The rumor mill has the Denver Nuggets sniffing around a Jaylen Brown trade. But don’t book the parade route just yet.
NBA insider Marc Stein reports that the Nuggets have at least had internal discussions about whether they have the assets to join the chase for the Boston Celtics star. The operative word there is ‘discussions.’ Because as of now, Denver hasn’t emerged as a serious landing spot for Brown, who’s been an MVP candidate this season.
This all started when Brown’s name popped up in trade chatter involving Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. That deal fell apart when Giannis was shipped to the Miami Heat instead. Now the Celtics are reportedly open to moving Brown, and a handful of teams are poking around.
Why Denver is even looking
The Nuggets aren’t just bored. They’re trying to reshape the roster around Nikola Jokic, their franchise anchor. And they need financial breathing room. Stein and his colleague Jake Fischer wrote on the Stein Line that Denver is exploring the trade market to both upgrade the supporting cast and create cap flexibility to match offer sheets for restricted free agent Peyton Watson.
That’s a delicate balance. Jokic isn’t getting any younger and the Nuggets just got bounced from the playoffs by the Timberwolves. Something has to give.
Who might be on the move
Aaron Gordon is generating the most trade interest among Denver’s veterans, per Stein. But the Nuggets would prefer to trade Cam Johnson or Christian Braun rather than Gordon or Jamal Murray. The problem is, can they actually pull off a deal that keeps Watson and makes the team better around Jokic at the same time? Unclear.
Denver’s front office has some tough calls to make. Brown would be a massive get, but the price tag might be too steep for a team that’s already capped out. And the Celtics aren’t going to give him away for scraps.
For now, this is a lot of smoke. Whether there’s actual fire depends on whether Denver can get creative with the trade machine.
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