There is so much to take away from the Denver Nuggets’ seven-game loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder—too much, arguably. It can be overwhelming, and tough to pin down.
But Nikola Jokic wasted little time identifying the biggest problem facing the Nuggets as they look to win another title: Their depth is shot, and that needs to change.
The question is: Does Denver have the resources, and the vision, to fix what’s threatening to undo their window to bag another championship with the best player in the NBA?
Nikola Jokic is right about this NBA trend
Jokic framed the Nuggets' playoff shortcomings against the rest of the league. Not surprisingly, because he's Jokic, his assessment of Denver and the NBA at large is correct.
“We definitely need to figure out a way to get more depth,” Jokic told reporters. “It seems like the teams that have longer rotations, the longer benches, are the ones winning. You look at Indiana and OKC and Minnesota, and they have been great examples of that.”
Deep rotations used to be reserved for the regular season. Some teams are still built and coached in this vein. You won’t catch New York Knicks head honcho Tom Thibodeau playing nine guys real minutes unless foul trouble or spontaneous alien abductions force his hand.
By and large, though, deeper rotations are in vogue. The Thunder have nine players averaging at least 10 minutes per game through the first two rounds. The Timberwolves have eight guys clearing 15 minutes per game. Ditto for the Indiana Pacers, who also basically have 10 players exceeding 10 minutes per game.
Denver has seven players who fall under this bucket. But two of them, in Peyton Watson and Russell Westbrook, are either sparingly used or detrimental to the cause.
That’s the core issue Jokic addresses with his comments. It isn’t just about having any bodies; it’s about having effective bodies. The Nuggets do not have enough of the latter, and it’s putting an incredible strain on the three-time MVP.
Consider this: Among the top 25 players this season in the LEBRON catch-all metric, just five had a supporting cast that finished below average in the same LEBRON metric, according to Bball Index: Jokic, Bam Adebayo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, and Luka Doncic. Of these five names, Jokic is the only one to see his squad win more than a single playoff game.
There is no easy fix for Jokic and the Nuggets
Chalk all of this up to bad luck, or the since-fired Michael Malone and Calvin Booth if you must. But Jokic understands this is more than a pure coincidence. The Nuggets need to get functionally deeper this offseason, otherwise they'll be similarly compromised next year.
This is classic easier-said-than-done territory. And that might underestimate just how limited Denver will be this offseason. The Nuggets will enter the offseason about $7.2 million shy of the second apron if both Dario Saric and Russell Westbrook pick up their player options. That miiight give them enough room to use the mini mid-level exception, which can be used to sign a player for up to $5.7 million.
Good luck fixing material issues with just that tool. Mini-MLE pickings are always slim. So many teams wind up getting better value out of their minimums. Look no further than Booth's past two mini-MLE signings as proof: Reggie Jackson, and Saric himself.
Denver can always work the trade market, but to what end? The Nuggets can deal only one outright first-round pick (2031 or 2032), and have just one second-rounder (2032) to include in packages. What’s more, their players with the most standalone value on the trade market are all indispensable: Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray, and Christian Braun.
Peyton Watson will have some appeal, but he remains unproven, particularly on offense, and is up for an extension this summer. Michael Porter Jr. has his fans around the NBA, but his two-year, $79 million price point will scare off certain suitors. (And this assumes Nuggets ownership is willing to ship out a fellow University of Missouri alum.)
Maybe Denver gets lucky, and someone like Kevin Durant requests a trade to play alongside Jokic. Even in that scenario, though, you’re giving up at least two rotation players, on top of other stuff. Your top-end talent gets better. Your depth gets worse.
Can the Nuggets get lucky with mini-MLE and minimum signings? Is there a trade out there that increases their depth, rather than their star power? Could they, for instance, get two of Lonzo Ball, Ayo Dosunmu, and Coby White from Chicago in an MPJ-plus-picks trade? Will red-shirted rookie DaRon Holmes II be ready to contribute? Can Denver bank on Braun, Julian Strawther and, if he’s still around, Watson all leveling up?
The Nuggets have options. But not many of them. And this time around, they can’t bank on fixing their biggest issue from within. They tried that. It failed. And as Jokic alludes to, their place in the NBA’s hierarchy is suffering because of it.
Dan Favale is a Senior NBA Contributor for FanSided and National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.