Like it or not, the Nuggets have revealed their plan this offseason
Jul 2, 2022, 9:04 AM
It’s a tale as old as the franchise itself. Nuggets fans screaming “What are they doing?” through the offseason is the norm.
When Denver signed veteran center DeAndre Jordan as free agency opened on Thursday, their voices echoed through cyberspace again wondering what was the plan. Now that Bruce Brown has been added to the mix after Jordan, plus draft picks Christian Braun and Peyton Watson, the dust has settled and we can see where the franchise is going.
In Calvin Booth’s first offseason in charge, he was decisive in upgrading defense, particularly on the perimeter. Fans applauded Will Barton’s departure while questioning the inclusion of Monte Morris in the trade for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith.
Trading JaMychal Green was viewed as a salary dump, and many observers were hoping the 30th pick he yielded would be used as part of another deal to acquire a veteran wing. Instead, Watson was selected and will be given a one-way ticket to Grand Rapids to play in the G-League for the upcoming season.
Meanwhile, the team signed back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic to the largest contract in the history of the NBA, ironically totaling $303 million to keep him in the 303 for what will likely be the rest of his career.
So what does it all mean? Booth has given us the blueprint for what the Jokic era will look like under his supermax deal.
Denver knows what it has in Jokic and Aaron Gordon, and believes in what Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. will add coming off of injury. With a minimum of $115 million per season committed to that core four and going up from there over each of the next three-plus seasons, Denver is determined to find a way to make that group work as a title contender.
Whether you agree with the philosophy or not, this is the approach. Player options and opt-outs, rookie contracts, and roster flexibility will be the common theme among any and all other players they add year in and year out.
The Nuggets will keep shuffling the deck around the core four players with spare parts until they find the right formula to contend. This year’s version looks to be much more suited to the playoffs than last year.
Along the way, they’ll take longshots on players like Watson and hope he pans out as an elite defender. They’ll draft athletic 3-and0D profiles like Braun hoping he can be for them what Pat Connaughton is for the Bucks on a championship team.
Did the Nuggets hit a home run this offseason? Certainly not. Are they any closer to winning a championship? Only if you believe Murray and Porter both return significantly better than they were before serious injuries.
But what if the Nuggets do have is a plan? What you see is what the Jokic supermax era will look like going forward.
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