We NEED to Talk About the Nuggets…

They need to get off that MPJ contract if possible. Its such a handcuff for their ability to make moves

The reason the Nuggets will still be good is because they have Nikola Jokic the best player in the world and one of the most adaptable offensive players in history. To me the Nuggets still have a good floor and a high ceiling but that ceiling depends on a lot on the younger players to make significant contributions. I think what will also be critical to them is how the salary cap rises because it’s clear to me ownership doesn’t want to over spend and get into the second apron. It shows how in this modern NBA it’s hard to build dynasty’s and win championships consistently. Shows how impressive the Bulls two separate three peats are. You need talent but also a good beat of luck to win a championship.

Jokic can only do so much. The inconsistency of Jamal Murray and Michael porter jr will be the nuggets downfall

I really like the addition of Dario Saric because Denver likes to use Jokic as an offensive hub for handoffs a lot. But the bench unit obviously didn’t have a center. Saric is a great passer who can be the offensive hub for the bench which is what the bench kinda needs.

A couple of things I think you’re misinformed on: 1) In no scenario did they think that trading Reggie Jackson would free up enough cap space to keep kCP. They knew they weren’t going to be able to match an offer from another team without going into the second apron and that was something they weren’t willing to do. - Braun’s defense is not a significant downgrade from KCP. KCP got torched by Anthony Edwards in that series. Braun was far more effective at slowing him down. -MPJ did not “contribute at a high-level” the year they won the championship. He struggled shooting the entire playoffs and never really found his rhythm. - I am surprised that you did not discuss the implications of the new CBA and the implications entering the second apron on roster building. It will effect a lot teams in the near future

KCP was nonexistent in the wolves series lol

Nugs didnt fumble anything. The rules forced bruce brown to leave and that rule will hit other teams as well. Fact is they simply werent allowed to match indianias offer. I think theyve done as well as they could the past 4-5 years. Please tell us what other moves they could have made?

Murray is not even close to an all star....he needs so much rest...poor guy is always tired

I’m a lifelong Nuggets fan and I think it’s even worse than it looks on paper. We didn’t even offer KCP a contract, the front office is full of it. We just let him walk for nothing. At best, we are a sixth seed now. His shooting and point of attack defense is a much bigger loss than he is letting on. Russ may be an upgrade on Reggie Jackson but he is no Bruce Brown. The front office really dropped the ball man.

I’m going to laugh so hard when the Nuggets win the Western Conference this postseason. I love how quickly the narrative has changed because they barely lost to the Wolves with a hobbled Murray & severely underperforming KCP & MPJ. Keep doubting, you’ll all be reminded soon enough.

They don't really have a lot of options due to that MPJ max. The major keys to their success next season is their young core (Braun, Watson, Strawther) stepping up and Malone trusting these dudes. Mike gassed out the starters last playoffs because he's too into vets.

Y’all forgetting that every championship team has to adjust to players leaving or getting older … it’s happened plenty of times before … and we got big Jok don’t forget

it didn't help matters mpj forgot how to shoot in the minnesota series

The nuggets won 48 games with Jokic, Gordon, Will Barton, Jeff Green, Monte Morris as starters and Facu Compazzo, Austin Rivers, and JaMychal Green off the bench. This version of the nuggets is exponentially better. 54-56 wins this year

Losing Da'Ron Holmes is a big blow. Still when Russ is on court w Joker, Gordon & MPJ, good luck getting a rebound. Don't discount D.Saric & J.Strawther. they'll give Denver some pretty good depth. I still think they're clearly better than Dal & LAL

Jokic shooting like 24% from three is obviously a outliner and I don’t expect him to shoot like ass forever

The Nuggets will be a good team with Jokić, Murray, Gordon, and MPJ, but they are not title contenders anymore for the time being. As you said, the departure of KCP (and with him, his 3pt shooting and defense) and their lack of depth are huge question marks for them. Russ is a good addition to the bench, but he adds absolutely nothing to their shooting and he's 35 now. Their other addition was Dario Šarić, who is also decent, but doesn't give them much else.

Management got complacent after winning the Title (they lost Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, and KCP, and they traded Reggie Jackson for almost nothing).

There depth is better, what are you talking about? Starters: Jokic, Murray, AG, MPJ, Braun. Bench: Russ, Sarge, Julian, P Watt. This could overall be bad but i don't see this not being a better team. Losing KCP ofc is bad but replacing him with depth and Braun i think will overall good good this season.

Russ is a big upgrade from Reggie, but they got hurt losing Pope, I’d like to see Braun start and replace Brauns bench play with an older scoring shooting guard that has a good jumper to come off the bench with russ