Believe it or not, the Nuggets roster has undergone such a transformation this offseason that the team may actually be too deep to play all of its players. It’s a far cry from last season when it felt like they couldn’t find five able bodies to put on the floor at times, but now they may be faced with the opposite problem.
We’ll see how David Adelman chooses to handle the lineups and rotations, but realistically, it’s hard for an NBA team to play more than 9-10 players on a nightly basis. The starting lineup seems set in place with Cam Johnson taking the place of Michael Porter Jr., but beyond that, almost everything seems up for grabs.
There are three leftover young players from last season who all feel they should be in the rotation, there are three new veteran additions to the bench who all feel that they should be in the rotation, and a promising rookie is returning from injury who surely feels he should be in the rotation.
If you’re counting at home, that seven guys coming off the bench who expect to play. There’s no way the Nuggets will go 12-deep every game, so certain guys are going to have to accept lesser roles. Here are the three most likely players to see their minutes impacted this season.
1. Jalen Pickett
Pickett’s job is hanging in the balance, perhaps as much as anyone's. On paper, he’s the only real backup point guard on the roster at the moment, but he’s still unproven and didn’t get steady playoff minutes. He should get a chance to win the nightly backup point role, but if he’s not up to it, Denver may opt for point guard by committee with Bruce Brown leading the charge.
2. Peyton Watson
Watson became one of the faces of the Malone/Booth feud, with his minutes being constantly yanked around. Many assume a steady role for him now, but he still has to prove it. His offense hasn’t developed as much as we hoped, and the team now has far more options to play the wing. If he struggles offensively out of the gate, he may see his minutes dwindling quickly.
3. Julian Strawther
Strawther is the other young player whose spot seems up in the air. The Nuggets probably have minutes for one shooting guard off the bench, and it may just come down to Strawther versus Tim Hardaway Jr. If THJ comes in and fills the role well from day one, it’s going to be hard for Julian to crack into the rotation.