The Denver Nuggets are clearly within that pivotal championship window, but here’s what they need to do to become legitimate title contenders.
Nobody can deny that the Denver Nuggets‘ 2021-22 season was a tremendous success. From “The Joker” cementing himself as the greatest basketball player in the world. To the team going toe to toe with the likes of Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Without two of their three best players in Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., nevertheless.
Despite falling short of hoisting their first Larry O’Brien in franchise history, the Nuggets still walked away with a far better record than almost anybody could’ve predicted given the circumstances.
That being said, there are still things that Denver needs to fix this upcoming offseason if they want to finally get over the proverbial hump and win an NBA championship.
Even though the franchise should see both Murray and Porter Jr. return from injury by the start of the regular season. This doesn’t necessarily transform them into immediate NBA title contenders, as many fans would have you believe.
So, if the Nuggets truly want to capitalize on the prime years of Jokic’s career, then they need to surround him with a proper supporting cast capable of competing with the best the league has to offer.
Here is the official offseason checklist for the Denver Nuggets in 2022.
The Denver Nuggets enter the 2022 NBA offseason as a team with a few extremely important objectives and very little flexibility.
The enormous elephant in the room is that the Nuggets need to stay healthy. Although, even at full strength, the team struggled immensely in one particular area of the floor, defense.
While it’s easy to point to Denver’s transition defense as the primary issue. Since the team allowed an abysmal 20.0 points per game off turnovers in the playoffs, and 17.3 during the regular season. Which was the fifth-most in the entire NBA.
The team remains one of the overall worst defensive teams in basketball. In fact, if it wasn’t for the heroics of Nikola Jokic this season, chances are we’d be talking about which lottery pick the Nuggets should target in the 2022 NBA Draft.
During the regular season, Denver finished 29th in the NBA in blocks per game (3.7), 29th in opposing rim field-goal percentage (66.2), and 15th in defensive rating (111.5). They also ranked dead-last in defensive efficiency throughout the playoffs (121.9).
Which is a stark contrast compared to their eighth-ranked offense (113.9). With the Nuggets ranking in the top ten in points per game (112.7), team field goal percentage (48.3), and team free-throw percentage (79.5) by the end of the regular season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo… Anthony Davis… Kawhi Leonard… Draymond Green… LeBron James. Basically, every team that’s won an NBA championship in the last decade had (at least) one All-Defense calibre player. The Denver Nuggets have zero.
So, this should certainly be the Nuggets’ primary focus this offseason.
Solution – sign Robert Covington
Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon are all sound defenders, but past that there isn’t much left in terms of depth. The Nuggets might bring back Austin Rivers, who (along with Gordon) is one of the team’s better perimeter defenders.
Although, adding a player like Robert Covington who has a proven track record as one of the better defenders in the association, could prove to be tremendously beneficial for a variety of reasons.
First and foremost, Covington can slide in immediately and match up with any opposing team’s best wing player. Even on the offensive end, he would provide the necessary spacing to allow Jokic and Murray to flourish in the open court.
Above all else, the Denver Nuggets could probably snag Covington on a mid-level exception. Spending next to nothing to sign an impactful defender that could start alongside Jokic, Murray, and Porter Jr. Or provide valuable minutes off the bench.
Truth be told, the Denver Nuggets can only go so far even with a healthy Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Having these two return to the lineup will in all likelihood thrust them back into contention, but I doubt it will be solely good enough to put them over the top. The issue is that they also happen to be one of the most cap-restricted teams in the NBA.
With both Aaron Gordon and Porter Jr.’s extension about to start, the Denver Nuggets are entering unfamiliar territory as a luxury tax team. In fact, the last time the Nuggets had to pay any luxury tax was in 2009. So, this ownership group is going to be faced with a brand-new set of financial challenges this offseason.
This means that they have two avenues to improve their roster this upcoming offseason; the trade market, and the NBA Draft.
While there are a few potential trades that would drastically improve the Nuggets’ outlook in 2023 (one of which will be discussed in the following section). The upcoming 2022 NBA Draft is arguably the most pivotal draft in recent memory.
The good news is that the Denver Nuggets have one of the best front offices, and head coaches in the NBA. A group that’s responsible for drafting players like Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Monte Morris, Michael Porter Jr., and Bones Hyland.
All of which have hit thus far based on where they were drafted.
So, I expect Denver to once again find solid value this year, even if they do have just a single selection in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Solution – draft Walker Kessler
With the Denver Nuggets bowing out in the first round of the playoffs this year, they’re projected to land the 21st overall pick. Taking this into account, the player that would best suit what the Denver Nuggets need moving forward is Auburn’s big man, Walker Kessler.
There’s no denying that the Nuggets could use some more depth on the wings, and potentially even another backcourt running mate for Jamal Murray. But they first need to improve their presence in the paint, specifically on the defensive end. And there’s no better prospect in this regard than Walker Kessler.
Coming off an extraordinary sophomore year in which he averaged 11.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and an NCAA-leading 4.56 blocks per game for the Auburn Tigers. Kessler is widely regarded as one of the best centers in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Most importantly, as a 7’1″ 245-pound big with elite shot-blocking and efficient interior scoring. He would provide immediate help in the Denver Nuggets’ most pressing area of need.
Finally, I need all Nuggets fans to ask themselves this; “Can a big three of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. truly contend for an NBA championship?”
Maybe on a pure talent level, sure. But even then they’re cutting it close.
So, then what options do the Nuggets have given their current cap restrictions and budget restraints you might ask?
Trading Jokic is obviously out of the question, and I would throw Murray into the group of “untradeables” as well. Particularly given how much he’s improved in the last few seasons and the odds of him coming back at full strength following the ACL tear.
Which leaves just one player left to move, Michael Porter Jr.
Despite being a former McDonald’s All-American and MaxPreps National Player of the Year, Porter’s essentially been a walking band-aid since his days at Missouri. He’s also never made an All-Star team, an All-NBA team, or won any major award for that matter since getting drafted back in 2018. And he’s now owed a whopping $172.5 million over the next 5 years ($145 million guaranteed via Spotrac).
Everybody knows that the best ability in sports is availability, and this is especially the case in the NBA. Where the loss of even just one star player can dramatically impact a team’s ability to win games.
Just look at the Milwaukee Bucks, who were the healthiest team in the playoffs last season and ended up winning an NBA championship as a result. Or this year’s Phoenix Suns, who nearly lost to a Zion-less New Orleans Pelicans team after Devin Booker went down in the first round.
Or how about the 2019 Toronto Raptors, who managed to outplay the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals in large part because the team was without both Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson.
Simply put, this league is built around health, and if you are a team hoping to compete late into the month of June. Then you need a superstar capable of handling this sort of a schedule. Unfortunately, I do not think that is Michael Porter Jr.
It’s certainly not going to be easy finding a trade suitor for Porter, especially given his extensive history with back injuries, and lofty salary owed to him in guaranteed money.
That being said, players like this always tend to get traded in the NBA.
At one point in time, it appeared as if no team in the association could possibly trade for Ben Simmons, and then the Brooklyn Nets came calling midway through February. We all thought that there was no way the Houston Rockets would ever trade Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook, and then in 2019, it happened.
The truth is that bad trades take place all the time in the association, so the Denver Nuggets might just be able to find a team willing to roll the dice on Michael Porter Jr. Who’s still just 23-years-old and in the prime of his career (when healthy).
Solution – trade for Donovan Mitchell
Now admittedly for the Denver Nuggets to pull this one off they would probably need to part ways with MPJ and (at least) two future first-round draft picks. In all likelihood, a 2023 first-round selection and a 2026 or 2027 first-round pick as well.
Although, rumours have circulated about Mitchell potentially wanting out of Utah for some time now, and the mere thought of pairing him up with Jamal Murray in the Nuggets backcourt is just crazy to think about.
As a result of the trade, the Jazz would receive a 6’10” playmaker in Porter Jr., as well as some future draft capital. While the Nuggets would finally get a third superstar capable of putting them over the top.
Above all else, a trio of Murray, Mitchell and Jokic would instantly have Denver contending for an NBA title. Especially with a supporting cast of Aaron Gordon, Bones Hyland, Will Barton, and whoever else they can grab this offseason.