The Nuggets just had an outstanding offseason that saw them stack their bench with veteran depth. But their recent strategy of drafting and developing players hasn’t exactly come to fruition, and there’s no sign that it will any time soon. Of the players they’ve drafted in the past five years, only Christian Braun has established himself as a full-time, every-night rotation player.
Peyton Watson has been solid, but inconsistent. He still needs to prove himself, and this feels like a bit of a make-or-break season for him. Julian Strawther and Jalen Pickett are both on the fringe of the rotation, but neither one is a lock for minutes on any given night.
There’s still hope for DaRon Holmes II, who was drafted last season but immediately tore his achilles. Holmes has yet to play in an NBA game, so it may be a tough ask for him to step into a nightly role on a contender as a rookie coming off a major surgery.
Beyond that, there’s not much there at all. And while everyone is applauding this great offseason as a success, it’s arguably just as much an indictment of the young core of recently drafted players. These guys were supposed to be the bridge to the next era, but instead, they’ve been disappointing enough that the front office felt inclined to go spend on veteran retreads.
Nuggets have one of worst future draft situations in NBA
To make matters worse, there’s no wave of reinforcements on the horizon. The Nuggets have traded out every pick allowable into the 2030s. In the odd years, they’ll have (likely) late first-round picks, but that’s it. They may not have the opportunity to add a good young prospect for the rest of this decade.
At some point (hopefully, not any time soon), the Nuggets’ core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon will start to decline, and that trio will no longer be able to lead a contending team. When that day comes, Denver is going to be in big trouble. Whiffing on draft picks and trading others away needlessly is a big reason why.
The good news is that the Nuggets are set up to succeed right now. While it’s unfortunate the draft picks haven’t hit, at least they recognized the problem and went out and solved it via trades and free agency.
If the Nuggets are able to win multiple titles over the next few years, nobody is going to bemoan the wasted picks and uneasy future. But if things go off the rails more quickly than expected, things could get very ugly in Denver, and they’ll be in a deep hole with no shovel to dig themselves out.