Apr 20, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves during game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Apr 20, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves during game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Even after a historically disappointing summer, the Denver Nuggets are still walking into training camp as one of the best teams in the West, mostly because having Nikola Jokic on your roster just fixes a lot of things in the first place. They went 54-28 last season, finished third in the West, and had the best offense in the entire NBA at 122.6 points per 100 possessions, but another first-round exit made it pretty clear this roster still isn’t as complete as that 2023 championship version.
Jokic was ridiculous all over again with 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists on 56.9% shooting and 38.0% from three, and Jamal Murray had his best regular season ever at 25.4 points, 7.1 assists on 48.3% shooting, and 43.5% from deep. The Nuggets clearly aren’t worried about the top of the roster because when Jokic, Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, and Cam Johnson are all healthy together, they’re basically one of the best starting groups in basketball.
The offseason ideal was more about changing everything surrounding those five guys, but everything crumbled after a long free agency period. Peyton Watson left in a sign-and-trade with the Cavaliers after his breakout year, Tim Hardaway Jr. signed with the Heat, Bruce Brown’s still on the market, and Denver added DeMar DeRozan, Lonnie Walker IV, and Marvin Bagley III while bringing back Tyus Jones and Spencer Jones.
DeRozan was obviously the big one after he averaged 18.4 points and 4.1 assists on 49.7% shooting last season, especially since it only cost them $3.9 million for one year.
That was genuinely a good maneuver after letting go of their premium defensive wing, but DeRozan by himself isn’t going to solve everything. Actually, after losing Watson and Hardaway, the Nuggets might’ve gotten better in one area while getting thinner in a few others, and there’s still some pretty obvious stuff David Adelman has to figure out before opening night rolls around.
Here’s what’s actually keeping me up at night about this roster.
5. Health And Availability
This one isn’t really about how you build a roster, but it became way too important last season to just ignore and move on. Denver won 54 games even though Jokic played just 65, Braun played 44, Johnson appeared in 54, and Gordon made it into only 36 games, which means that starting five basically never got a real chance to build a positive rhythm over long stretches.
That’s a lot to survive through, especially for a team that’s already asking Jokic and Murray to carry so much of the offensive load. Murray was actually the exception and managed to play 75 games, which is great, but the Nuggets spent way too much of the season shuffling guys into different roles because Gordon, Braun, Johnson, or Jokic weren’t out there.
DeRozan at least helps here because staying healthy is pretty much one of his best skills at this point. He played 77 games last season and has reached 70-plus games every single year for the past five straight years, which is honestly pretty wild for someone who’s already 37.
But here’s the thing: there’s way less cushion for injuries now because some of the depth that helped them get through last season is just gone. Watson started 40 games because everyone kept getting hurt and could slide into multiple different roles whenever needed, so losing him makes another long stretch without Gordon, Braun, or Johnson much harder to cover for.
Denver doesn’t need everyone playing 82 games, and that’s obviously not realistic anyway. They just need their main five healthy enough to actually build some chemistry before the playoffs show up, because going into another postseason with Gordon at 70% or Braun just coming back from an injury isn’t going to make navigating a tough West any easier.
4. The Bench Offense Took A Massive Hit
The Nuggets bench was quietly pretty solid offensively last season, putting up 35.7 points per game on 47.3% shooting from the field and 37.9% from three. Hardaway Jr. was huge for that with 13.5 points a night on 40.7% from deep, while Brown added 7.9 points and Strawther chipped in 7.2.
Now Hardaway’s with Miami, Brown’s still sitting out there unsigned, and Watson’s gone. DeRozan obviously changes everything because adding an 18.4-point scorer to the second unit is a massive upgrade over what most teams have, but who else is actually going to score with him?
Strawther averaged 7.2 points last year, which is a step up, I guess, but he hasn’t really shown he can create offense consistently every night. Tyus Jones finished at just 3.0 points across 14.6 minutes, DaRon Holmes II put up 3.7 in limited time, and Spencer Jones gave them 5.5 a game.
Lonnie Walker can get hot, sure, and he should help things, but betting on him to suddenly become some consistent 12-to-15 point scorer every single night is asking quite a lot. The rest of this bench is basically just role players, young guys trying to figure it out, and big men who’ll score because someone else created something for them, not because they’re going out there grabbing their own buckets.
That makes DeRozan incredibly, incredibly important. The easiest move is probably using him as the sixth man or just staggering his minutes so aggressively that he’s basically running every single possession when Jokic and Murray aren’t on the floor.
DeRozan can still get to his spots, pull fouls, and create mid-range looks late in the clock when defenses get tight, so he immediately gives the Nuggets something they really haven’t had from the bench in years.
But if DeRozan has an off night or misses a game with something minor, this second unit suddenly becomes Tyus Jones with the ball, and Strawther, Walker, and the centers just waiting around for their shots. Last year’s bench wasn’t as good as the top contenders, but Hardaway gave them a reliable 13.5 points almost every single night, and Brown could do just a little bit of everything, so at least there were more guys who could help out.
3. The Three-Point Volume Could Be A Concern
The Nuggets were technically the best three-point shooting team in the whole league last season with 39.6% from deep, which was first in the NBA, but attempted only 35.8 per game, which was 20th. So it’s not that Denver can’t shoot, because they clearly can. But a team with Jokic creating open looks all night long probably shouldn’t be taking fewer threes than 19 other teams in the league.
Murray was absolutely ridiculous from distance, making 43.5% on 7.5 attempts a night, while Johnson shot 43.0%. Watson became a real shooter too at 41.1% on 3.6 attempts, and Hardaway was out there taking 6.9 every single night while hitting 40.7%. Two of those guys are gone now, and how you replace them is still uncertain.
Hardaway alone takes away almost seven three-point attempts from the rotation, and Watson’s another 3.6. DeRozan is obviously the much better scorer overall, but he attempted just 1.9 threes a game last season and made 32.0%, so he’s not really replacing that lost volume from the perimeter.
Denver doesn’t need to suddenly become a team jacking up 50 threes every night. They just need Braun, Strawther, Walker, Gordon, and even Jokic to take the open ones without thinking about it too hard, because being first in percentage and 20th in volume is a really strange combination for an offense this talented.
2. The Jokic-Less Minutes Are Still Genuinely Scary
This has basically been their eternal problem, and it’s still not fully solved, as much as they tried. With Jokic on the floor last season, the Nuggets put up a ridiculous 124.6 offensive rating. In the 17 games he didn’t play, that number just crashed all the way down to 115.5, and their scoring went from 125.3 per game with him to only 109.9 without him.
That gap right there explains basically everything. Jokic doesn’t just score 27.7 points every night. He creates almost every single advantage, controls how fast or slow everything moves, gets shooters open looks they wouldn’t normally get, finds cutters in spots they should be, and turns role players into way better offensive players. But once he sits down on the bench, everything gets harder all of a sudden.
Murray can carry those minutes when he’s staggered in with the bench guys, but the Nuggets also can’t just make him play 40 minutes every single night just because the second unit can’t score on its own. This is where DeRozan might become one of the most important signings of the whole offseason.
His 18.4 points and 4.1 assists don’t look like superstar numbers on the surface, but that’s not even what Denver needs from him. They need someone who can get the ball with Jokic sitting, run a basic action, attack a mismatch, and get a decent shot to at least maintain a lead in the third quarter.
DeRozan can absolutely still do that kind of thing. He shot 49.7% from the field last season, got to the free-throw line 5.6 times a game, and committed only 1.2 turnovers, so there’s definitely still a lot of value in letting him control the second unit and dictate the pace a little bit.
The real problem is those minutes can’t become five guys just standing around watching DeRozan play isolation ball every possession either. Strawther actually has to make shots, Walker has to attack closeouts aggressively, Holmes needs to develop as a roller, and someone else has to bring some scoring so DeRozan isn’t literally doing everything by himself.
The starting five already had the league’s best offense last year, so adding another scorer there isn’t solving some major problem. Using him to just keep them alive during those eight or ten minutes Jokic needs to sit every night could end up being much more valuable long term.
1. The Defense Might Actually Be Even Worse Now
This is obviously the biggest problem walking into training camp. The Nuggets were first in offensive rating last season at 122.6 but only 21st defensively at 117.4, which is a huge gap for a team trying to win a championship. Their offense was already doing its part, sure, but allowing 116.9 points per game meant they constantly needed Jokic and Murray to score at an elite level just to keep things in control.
And now they lost Peyton Watson, who had the best season of his entire career with 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 49.1% from the field and 41.1% from three. But more importantly, he gave Denver a 6-foot-8 athlete who was elite defensively in front of the ball, could rotate from the weak side, and protect the rim in ways most perimeter players just can’t.
Cleveland gave Watson a four-year, $88.0 million contract in that sign-and-trade, so keeping him would’ve been really expensive, obviously. Denver got an unprotected 2031 first-rounder and a 2032 second-round pick back, which is solid value considering the financial stuff, but those picks aren’t guarding Anthony Edwards or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this season.
Braun can take the main perimeter assignment, and Gordon can still guard bigger stars, but now both of them have just way more defensive responsibility on their plates. If Gordon’s guarding a power forward one night and then chasing an elite wing the next, that becomes a lot to ask over 82 games, especially when he only played 36 last year.
Cam Johnson isn’t fixing that problem either. DeRozan definitely isn’t, that’s for sure. He gives Denver way more shot creation, but at 37 years old he’s not suddenly becoming the wing stopper who replaces Watson, and putting him into lineups with Jokic and Murray only just adds more pressure on Braun and Gordon to cover everything.
The biggest question heading into camp isn’t whether Denver can score enough, because they obviously can. It’s whether Braun and Gordon can carry even bigger defensive loads, whether one of the younger players can unexpectedly turn into a reliable stopper, and whether Adelman can build a better team defense without Watson covering so many mistakes and holes.
Denver’s still a contender because Jokic keeps the floor ridiculously high, and adding DeRozan for $3.9 million was one of the easiest value moves of the whole offseason. But right now this roster looks a little strange: maybe better at creating shots, clearly thinner off the bench, lower in three-point volume, and a mile worse defensively.
If they fix even two or three of these problems, they can be right there with anyone in the West. If the defense stays 21st and those Jokic-less minutes still fall apart, another amazing regular-season offense probably won’t be enough once the playoffs actually start.