There are plenty of rumors swirling already about big changes coming this offseason for the Denver Nuggets. To an extent, it’s not even speculation. The team has to make changes or the price tag will become untenable, and they’ll be stuck with a shallow, mediocre roster, wasting the prime of a generational player in Nikola Jokic.
But the reality of the situation is that these changes aren’t going to be easy to make. The Nuggets have virtually no draft capital available to be traded, they have a dearth of young players with potential on the roster, and their core four players are all very highly paid and locked up long-term.
Denver has no picks in the coming draft, no cap space to sign free agents (just exceptions and minimums), and their most likely trade chip, Michael Porter Jr., may not actually have any trade value around the league. Sadly, improving the roster this offseason is going to be extremely difficult.
DaRon Holmes II likely biggest addition to rotation
The best player the Nuggets add next season may well be a guy who’s already on the roster, DaRon Holmes II. The Nuggets traded up to snag Holmes in the 2024 draft out of Dayton, but the big man promptly tore his achilles in his first summer league action. He missed the entire season, but has already been practicing and scrimmaging with the team.
Holmes is expected back for training camp and should be ready to play on opening night and make an impact next season. He’ll be a rookie, and one coming off of an injury, but he’ll have one year of experience in an NBA locker room and being a part of the team.
In college, Holmes displayed a nice combination of inside and out scoring and playmaking. He’s undersized to play center in the pros, but he may be able to steal some minutes in small-ball lineups with Aaron Gordon.
He can bang down low while spacing the floor and operating from the top of the key. There is reason to believe that he’ll be the best backup big man this team has had in years, and he should provide an immediate, much-needed spark off the team’s bench.
Hard for Nuggets to add talent this offseason
Holmes being the biggest addition is a credit to him, but it’s also a knock on the Nuggets and the position they are in. They can use the taxpayer midlevel exception to sign a free agent, but the last few seasons that led to guys like Dario Saric and Reggie Jackson.
Beyond that, they are relying on minimum contracts and hoping that somebody (maybe Bruce Brown?) is willing to take a discount to chase a ring and play alongside Jokic. The only options beyond that would come on the trade market.
If we’re being honest, the Nuggets don’t have the ammo to get involved in any star trade. Entertaining Jamal Murray trades would be surprising, and likely selling at his lowest possible value. All roads lead back to dealing Porter Jr., but again, that may not bring back much.
MPJ has two more years on his deal at $38.3 and $40.8 million. That’s a lot of money for a role player. If Denver is trading him, it’s likely more of a salary dump than anything else. They can definitely be prudent and look to turn Mike into a couple of cheaper role players who fit well around Jokic and Murray.
But hoping for anything more than that is almost certainly a fool's errand. It is what it is, and all things considered, it could be a lot worse. Despite all the woes this season, the team brought the Thunder to a Game 7. Make a few tweaks here and there, hope for a nice boost from DaRon Holmes, and things could be looking up quickly.