Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown appears to be the biggest name available in the trade market at the moment, and a host of teams are interested in his services. ESPN reports the Denver Nuggets are one of them, and The Ringer’s Bill Simmons has come up with a mock trade on The Bill Simmons Show that sees Brown join forces with Nikola Jokic.
“And there’s a lot of smoke billowing around Denver in general,” Simmons said. “Some I believe, some I don’t believe. Murray and Cam Johnson for Jaylen and [Sam] Hauser, which would save Denver $10 million this year. The Celtics could take Cam Johnson in their trade exception. Murray is 50 million this year, 54, and 57.
“So he’s about 8 million behind Jaylen in each of those years,” Simmons stated. “… Same amount of years, but I’m shaving off 7, 8 million. I’m adding Cam Johnson, who I can either keep or spin in a trade, and I am getting somebody who I still think is one of the best 25 players in the league back for Jaylen. And I think if I’m on Boston, I’m signing up for that trade.
“If I’m Denver, I’m at least having a six-hour meeting,” Simmons continued. “And it’s a reconstruction of a team because you’re going to remove the Murray-Jokic pick-and-roll. But you could run a lot of that offense through Joker. You re-sign Peyton Watson with the extra money. You have him more involved offensively. And you could argue that that team’s better. It’s bigger, it’s deeper.
“You have Jokic and [Aaron] Gordon and Jaylen as your front line,” Simmons added. “You have more flexibility. And you have somebody who can really step in if Gordon gets hurt, which he gets hurt every year. And now you’re not getting destroyed if that happens. And you’re under the tax. And you can get Watson. That trade makes a ton of sense to me, Zach [Lowe].”
The Nuggets have indeed struggled when Aaron Gordon, arguably their best defender, has been out, and he has been spending a whole lot of time on the sidelines lately. Gordon played just 36 regular-season games in 2025-26. He followed that up by playing three games in the playoffs as the Minnesota Timberwolves eliminated the Nuggets in six games in the first round.
With Brown around, Gordon’s absence wouldn’t be felt nearly as much. The 29-year-old is an outstanding two-way wing who averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game for the Celtics in 2025-26.
To go with the defense, Brown might just be the best scorer Jokic has ever played with. He’ll probably come in with a chip on his shoulder, too, with some of the comments that have been made about him.
As for Sam Hauser, he averaged 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in 2025-26, and shot 39.3% from beyond the arc. Hauser is a fine 3-and-D wing, and you need those around Jokic.
From a Celtics standpoint, they get Jamal Murray coming off the best year of his career. Murray wasn’t all that great in the playoffs, but averaged 25.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in the regular season. He was named an All-Star for the first time in his career in 2026 and also made the All-NBA Third Team.
While Murray shone last season, Cam Johnson had a solid campaign. Johnson struggled at first, but played better as time went by. He ended up recording 12.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2025-26. Johnson shot at an excellent 43.0% from three, and would fit right in with the Celtics. They could also look to trade him, as he is entering the final year of his four-year, $94.5 million deal.
As for potential issues with this trade, the Nuggets wouldn’t really have a quality secondary playmaker. Brown has improved as a passer, but he isn’t really a playmaker.
The Nuggets wouldn’t really have anyone of note at the point guard position and would have to make further moves. If they can find a decent option, then this is definitely a trade worth making.
The Nuggets would also be saving money that could be used to bring back Peyton Watson, which would be huge. No one is really talking about them as a contender at the moment, with how last season ended, and this trade could be a step toward putting their name back in the mix.
