The Denver Nuggets did something last week that their fan base had been begging for all summer. They made a move.
DeMar DeRozan, six-time All-Star, one of the most consistent scorers of his generation, signed a one-year contract with the Nuggets, giving the roster an injection of proven offensive production that it desperately needed after trading Peyton Watson to Cleveland. It was the kind of signing that generates genuine excitement.
And on a recent edition of “Dover and Cecil” on 104.3 The Fan, Josh Dover made clear he is firmly in the camp that believes it makes the team better.
“I’m telling you, I absolutely love the DeMar DeRozan signing. I think this made the Nuggets better,” Dover said.
DeRozan brings a mid-range game that has been elite for over a decade, a self-creation ability that Denver’s bench has lacked for years, and a veteran presence that stabilizes any lineup he steps into. Whether the Nuggets deploy him as a starter or as the anchor of the second unit, his scoring is going to provide something this roster hasn’t had, a reliable offensive option beyond the Jokic-Murray two-man game.
But Dover wasn’t about to let the excitement override the reality of where this team actually stands.
“I don’t know that I can look at them, like I said, as a championship team,” Dover said.
Better is not the same as good enough. DeRozan is a valuable addition, but he does not replace what Peyton Watson brought defensively, the rim protection, the perimeter versatility, the two-way ceiling that made Watson one of the most promising young players in the league. DeRozan scores. Watson defended. And the Nuggets’ problems have always lived more on the defensive end than the offensive one.
Dover then identified the single most important variable hanging over the entire season.
“You gotta stay healthy. That’s the biggest problem with this team,” Dover said.
Health has been the recurring theme of every Nuggets conversation for the past two years. Nikola Jokic missed 16 games last season. Aaron Gordon battled injuries that lingered into the playoffs. The roster has consistently been undermined by availability issues at the worst possible times. DeRozan doesn’t fix that. Nobody can fix that. It is the one variable that no amount of roster construction can control.
Then Dover laid out the full inventory of concerns that still loom over this team, and the list was longer than any single signing can address.
“You have to overcome a bad coach. You have to pray that guys play on defense. You have to hope that Christian (Braun) bounces back. You have to hope that Julian (Strawther) develops. You have to hope that Tyus (Jones) has anything left. And then you need to find someone to make 200 threes in a season like Tim Hardaway did,” Dover said.
That’s a staggering number of open questions for a team that is supposed to be competing for a championship. David Adelman’s coaching has been a source of constant scrutiny. The defense remains a liability. Braun’s production dipped after his injury. Strawther is still a developmental piece. TyusJones is on the wrong side of his career arc. And the three-point shooting that Hardaway Jr. provided before his departure hasn’t been replaced.
Dover closed with the kind of sarcastic summation that makes the point better than any detailed analysis could.
“So outside of the seven things I just listed guys, things are looking up,” he said.
The DeRozan signing was good. It was necessary. It made the Nuggets better in a tangible way. But the gap between better and championship-caliber is still wide, and it is filled with question marks that no single player, no matter how accomplished, can answer on his own. The Nuggets are improved. Whether they’re improved enough is an entirely different conversation. And Dover, for all his enthusiasm about the signing, isn’t ready to have it yet.
The illusion that the Nuggets are a contender won’t survive the playoffs
The illusion that the Nuggets are a contender won’t survive the playoffs
ESPN gives Nuggets solid grade for DeMar DeRozan signing
ESPN gives Nuggets solid grade for DeMar DeRozan signing
Nuggets sign six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan
Nuggets sign six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan