The Nuggets have the league's best player, and once Jokic leaves Denver, it's unclear how long it will take for them to get back to being competitive; so they need to try to build the best team possible around Jokic's strengths.
The first move is to re-sign P.Watson. Denver can offer him a four-year, $80 million contract. Watson is young and the best defender on this roster, so Denver has to do everything it can to keep him.
The second move is to separate the Murray-Jokic duo, which obviously means trading Murray. This is a pairing that needs to be separated not because of the players' technical prowess, but because changes are needed; one cycle has ended, a new one must begin. In this situation, Denver doesn't need picks and salary fillers, but a high-level player with different characteristics than Murray; in this case, the Nuggets trade him for J.Suggus, J.Isaac and 3srp. This trade allows Denver to add a top defender like Suggus, who also knows how to carry the ball when Jokic is off the court.
The third move is to swap the contracts of two excellent players, who unfortunately haven't performed well in Denver this year, for a scorer who can replace Murray as the second offensive option. The trade with the Kings meets these conditions, with C.Johnson and C.Braun going to Sacramento for Z.Lavine and 2srp. This exchange, in addition to the one mentioned above, provides a sort of insurance, because if Lavine doesn't meet expectations, he would simply become a free agent, and Denver would free up nearly $50 million in cap space to move forward in 2027 free agency.
The final move involves trading away the "negative" contracts that would prevent these moves from being made. So, they're trading Valanciunas, Nnaji, Isaac, and 3srp for J.Smith. So, in addition to making room for all the previous moves, they're adding another young and excellent defender in J.Smith.
Starting five after this trades: J.Suggus - Z.Lavine - P.Watson - A.Gordon - N.Jokic
It is worth noting that with these trades the Nuggets will have 3 picks in this draft (26, 45, 46).