As the NBA playoffs rapidly approach, it’s clear that the Nuggets are still plagued by the same issues that have haunted them all season. It all boils down to the same macro problem: the team doesn’t have enough talent and depth around Nikola Jokic.
We saw them win a title in 2023 when Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon reached the height of their powers. Michael Porter Jr. was a great fourth option, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was a lockdown defender, and they had some great bench options in Bruce Brown and Jeff Green.
But the team has had to make hard decisions since then. Jokic, Murray, Gordon, and MPJ have all received massive contract extensions, which have led to salary crunches throughout the rest of the roster. They’ve been forced to let KCP, Brown, Green, and others go, while mostly replacing them with late first and second-round draft picks.
With the roster crunch, the moves on the margins have become absolutely critical for Denver to stay competitive. They had one major move to make in the last offseason and it was using their taxpayer midlevel exception, giving the team the ability to offer over $5 million a year to any free agent.
Giving Dario Saric the TPE was an unmitigated disaster
The worst move the Nuggets made last offseason was using that TPE on Dario Saric. Calvin Booth hoped that Saric would be able to provide frontcourt relief off the bench, but Dario fell out of the Warriors rotation by the end of last season and never managed to earn consistent playing time all season for the Nuggets.
This signing made no sense when it happened and it has been killing the team all year. The TPE was their best asset and best means to improving the roster. Using it on somebody who is a complete nonfactor is devastating for a team whose goal is to win titles and who needs to maximize every means at their disposal.
There were so many other players the Nuggets could have used this money and roster spot on that would be making a meaningful difference. Denver essentially handicapped themselves and created a roster situation that is putting far too much pressure on Jokic, and the other starters to a lesser extent.
There’s really nothing the Nuggets can do at this point other than hope Saric opts out of his contract for next season and leaves the NBA for the EuroLeague. That’s a sad reality that the Nuggets and Calvin Booth need to answer for after handing out another repulsive contract for no reason last summer.
manual