than just putting up points, but there aren't many guys that can do what he does in the playoffs. This playoff he wasn't as good as last year obviously, but it is way way way too early to abandon a 27 year old who has meant so much to the franchise.

The Murray/Jokic 2-man game is still really effective most of the time. Think Stockton and Malone. It'd be crazy to break it up, given all the chemistry and expereince they have together.

They need better depth. Expect someone like Strawther to take a big step forward next season.

When your C operates as the PG, how are 3 pt wing shooters going to get open? The lack of a 6th man was apparent after Minnesota just got into every Nugget and challenged them to create their own offense.

jack612 wrote:They should get him a new heat pack.

This, but also he'll be fine. Nuggets were done in by not having a playable backup center and relying way too much on washed vets and super young players. Also not sure MPJ is a good contact. He makes a lot for a guy that only does one thing well.

KodiakBear wrote:Murray just dropped 35 last night. Yes, there is more to the game than just putting up points, but there aren't many guys that can do what he does in the playoffs. This playoff he wasn't as good as last year obviously, but it is way way way too early to abandon a 27 year old who has meant so much to the franchise.

And that's from no double team mind you. Wolves let him get his shots. He just happened to make some (13-27).

The better question is how can the Nuggets improve in a trade involving Murray? The answer is they probably cannot. His injury history and contract size limits your options. You also don’t want to take a step backwards, and you don’t want a player who risks not having chemistry with Joker. Denver wants 3 rings in 5 years. It is doable if they can maintain 6 or 7 high level players. Of course other teams are up and coming (Wolves, OKC, Memphis to name a few,) so this task is easier said than done. Personally, I think Denver runs it back because they don’t have a lot of room to move.