Nuggets’ Jamal Murray makes ‘100%’ championship declaration after Game 7 loss

Indeed, there’s nothing the Nuggets can do but to move forward, take a lengthy rest, and then go back to working hard in preparation for another long grind next season in pursuit of a championship.

Murray may not have had the best Game 7 performance against the Thunder, but his two-man game with Nikola Jokic continues to be the heartbeat of the team and nearly led them to an upset of the 68-win OKC squad. What will be key for the Nuggets, however, is keeping Murray healthy.

One of the best parts of the Nuggets’ 2024-25 season was the emergence of Christian Braun in a starting role; Braun was enormous for the Nuggets and made them not miss Kentavious Caldwell-Pope too much. Braun averaged 15.2 points last season on 58 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent from deep, making him a keeper for Denver.

Aaron Gordon was the hero of this year’s playoff run and should be back to being at his best provided he recovers fully from his hamstring strain. The Nuggets’ core four of Jokic, Murray, Braun, and Gordon should be a good enough foundation for a championship team, they simply have to re-assess the roster around them.

Nuggets must prioritize depth this offseason

The Nuggets are going to face difficulties when it comes to adding depth this offseason. Zeke Nnaji and Dario Saric’s contracts will continue to clog their cap sheet, and both of them have negative trade value. Meanwhile, the huge contracts for Jokic, Murray, Gordon, and Michael Porter Jr. means that they’re very limited in what they can do without dangling one of those players.

Suffice to say, Jokic, Murray, and Gordon appear to be safe from trade conversations. A blockbuster deal for the Nuggets will have to start with the inclusion of Porter. But in any trade, the Nuggets will want to prioritize acquiring depth to compete for a championship, with Jokic even pointing to the rosters the Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Indiana Pacers have built.