It seems there have been nothing but rave reviews for the Nuggets’ additions this offseason, but not everyone is totally sold. Adam Mares of DNVR went on The Athletic NBA Daily Show and pointed out that while the Nuggets badly needed depth and guys like Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Jonas Valanciunas should help during the regular season, but they may not be reliable during the playoffs.
Each of those three new additions is past their prime, and it’s unclear how much they can contribute at this point in their careers. THJ has been streaky at best, and outside of a perfect situation in Detroit last year, he has been a fringe rotation player, most known for his previous bad contract.
Brown is remembered fondly in Denver for his contributions to the 2023 title run. Still, he has barely played since then, bouncing from the Pacers to the Raptors to the Pelicans, and participating in almost no meaningful basketball.
Of the three players, Valanciunas has been by far the most effective of the three, but let’s not forget, just a few months ago, he was angling to retire and head overseas to Europe. It’s not a reason to panic, but it’s not the best thing to hear about a newly acquired player.
Nuggets' new additions’ biggest role may be preserving energy
The reality of the situation is that the Nuggets’ bench was so bad last season that almost anything would have been an upgrade. There was nowhere to go but up, and that’s a big part of the reason for all the enthusiasm around the acquisitions.
But outside of Cam Johnson, there’s no guarantee that any of the new players will be fixtures in a nightly playoff rotation. Their biggest commitment to the season may well be providing extra rest for the starters during the regular season.
If nothing else, they should be able to eat innings during the year, keeping the minutes low for guys like Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon. Teams don’t go more than seven or eight players deep in the playoffs, generally anyway.
As long as the core players can make it to the playoffs healthy and full of energy, this team should be in great shape. The veteran bench guys will hopefully be a big part of accomplishing that goal, but expecting more than that may be a fool’s errand.