The Denver Nuggets are entering the offseason with quite a set roster. The core of Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr., and Jamal Murray is all under contract (once Jokic re-signs for the supermax) and supplementary pieces like Aaron Gordon, Monte Morris, and Will Barton are all locked up for next season.
Outside of major trades, the only moves the Nuggets will need to make are based around their veterans like DeMarcus Cousins, Austin Rivers, Facundo Campazzo, and Jeff Green.
Each of these players, with Green having a player option for next season, will be free agents and could leave Denver once free agency starts. As players likely signing for the veteran’s minimum, their free agency process isn’t as much about dollar amounts but playing time and opportunities to win.
Additionally, this offseason is the “biggest” one yet according to Michael Malone and with ownership signaling that they’re willing to dip into the luxury tax for the first time in more than a decade, things are getting interesting. And if the Nuggets project to be a luxury tax-paying team, having solid role players on minimum deals is essential.
Will DeMarcus Cousins re-sign with the Denver Nuggets?
The first of the veteran free agents might not even be looking for a veteran’s minimum: DeMarcus Cousins.
Boogie has bounced around the league in several stops after suffering major injuries across his career and the former 20-10 big man that the Sacramento Kings tried to build their team around is now a very efficient backup.
Cousins started the season with the Milwaukee Bucks, signing multiple ten-day deals before he eventually joined the Nuggets. The move worked well for both sides as DeMarcus eventually signed for the rest of the season and the move pushed Denver’s bench unit back into their natural positions.
It also gave Jokic a legitimate backup big and Malone wouldn’t lose leads whenever Nikola sat.
Boogie stepped up again in the First Round against the Golden State Warriors. In five games, Cousins averaged 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while shooting 66 percent from the floor and 67 percent from the 3-point line. The Warriors always struggle with talented big men and the tandem of Jokic and Cousins didn’t give the defense any rest.
When it comes to free agency, backup big men are an abundant resource and the former Kentucky star might be squeezed by the market. If he wants to carry this strong second-half showing into free agency, the Nuggets could just offer him the minimum and predict that nobody out there is going above that.
Harrison Wind, DNVR Sports, asked Denver’s GM, Calvin Booth, about Boogie’s free agency and he didn’t act as if it were a top priority:
Asked Calvin Booth about how big of a priority it is for the Nuggets to bring back DeMarcus Cousins just now. He said they’ll be in communication with Cousins’ reps, but I didn’t get the sense that he’s at all a lock to return.
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) May 4, 2022
While it’s a rough outlook for a player who has been decimated by injuries, it’s understandable that the Nuggets aren’t prioritizing the 31-year-old backup big.
Will DeMarcus Cousins return to the Denver Nuggets? In my opinion, yes. If he wants to look around the league and try and find a better situation, one with the opportunity to start, he won’t find a better team out there to do so.
Barring Denver making a trade to address the backup center position, the Nuggets should re-sign Cousins for a one-year veteran’s minimum.
Should the Denver Nuggets re-sign Austin Rivers?
Austin Rivers said he was lucky that he found the Denver Nuggets two seasons ago when they needed a fill-in for an injured Jamal Murray.
He also said he was lucky to re-sign with the Nuggets this past offseason, mentioning that the opportunity might be his last.
And now here we are, entering Rivers’ possible third season with the team and it looks like he has the inside track to re-signing.
At his end-of-season press conference, Booth said that Rivers is someone the team would look to bring back:
Calvin Booth: I think Austin Rivers is a guy that we would look to bring back.
— Mike Singer (@msinger) May 4, 2022
On DeMarcus, said they'd talk to his representation and see if there's common ground.
Honestly, this was surprising to me. I wrote a week ago that the Nuggets should re-sign Rivers but it’s hardly a priority. Austin will only command the veteran’s minimum and there’s no reason to commit to anything now before you see how the market plays out and if there are any better options out there for the same price tag.
Yes, he had an above-average defensive showing against the Warriors but when this roster’s at full strength, Rivers is deep in the depth chart of guards. Jamal will assume his starting spot, Morris or Barton will be starting alongside him, and Bones Hyland will be the first or second guard off the bench.
Rivers is looking like the third guard off the bench and an injury replacement if needed. Additionally, if Malone really wants a defensive injection, re-signing Davon Reed will help more in that department anyway.
To answer the initial question: no, the Denver Nuggets shouldn’t re-sign Austin Rivers. Unlike Cousins, he doesn’t have a defined role next season when this roster’s at full strength and Denver would be better off using his roster spot on a position that needs more help.
What will the Denver Nuggets do with Facundo Campazzo?
Facundo Campazzo fell to the wayside with the emergence of Bones Hyland. While he was a serviceable veteran this season and the last, teams had figured him out this season and the Argentinian was struggling to play effective basketball.
Before the All-Star break, Campazzo was playing just over 20 minutes a night for Michael Malone and was a net-negative 10.9 across 54 games. Hyland was elevated after the break and Facundo’s minutes fell to a mere eight per night and he was relegated to garbage time.
When Malone needed a defensive option against the flurry of Steph Curry and Jordan Poole in the playoffs, he tried Campazzo but it didn’t work very well.
Next season will be his age-32 season and it’s unlikely we see the Nuggets bring him back. I believe it’ll be hard to warrant using a roster spot on Austin Rivers and it’s clear that both the front office and coaching staff see Rivers as a better option.
With Denver’s guard depth filled to the brim, it’s likely we see one of Facundo or Austin returning and all signs are pointing towards the latter.
Will Jeff Green pick up his option and remain with the Denver Nuggets?
Jeff Green signed a two-year deal last offseason with a player option on the second season worth $4.5 million. The most likely outcome this offseason is that Green picks it up and plays at least one more season with the Denver Nuggets.
Additionally, entering his age-36 season, Uncle Jeff will be hoping to win his first title of his career and at full strength, the Nuggets are as good a chance at doing that as anyone.
This season, Green averaged just over ten points per game while shooting 32 percent from behind the arc and playing solid, versatile defense for a team that needs help on the wing.
Once Jamal and MPJ return to the court, it’s likely we see Green’s role shrink into a 3-and-D wing/forward off the bench, slotting in across multiple positions. This is the role he has played in various stops in recent years and if he does opt out of his player option, he’ll be playing that same role but on another team and likely on a veteran’s minimum.
Based on his past comments, I don’t think he’ll be doing that. In an interview with Sopan Deb, The New York Times, Green was confused as to why he could only get the veteran’s minimum across the league:
"“It confuses me, but it isn’t frustrating. You know, this stuff, that’s out of my control. I go out and just do the work. And I let my agent handle the logistics of the contract terms, but it is confusing to the point of, ‘What else do I need to do to prove that I’m not a minimum guy?’ “I’d love to settle down in one place. There’s Brooklyn. I’d love to settle down in Brooklyn. I’m not too concerned with the NBA record or how many teams. When you think about it, if I was to play 22 years, played on 15 teams, what does that say? It has no teeth behind it.”"
He gave that interview when entering the offseason with the Brooklyn Nets this past season. We now know he signed for the mid-level exception in Denver so it’s looking like Colorado is the one place he’s settling down, at least for one more year.