Aaron Gordon has been named the Denver Nuggets‘ most coveted trade asset this offseason and the San Antonio Spurs are already being positioned as the most logical landing spot.
This is not routine offseason chatter. This is a convergence of cap pressure, injury history, and championship urgency that makes a deal genuinely executable.
Nuggets Make Aaron Gordon’s Available
Nuggets president Josh Kroenke confirmed after Denver‘s first-round exit to the Minnesota Timberwolves that only Nikola Jokic is untouchable this summer.
Kroenke said: “I think everything’s on the table outside of trading Nikola.”
That single sentence opened the door on every other name in the building.
NBA insider Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported that teams around the league are already monitoring Gordon – and identified him as the Denver veteran drawing the strongest external trade interest.
The Nuggets need to shed salary before locking in Peyton Watson‘s new contract. Gordon‘s $103.6 million extension makes him the highest-value chip on the board.
San Antonio Spurs Target Aaron Gordon
Analyst Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report wrote that the Spurs could offer the kind of package that forces Denver to reconsider keeping Gordon.
Buckley wrote: “A big, physical forward who can finish, shoot, create and defend could be exactly what this roster needs to clear that final hurdle.”
ESPN‘s Bobby Marks separately identified a stretch four as one of San Antonio‘s primary offseason needs.
Marks said: “The Nuggets would presumably prefer to keep Gordon, their uber-valuable Swiss Army knife, but the Spurs could dangle the kind of trade package that makes them reconsider that stance.”
Two separate analysts at major outlets identifying the same positional gap is a credibility signal worth noting.
San Antonio lost the 2026 NBA Finals to the New York Knicks in five games – and the Wembanyama era is already demanding championship-caliber support pieces around the young star.
Aaron Gordon Injury Update
This is not a clean buy-low story. Gordon played just 36 regular-season games this year and suited up for only three of Denver‘s six playoff contests, hampered by recurring hamstring problems.
Over the last two seasons combined, he has appeared in just 87 regular-season games total – a durability concern that will suppress his trade market.
The production when healthy remains elite. Gordon averaged 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists this season on 49.7% shooting from the field and 38.9% from three.
Over the past two seasons he has shot 41.3% from three-point range – a number that makes the stretch-four label legitimate, not aspirational. The Nuggets posted a plus-12.7 net rating with him on the floor last season, a two-way impact metric that box scores alone don’t capture.
- Contract: Three-year, $103.6M extension – roughly $33-34M in 2026-27, $36.3M in 2027-28, player option near $39M for 2028-29
- This season: 16.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.7 APG, 49.7% FG, 38.9% 3P in 36 games
- Durability: 87 regular-season games played across the last two full seasons
- On/off impact: Nuggets outscored opponents by 12.7 per 100 possessions with Gordon on the floor
