{"id":64924,"date":"2025-05-29T23:55:20","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T23:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/64924\/"},"modified":"2025-05-29T23:55:20","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T23:55:20","slug":"unfortunately-its-time-to-break-up-the-nuggets-core","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/64924\/","title":{"rendered":"Unfortunately It’s Time to Break Up the Nuggets Core"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a turbulent regular season in which the Nuggets flirted with the play-in, few believed they could be a legitimate threat to be a championship contender before the start of the postseason. Some analysts even predicted a first-round exit against a red-hot Clippers squad. But Denver defied expectations. They emerged victorious in a hard-fought first-round series and pushed the title-favorite Thunder to seven games. The outcome could have even been different had the Nuggets core of Michael Porter Jr.<\/a>, Aaron Gordon<\/a>, or Jamal Murray<\/a> been at full strength. Even marginal enhancements to the bench<\/a> might have shifted the power dynamic in that series.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, there\u2019s real hope that young players like Julian Strawther<\/a> and Peyton Watson<\/a> can take meaningful steps forward and contribute in high-pressure playoff situations. Their development could help restore the depth Denver needs for future title runs. But banking entirely on internal growth is risky, and it was one of the key reasons the Nuggets lacked reliable depth this season.<\/p>\n

The Western Conference is only going to get better. Denver faced a young Thunder team this year, with Jalen Williams<\/a>\u00a0and Chet Holmgren<\/a> still lacking experience, which led to several underwhelming playoff performances. That is not something you can rely on in the future. Even if those two don\u2019t fully blossom into reliable postseason performers, Oklahoma City has the assets to trade for any disgruntled superstar that becomes available. In addition, teams like the Lakers<\/a>, Rockets<\/a>, and Spurs<\/a> are improving and, without a doubt, will turn an already brutal Western Conference into an even greater challenge.<\/p>\n

If the Nuggets want to stay among the contending teams, they\u2019ll need to act decisively. And that starts with accepting a hard truth: Murray and MPJ are no longer good enough to be dependable parts of Denver\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately It\u2019s Time to Break Up the Nuggets Core<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a tough conclusion to accept, especially for basketball romantics who believe in building through the draft. We also shouldn\u2019t overlook how much Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. have sacrificed to complement Nikola Jokic<\/a> in the best way possible.<\/p>\n

It would also be sad to break up the iconic duo of Jokic and Murray, whose chemistry is one of the league\u2019s most recognizable partnerships. Meanwhile, Porter Jr. has evolved from a one-dimensional scorer into a capable two-way player who uses his length effectively to thrive in Denver\u2019s defensive system.<\/p>\n

But the harsh reality is this: Both have now turned in back-to-back underwhelming postseason performances. And when you have the best player in the world on your roster, every year is a \u201cchampionship or bust\u201d season. If the\u00a0 Nuggets want to stay competitive, they will have to move on from these two key players.<\/p>\n

Jamal Murray\u2019s Fall from Greatness<\/p>\n

Jamal Murray\u2019s 2023 playoff run was nothing short of spectacular. Coming off a torn ACL that kept him out for nearly two seasons, he rewarded the Nuggets\u2019 patience with him by playing at a level that made him arguably the best second option in the league\u2014and at times, even looked like Denver\u2019s top performer. But, that version of Murray feels increasingly distant after two straight underwhelming postseasons.<\/p>\n

Offensive inconsistency\u2014always part of the Jamal Murray experience<\/a>\u2014has become more pronounced. Explosive outings like his Game 5 against the Clippers or his Game 3 against the Thunder have turned into rare flashes rather than reliable trends.<\/p>\n

The bigger concern, though, is on defense. Murray has clearly been Denver\u2019s weakest link on that end of the floor in this year\u2019s postseason, being consistently targeted by opposing stars like Kawhi Leonard<\/a>, James Harden<\/a>, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> with devastating results for the Nuggets.<\/p>\n

Add that to the fact that Murray hasn\u2019t carried enough of the regular-season load to ease Joki\u0107\u2019s burden\u2014a big reason he\u2019s never made an All-Star team\u2014and his expensive contract becomes almost impossible to justify. At this point, he looks more like an obstacle to Denver\u2019s title hopes than a solution. Upgrading at point guard won\u2019t be easy, but even just freeing up the cap space from his salary to strengthen the roster elsewhere might give the Nuggets a clearer path back to the Finals than continuing to rely on him.<\/p>\n

MPJ is Not a Reliable Playoff Starter<\/p>\n

While there might still be hope for some that Jamal Murray can bounce back, optimism around Michael Porter Jr. is almost impossible to find. MPJ without a doubt deserves credit for his commitment and sacrifice to this organization\u2014he fought through a clearly injured shoulder during the playoffs and heavily adjusted his game to fit alongside Jokic. But despite that, he still hasn\u2019t proven himself as a dependable playoff performer six years into his NBA career.<\/p>\n

Even during the Nuggets\u2019 title run, MPJ struggled in several games, leading to Bruce Brown<\/a> often closing games instead of him. This year, the same thing happened\u2014Russell Westbrook<\/a>, playing on a vet minimum deal, closed several games instead of Porter Jr., the max-contract forward earning nearly $180 million over five years.<\/p>\n

Offensively, Porter Jr. has also taken some steps back. In the past, he wasn\u2019t just lingering on the three-point line, he was an effective cutter and a postup threat, using his size effectively to be dangerous under the basket. Injuries may explain part of his decline, but at the end of the day, MPJ has not had one postseason campaign where he was able to establish himself as a consistent playoff performer.<\/p>\n

The defensive drop-off is even more troubling. His length used to be an asset in Denver\u2019s high pick-and-roll coverage, but over the years, he has become less reliable in that role. Add in the fact that, against OKC, the Nuggets found success with the implementation of a zone defense that didn\u2019t depend on Porter Jr.\u2019s presence, and the sad conclusion is that he simply is an expensive player who is unreliable on offense and one opposing stars can easily target on defense.<\/p>\n

The Difficulty of Trading Jamal Murray and MPJ<\/p>\n

This idea isn\u2019t revolutionary, and the front office is well aware of it. Moving these players with those salaries will more than likely have to be done with some incentives. But unlike previous years, the Nuggets no longer have the luxury of waiting to get the perfect deal or to keep the status quo, hoping that \u201cPlayoff Murray\u201d will return or that MPJ will finally take the next step. After back-to-back second-round exits, the team can\u2019t afford to stand still. Drastic changes are no longer optional\u2014they\u2019re necessary. Otherwise, problems may start with Nikola Jokic himself, and that\u2019s one scenario the Nuggets cannot afford to find themselves in.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a turbulent regular season in which the Nuggets flirted with the play-in, few believed they could be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3781],"tags":[877,7,301,187,3943,762,763,562,6,253,302,1146],"class_list":{"0":"post-64924","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-nuggets","8":"tag-aaron-gordon","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-denver","11":"tag-denver-nuggets","12":"tag-denvernuggets","13":"tag-jamal-murray","14":"tag-julian-strawther","15":"tag-michael-porter-jr","16":"tag-nba","17":"tag-nikola-jokic","18":"tag-nuggets","19":"tag-peyton-watson"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114593826309635252","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}