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Nuggets Fans on How to Fix Team After Game 7 Pulverizing by Thunder

Favorite trade targets include Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray.
May 19, 2025
Image: Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray talk during game
The Nuggets need reliable shooting and defense during non-Jokić minutes next season, or they'll likely repeat the same fate. Sam Hodde/Getty Images
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The Denver Nuggets' 125-93 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in game 7 of the NBA playoffs' second round on May 18 didn't qualify as a surprise. Only an ostrich with its entire body buried in the sand could have failed to see it coming — which explains why fans on social media were ready with suggestions about what the franchise should do going forward within minutes of the predictably vomitous contest going final.

There was little agreement about next steps beyond the certainty that moves need to be made to avoid repeating the early post-season exit scenario yet again.

Granted, the truest believers received an optimism boost after Denver prevailed in the sixth faceoff of the series on May 15. The Nugs staved off elimination at their Ball Arena home court via big assists from Jamal Murray, who notched 25 points despite battling an illness, and actually tangible contributions from players not named Nikola Jokić. Best in class was Christian Braun, who upped his already solid play by way of 23 points. But just as valuable, and much more improbable, was Julian Strawther thanks to fifteen timely points that seemingly came out of nowhere, since he'd previously been all but invisible.

But the victory was far from cost-free. Down the stretch, multi-time hero Aaron Gordon tweaked his hamstring, which was later deemed to have suffered a grade-two sprain — an injury that typically shelves players for at least a couple of weeks. This news suggested the dire possibility of Nuggets loyalists hearing one of the most terrifying sentences in all of professional sports: "Starting tonight will be Russell Westbrook."

Things worked out differently: Against all odds (and probably the advice of any competent physician), Gordon was on the floor of OKC's Paycom Center for the opening tip on Sunday afternoon, and he acquitted himself marvelously under the unfortunate circumstances, contributing eight points and eleven rebounds even though he ran as if a ball and chain was attached to one leg. But these stats were well below his usual (and necessary) output, and no one stepped up to fill the gap.

Yes, Braun nearly equaled his previous performance with nineteen points. But Michael Porter Jr., who'd been playing with his own serious injury (a sprained AC joint in his non-shooting shoulder), was likelier to spout wings and fly than make a jump shot (his measly six points came on put-backs from around a foot away), and Murray was essentially mojo-free; the majority of his thirteen points came too late to make a difference. Westbrook, for his part, singlehandedly allowed the Thunder to cut the Nuggets' early 21-10 lead to five points by way of poor ball-handling and a lack of control that would have been beyond the pale in a demolition derby.

That left Jokić under siege. For some inexplicable reason, the referees throughout the playoffs have allowed defenders to gang-grope him without significant sanction, and the Thunder's Alex Caruso definitely took advantage of their whistle-swallowing. At times, he seemed to be whacking at a side of beef with a meat tenderizer. Nikola still managed to register twenty points, but nine of them came from the free-throw line.

For all these pitfalls, Denver basically played OKC to a draw as halftime approached. But in the waning moments before intermission, the Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of his young, fast, relentless comrades suddenly began hitting shots that hadn't been finding twine. Suddenly, Oklahoma City was up by fourteen at the end of the second quarter and stacked basket upon basket as soon once the third stanza got underway. At that point, the Nugs' body language made it clear everyone involved knew a comeback wasn't going to happen — and it didn't. When interim head coach David Adelman inserted substitutes with over eight minutes remaining, the only question was why he'd waited so long.

Loads of other issues remain: There appears to be little enthusiasm for keeping Adelman around — and the Thunder's depth made it abundantly clear that the Nuggets' bench needs an enormous makeover. Yes, 2024 draft pick DaRon Holmes, who was brought aboard to spell Jokić, will presumably be ready to go in 2025-2026 after suffering an Achilles-tendon tear last July, but there's no telling how effective he'll be. In the meantime, Denver needs reliable shooting and defense in the non-Jokić minutes that Strawther, Peyton Watson, Jalen Pickett, Dario Šarić, Vlatko Čančar and the rest of the second unit have been wholly unable to provide.

Then there are Porter and Murray, the starters that citizens of Nuggets Nation most want to jettison. Problem is, both have giant contracts that allegedly make them all but untradeable under the NBA's obscure and arcane salary structure; any layperson who tells you they understand the ramifications of the second apron has probably spent the last several hours sniffing glue.

The frustration of this situation explains why some amateur general managers who weighed in on X post-game lobbied to trade Jokić — an insane tactic capable of making the catastrophic deal that sent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers a few months ago seem eminently reasonable.

Check out theories like these below. Now that the off-season's here, you'll have lots of time to mull them over.

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Image: Michael Roberts
Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.
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