The Denver Nuggets' defense was exposed many times last season, but it was especially apparent in their terrible first-round defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves. And while the only true upgrade to the bench to address that issue was signing Alpha Diallo, the reigning Best Defender from the EuroLeague, the Nuggets still upgraded their defense at one of their backup guard spots. Yes, signing DeMar DeRozan and letting Bruce Brown go to free agency was actually a very slight defensive upgrade.
That's how far Brown had fallen off, and why the Nuggets were right not to bring him back. He's now fighting for a roster spot out of training camp with the New York Knicks. And one defensive stat shows just how poor Brown was. His defensive true shooting value added was one of the worst in the league at -1.9 over the last three years. Of players with more than 20,000 possessions on defense, only six other players were worse than Brown.
Unfortunately, DeRozan is only one spot higher on the list, with a rating of -1.7. But other stars, like Jalen Brunson and Trae Young, were worse than DeRozan, and he tied with Steph Curry and Kyle Kuzma.
DeRozan represents a massive upgrade over Brown
Many Nuggets fans were sad to see Brown go. "Cowboy Bruce" was a fan favorite and will always have a place in Nuggets fans' hearts after he was a vital member of the team's first championship-winning squad in 2022-23. But the overall net upgrade from DeRozan to Brown will be massive for the Nuggets this year.
Brown was never a scorer or a distributor. He wasn't a playmaker, and obviously his defense was bad. But DeRozan is a six-time All-Star and one of the most clutch players in the league who has a career average of 21.1 points.
Not to mention, DeRozan is an underrated passer and distributor who's capable of being a primary ball handler. A role that even legendary head coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs bestowed upon him during the three years he spent with the Spurs.
DeRozan averaged 4.1 assists last year with the Sacramento Kings, his lowest total since 2017-18, before he learned his new role with the Spurs. That would still be the third-highest total on the Nuggets last season, behind Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
There's nothing not to like about the change from Brown to DeRozan. Clearly, Brown was going in the wrong direction. Now the Nuggets have a high-basketball-IQ veteran who is chasing his first NBA championship in Brown's place. And he'll be the sixth man in Tim Hardaway Jr.'s place, too. DeRozan's a massive net upgrade who should pay dividends for the Nuggets as the season progresses.
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