Grade the trade: 3-team proposed deal would swap De'Andre Hunter for NBA champion

Nuggets land former 6th Man of the Year in proposed trade with Hawks, Heat

The Nuggets would be taking a very bold step by making Murray the first core piece of their championship trio to go. The group also features Michael Porter Jr. – a subject of trade speculation this offseason – and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic.

Herro, the 2021-22 Sixth Man of the Year, is bigger than Murray and has been more durable since both were in the league. However, he does not have Murray’s starting experience and is already locked into a big-money deal.

He averaged 20.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 4.5 APG in 2023-24 and counts $29 million against the cap in Year 2 of a four-year, $120 million deal.

Zeller (1.8 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 2023-24) is in Year 1 of a three-year, $11 million pact.

He counts $3.5 million against the salary cap. But he is younger than Jokic’s current backup, DeAndre Jordan, and bigger than Denver’s other centers. The entire transaction would cut $500,000 from the Nuggets’ bottom line.

Bufkin (four years, $19.8 million) played in 17 games as a rookie and Larsson (three years, $5.4 million) is a rookie so they have not yet made a real impact on the floor.

Grade – C-: This deal offers short-term cap savings but would break up the championship core trio and cost the Nuggets a first-round pick for anything but a surefire upgrade.