Jamal Murray is back in the trade conversation, even if the idea still feels far from obvious. Last week, Zach Lowe floated Murray as an "out of nowhere" trade candidate while previewing the new NBA season, adding another layer to an offseason in which the Nuggets have tried to trim salary without breaking up their core.
The context matters. Five months earlier, Josh Kroenke said everything was on the table except trading Nikola Jokic, a comment that signaled Denver was willing to consider major changes if needed. Since then, the Nuggets have made a series of cost-cutting moves, including the Peyton Watson sign-and-trade, the Jonas Valanciunas waive-and-stretch, and the additions of Trevon Brazile and Alpha Diallo on rookie-minimum salaries.
Even with those moves, Denver remains above the second apron, which is why trade speculation has not gone away. The financial pressure is real, and it creates the kind of backdrop that can turn almost any starter into a possible discussion point if the team does not get the results it wants.
Murray addressed the rumors this preseason
Murray did not dismiss the business side of the league when asked about the chatter. He said, "It’s a business at the end of the day," and then added that he has been "blessed and grateful to be with the same team that drafted me for, I mean, this is my 11th year."
He also made it clear that he knows how unusual that kind of continuity is. "I know you guys do this a lot, but pull out your notebooks and find out how many people have been one team for 11 years," Murray said.
That part of the story is important because Murray is not just another rotation player. He is one of the Nuggets' core pieces, and the team’s starting group has long been built around him and Jokic. Denver's core survived the offseason intact, but the combination of payroll pressure and uneven early results keeps the rumor mill moving.
Why the situation still matters
The Nuggets' first week included a 20-point home loss to the Warriors, a reminder that last season's issues were not solved overnight. Three games into the season, Denver had a minus-4.0 net rating in 63 minutes with its three best players on the floor, which is not the kind of number that settles any debate about how far this group can go.
But the reaction point shifted quickly. By the end of a win in New Orleans on Wednesday, that same three-man combination had flipped its season net rating to 6.1. That does not end the trade talk, but it does show how quickly a season can change when a contender starts stacking better performances.
For now, the key question is less about whether Murray is suddenly on the move and more about how much longer Denver can keep its current structure together while staying above the second apron. The Nuggets still have a star center in Jokic, a proven guard in Murray, and a roster that has been adjusted around the edges. Whether that is enough to quiet the speculation will depend on both the standings and the salary sheet.
