For almost all of his career, DeMar DeRozan has been the number one option in the offense. He's used to facing every team's best defender and drawing multiple defenders just about every time down the floor. But the six-time All-Star won't have to face that same pressure in his first season with the Denver Nuggets, and it could take a lot of the pressure off Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray to help transform the Nuggets' offense in 2026-27.
DeRozan has shown a lot of enthusiasm in his first couple of days with his teammates, and one of the biggest things he seems excited about is playing with two other stars who have been shouldering the load season after season. DeRozan said after his first training camp session with his new teammates that he's ready to help.
"I think everything will just be easier. I want to make everybody else's job easier," DeRozan said.
And he probably will. DeRozan's chosen a team where he can surround himself with other talented stars to take the heat off himself, too.
DeRozan could take the Nuggets' offense to another level
It's not like DeRozan has ever struggled to score. He's 16th on the NBA's all-time scoring list, and he's averaged 21.1 points across his career. But this is the first time in a long time that he isn't in the starring role. And with Jokic and Murray as his castmates, he should be in prime position to do exactly what he wants. Help everybody else out.
When DeRozan is on the court with Jokic, he's going to be able to run the pick-and-roll and survey whether he wants to hit his vaunted mid-range jumper. And if the defender leaves Jokic (bad idea), DeRozan hits Jokic for an easy floater or one of Jokic's own high-percentage mid-range shots.
No defense is going to be able to cheat off of Jokic and Murray and sag into the mid-range with DeRozan on the court. He'll punish the defense every time. DeRozan either hits his jumper, heads to the rim for a bucket, or hits someone wide open because they collapsed on him. DeRozan is an underrated passer with a high basketball IQ, and he'll likely be third in assists for the Nuggets when the season is over.
DeRozan's going to take the Nuggets' offense to another level. Hopefully, some of the byproducts of his elevating the offense are less wear and tear on Jokic and Murray, and more wins from the added offense.
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