Everyone just assumes the Nuggets will make a clean swap of Cameron Johnson for Michael Porter Jr., and keep it rolling with an elite starting lineup. But given all the added depth and versatility, what if David Adelman and his staff decide to go in another direction and get more creative with their lineups?
The bench, and especially the minutes without Nikola Jokic, have been a disaster for this team the last few seasons. It would make a lot of sense to be proactive about this issue and make it even easier to stagger some minutes and create a rotation that can dominate for 48 minutes.
There are a few different ways they could do this, but as long as you lock Jokic and Jamal Murray into the starting unit, almost anything else is in play. Any of the other three assumed starters, Christian Braun, Johnson, and Aaron Gordon, could be relegated to a bench role and become a super sixth man that would likely still be in closing lineups.
Denver could make the streaky-shooting Tim Hardaway Jr. the fifth starter, beginning games with elite floor spacing. THJ can get hot in a hurry, so it may be nice to have some games where he comes out firing and helps build up a big lead. Conversely, if he starts slowly, they can quickly dip into the loaded bench.
Bringing a starter off the bench would offer multiple benefits
Gordon was banged up all last season, so the Nuggets could bring him off the bench to manage his minutes and keep him fresh for crunch time. They toyed with this idea last season when he returned from injury, and it worked very well. Ultimately, the team was too thin, and it didn’t make sense to continue, but this year, you could make a compelling case.
They could also go back to having Braun come off the bench, a role he played for years. He’s already used to the job and would provide much-needed energy and flare off the bench, especially teaming with Peyton Watson.
At the end of the day, the Nuggets would almost certainly still close out games with Murray, Braun, Johnson, Gordon, and Jokic, but there’s no reason not to be adventurous with the path they take to get there.
This season should be all about experimentation and finding what works ahead of an important playoff run. Messing around with the starting lineup and seeing if you can find advantages with depth is a great place to start.