The Denver Nuggets have enjoyed overall success throughout the 2024-25 season, as the 2023 NBA champions have compiled a current 47-28 record and continue to maintain the No. 3 seed in a loaded Western Conference.
Though Denver’s 3-time league MVP Nikola Jokić is arguably offering the greatest individual campaign of his historic career, some in league circles may fear that his suspect supporting cast will cause the team’s ultimate unraveling in the postseason.
With the 6-foot-11 Serbian’s fringe All-Star teammate Jamal Murray slightly regressing in recent playoff series’, Denver’s general manager Calvin Booth could figure that the 2025 NBA Playoffs are Murray’s last chance to prove that he can consistently provide support for Jokić in a pressure-filled environment.
If the Nuggets’ upcoming playoff run ends in disappointment, it’s plausible to believe that Booth and his front office staff could dangle the 21.6-point scorer in trade dialogue centered around a potential franchise-altering deal that would net Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant this summer.
Per recent reports, Morant’s status as a possible trade target heading into the summer of 2025 was exacerbated by the shocking dismissal of Memphis’ head coach Taylor Jenkins on Friday.
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“At least two league executives, however, questioned the demand for Morant in the trade market,” The Athletic’s Sam Amick, Fred Katz and Joe Vardon wrote Friday.
“And firing Morant’s only coach, while the Grizzlies are headed for the playoffs with just two weeks left in the regular season, isn’t going to quell questions about where, exactly, the franchise is headed.”
“Or, more importantly in league circles, whether Morant will want to remain there for the long term.”
In this offseason scenario, Denver could inquire about Morant’s availability while offering to provide the Grizzlies with Murray, who could greatly improve their chances in the postseason as one of the NBA’s greatest playoff-risers.
As for Denver, their hypothetical acquisition of the 25-year-old Morant could grant the team status as title favorites in the West for 2025-26 and beyond.
Pairing the high-flying 2-time All-Star with Denver’s legendary play-making big man could prove to be a perfect match, as Morant’s incredible leaping ability would likely see the pair connect on several highlight-reel plays due to his reputation as a dangerous lob threat.
The Nuggets’ prospective pick-and-roll partnership between the two could also become one of the best in recent memory, as both superstar talents possess incredible passing and individual scoring chops.
In his sixth NBA season since being selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Morant has averaged 22.4 points and 7.4 assists for the Grizzlies in 45 appearances, but his ceiling as a former 27.4-point scoring weapon in 2021-22 might be enough to convince Denver to pull the trigger on a deal of this nature.
Unfortunately for the Nuggets, claims of Morant being placed on the Grizzlies’ trade block were swiftly denied by the franchise’s general manager Zach Kleiman in recent months.
Then again, it’s been proven that things can change quickly in today’s NBA.
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