The Nuggets maintained their starting five after winning their first championship in team history a year ago, but they lost two backups who were essential to their championship run. The Nuggets were unable to match Indiana’s offer for Brown, which included a $22 million beginning contract, or the Rockets’ offer for Green, which included a $8 million starting salary plus incentives, despite the fact that Bruce Brown and Jeff Green were Denver’s first two players off the bench in the previous season’s postseason.
The Nuggets’ strategy to fill the rotational gaps was focused on developing young players. Along with selecting three seasoned players (Julian Strawther, Jalen Pickett, and Hunter Tyson) with a combined 13 years of college experience, Denver also believed that players Christian Braun and Peyton Watson, as well as fourth-year big man Zeke Nnaji, would be prepared to assume more responsibility.
Though Watson was inconsistent, Nnaji’s playing time decreased to just 9.9 minutes per game, and the three rookies weren’t as NBA-ready as the front office had hoped, the Nuggets’ plan wasn’t totally misguided. Braun, in particular, had a strong sophomore season, earning head coach Michael Malone’s trust and a spot in Denver’s playoff rotation.
Even seasoned backups like Justin Holiday and Reggie Jackson saw relatively few postseason minutes, and by the time the Nuggets were ousted from the playoffs, Malone felt that he could only really rely on the starting five plus Braun.
The Nuggets don’t have to make any roster changes. With the second-best net rating of any lineup that played at least 250 minutes together (+13.6), the starting five of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter, Aaron Gordon, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope continued to be incredibly effective in 2023–2024. Malone was forced to depend excessively on that five-man core, though, as they played 958 minutes in 48 games collectively, compared to the Thunder starters, who played 799 minutes in 63 games, the second-most utilised lineup in the league.
The difficulty for Denver’s front management this offseason is twofold. First, can the Nuggets maintain that starting five together for another year? Caldwell-Pope is slated to turn down his $15.4 million player option, and other teams will undoubtedly try to get the three-and-d mainstay from the 2023 winners.
Secondly, can Denver push Braun to the starting five or will Caldwell-Pope have to resign? Lastly, are the Nuggets able to put together a more solid second unit? It won’t be easy because of the salary cap; even without Caldwell-Pope on the books, the club projects to be a taxpayer, and with him back, team salary may surpass the second tax apron.
Though most of the core was established during Tim Connelly’s tenure as front office manager, general manager Calvin Booth made significant strides last year that brought him recognition. Putting together a team that can make a run at the NBA Finals this offseason will be Booth’s hardest job to date.
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