The Nuggets don’t yet have a full-time general manager or president of basketball operations, but trade season is already underway in the NBA. Will Denver get involved and could future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant be an option?

Vinny Benedetto, Nuggets writer

Answer: No

Recent history tells us if Kevin Durant doesn’t want to be somewhere, it’s not worth having him in the locker room.

Durant is almost certainly on his way out of Phoenix after two and a half seasons with the Suns, and he has a preferred trio of teams – the Heat, Spurs and Rockets. If Durant doesn’t want to be in Denver, the Nuggets would likely have to give up two of Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon to make the complicated finances of a trade between first- and second-apron teams work, and that might not be enough to have the most attractive offer to Phoenix. That could all be for a one-year rental for Durant, whose $55 million contract expires after next season.

A Durant departure from Denver after one season would make the Nuggets’ payroll easier to navigate, but the Nuggets would have to fill the void via free agency. That’s never been easy for the franchise, and an uncertain general manager/president of basketball operations situation makes it an even bigger gamble.

After spending the first nine seasons of his career between Seattle and Oklahoma City, Durant has spent three seasons in Golden State. But winning two championships with the Warriors didn’t solve his problem. The Warriors reportedly want to trade for Durant at the deadline, but his lack of interest in returning to San Francisco was part of the reason it didn’t happen. Durant split the last five seasons between Brooklyn and Phoenix.

The production from one of the game’s most lethal scorers has remained consistent, but he will turn 37 before next season starts.

The Nuggets are better off hoping Murray or Porter increase their trade value next season and reevaluating the situation either at next year’s deadline or the 2026 offseason.

Tyler King, college sports writer

Answer: Yes

What better options do the Nuggets have?

Yes, these NBA playoffs have shown that depth is probably the way to go in terms of competing in this era of the league where the second apron essentially serves as a hard cap that teams have to operate under.

But, Denver doesn’t have any tangible options to become a deeper team this offseason without getting packages of players and picks for both Murray and Porter Jr. that will likely not be what the Nuggets are looking for after up-and-down seasons for both players.

This trade would require Durant wanting to only come to Denver and play with Nikola Jokic, whose game Durant has long been an admirer of (with Phoenix granting him that wish).

But, in this hypothetical three-team trade, the Nuggets could send Michael Porter Jr., Dario Saric (who picks up his player option in this scenario), Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther to the Suns and Zeke Nnaji to the Nets. Denver gets back Durant and fringe roster players Drew Timme and Tyrese Martin from Brooklyn. The Suns get rights to swap picks with the Nuggets in 2030 (along with cost-controlled young players in Strawther and Watson) and the Nets get Denver’s 2031 first round pick in exchange for absorbing Nnaji’s contract.

It may sound like a lot, but it gives the Nuggets one big chance to push for a championship with a starting lineup of Murray, Christian Braun, Durant, Gordon and Jokic.

If Denver isn’t able to get it done in the playoffs, Durant could come off the books and the Nuggets could look to move on from Murray and reset the team’s cap situation for the remaining years of Jokic’s prime. That might be the plan anyway even if the team runs it back with both Murray and Porter Jr. next season. So why not try and turn MPJ into Durant for a “Last Dance” type run at a second title in the Jokic era?