Jamal Murray struggled against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Denver Nuggets' early first-round playoff exit. He was pressured incessantly by Jaden McDaniels, and it showed that the Nuggets had a dire lack of backup ball control. Ball control was one of the Nuggets' biggest needs to fill this offseason, as stated at the team's year-end press conference. Their only answer was to re-sign Tyus Jones at the start of free agency. But that's where they stopped, and it makes their interest in Cam Whitmore frustrating.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported the Nuggets' interest in Whitmore in the latest edition of The Stein Line (subscription required).
Whitmore, the 20th pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, is an athletic scoring wing, which could help the Nuggets continue to chip away at solving their lack of athleticism. And he'd be a good fit for the team's final two-way roster spot for further development. But he's not so different from training camp invitee Lonnie Walker IV. Neither of them will help solve the ball control issue should the Nuggets decide to sign either of them for the season. So, what is the Nuggets' plan for ball control?
The Nuggets may have to turn to DeMar DeRozan
Jones is actually a fantastic answer for the ball control issue. He's a ball-control specialist who doesn't turn the ball over, and the Nuggets turned to him in Games 5 and 6 against the Timberwolves once it became clear that they needed a change at the backup point guard spot. But it wasn't enough. Jones doesn't offer much offense. He's not a playmaker, and he shouldn't be the full-time backup point guard.
However, 17-year veteran and six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan should be the backup point guard. He has good ball-control skills, and he's absolutely capable of being a distributor, as he was for the San Antonio Spurs during his three seasons there. He's a playmaker, and obviously he can score, as he's 16th on the NBA's all-time scoring list. He won't offer much in the way of defense or three-point shooting, but neither will Jones.
DeRozan can also eat the minutes, and he's durable, which should offer the Nuggets the chance to keep the load off of Murray to keep him fresh going into the playoffs.
Whitmore only makes sense for depth development
Whitmore really only makes sense for the Nuggets as a depth piece that they take a chance on because of his first-round upside. He offers no playmaking, and he's not a great defender. He's simply an athletic, downhill scorer. Which the Nuggets could use. But Whitmore shouldn't be counted on for anything else.
The Nuggets will hopefully turn to DeRozan to handle their ball-control needs. Otherwise, the spacing of the second unit, with Jones and DeRozan sharing the backcourt, could be pretty rough.
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