Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. (1) dunks against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first quarter of game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center.
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
The Denver Nuggets have had a painfully quiet offseason, recently signing DeMar DeRozan as a consolation prize after trading Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Nuggets look poised to bring back mostly the same roster that exited in the first round last year in embarrassing fashion against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Recently, former Nuggets wing Michael Porter Jr. broke down where he thinks things started to go wrong for Denver.
“I don't know why they let (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope) go. That was the beginning of our downfall,” said Porter Jr., per Curious Mike, via Hoopshype.
Indeed, the Nuggets let KCP walk in free agency following their 2024 loss to the Timberwolves, as the two-time champion ended up signing with the Orlando Magic.
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In fairness to the Nuggets' front office, Caldwell-Pope's play has largely fallen off a cliff in the two years since then, so signing him to a big contract might have been an even worse decision. Still, there are plenty of other moves that fans can criticize, including the trade of Porter Jr. himself to the Brooklyn Nets, which brought back Cam Johnson, who went on to have a rough first season overall with the Nuggets.
Denver still has arguably the game's best player in Nikola Jokic, but the team's lack of size and athleticism was sorely exposed in the latest loss to Minnesota, as was the team's lack of reliable perimeter scoring options when Jamal Murray doesn't have it going.
While the Nuggets will always have the 2023 championship to hold onto, the prospects of reaching those heights again in the current era are looking fainter by the day.