Report: Aaron Gordon drawing Nuggets’ strongest trade interest

The confetti might still be coming down in Manhattan, the Larry O’Brien Trophy belongs to the New York Knicks, and the NBA’s offseason is officially here. That means the Denver Nuggets’ summer of hard math is here, too — and the latest from Marc Stein points the spotlight right back at Aaron Gordon.

In his Sunday newsletter, Stein reported that Gordon, who turns 31 in September, is “the Denver veteran drawing the strongest external trade interest” as the league turns its attention to the Nuggets. That attention, Stein noted, ramps up once a Giannis Antetokounmpo decision shakes loose and the rest of the playoff disappointments start their reset moves.

Denver is one of those disappointments. A first-round exit, looming financial questions and a restricted free agent to pay have set the stage for the exact summer we’ve been bracing for since David Adelman’s group went home in May.

Here’s the crux, per Stein: The Nuggets are “determined” to re-sign restricted free agent Peyton Watson — but they’ve been hunting “a trade or two first that generates more financial flexibility” with respect to the league’s luxury-tax aprons. As we’ve known, signing Watson means somebody else has to go.

The preferred somebody isn’t Gordon. League sources told Stein that Denver would rather find a market for Christian Braun than entertain deals involving Gordon or Jamal Murray, the latter coming off his first All-Star season. But moving Braun, fresh off a down, injury-marred year and onto a five-year, $125 million extension that’s just kicking in, is “rife with challenges.” Matt Moore of The Denver Dig has reported a market does exist for Braun

Still, the external phones keep ringing for Mr. Nugget, per Stein.

The case for keeping Gordon has never wavered — when he plays, Denver is a different, nastier team. The case against has never been about the talent. It’s the two things now working against him: availability and money. Stein noted injuries have limited Gordon to 87 games over the past two seasons. His new deal is three years and $103.6 million, which starts at the end of the month.

None of this is fresh territory for anyone who’s followed Josh Kroenke’s offseason breadcrumbs. The voice of ownership spent his end-of-season news conference praising Gordon as a human being and then made clear “everything is on the table outside of trading Nikola.” He talked about “complacency” and “challenging conversations.” He talked about flexibility. KSE ducked the tax at the deadline and has shown, repeatedly, where its priorities sit.

Now the offseason is truly underway, and the reporting keeps circling the same drain: Watson gets paid, but only after Denver figures out who it can move to afford him. The front office wants that someone to be Braun. The rest of the league, Stein says, is asking about Gordon. It is worth it to keep watching Cameron Johnson, who is on a usually movable expiring contract.

Watson can begin negotiating an offer sheet with another team June 30. The Nuggets retain the right to match. What they trade to make that match comfortable is the question that defines their summer — and the answer the league is most curious about after the Greek Freak might be Air Gordon.