As if the Denver Nuggets weren't undersized enough, lacking athleticism, defense, and youth, compared to the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder. Their issues were just exacerbated because each team just got pieces that the Nuggets likely had on their NBA Draft big board. Plus, they each had two first-round picks that have tons of upside, especially on the defensive end of the ball. Clearly, the Nuggets are even more undersized and outmatched defensively next year.
The Thunder and Spurs made moves for defense and size
First, it was the Thunder who added 7-foot-3 Aday Mara, the lengthy center out of Michigan. He wasn't someone who made it on any Nuggets mock drafts because of his lottery status, but the Thunder made it clear with this pick that they need someone else besides Chet Holmgren to stop Victor Wembanyama.
Mara went 12th, and then the Thunder moved up for Bennett Stirtz, the 6-foot-3 guard from Iowa, who was on many Nuggets mock draft boards, to select him via trade with Memphis at number 16 instead of 17. Stirtz is a great shooter, a good ball handler, and a good help defender who would have been great in the Nuggets' second unit, or even as a potential starter if the Nuggets trade Jamal Murray.
It got rougher from there. The Spurs selected 6-foot-9 big man Jayden Quaintance with the 20th pick, a gifted defender who only fell down the draft board due to questions about his injury history. The Spurs then traded up from 35 to the Nuggets at 26 to have the Nuggets select Tarris Reed Jr., a 6-foot-10 center who's a great shot-blocker and rebounder. Reed would have even served the Nuggets well if they wanted to try him out at backup center next year.
But the Nuggets chose to add future draft capital and to trade down nine picks because they didn't have anyone left they liked. And along the way, the Nuggets fell multiple steps behind their rivals again.
The Spurs and Thunder got more defense and size
The Nuggets were already at least a step behind both the Thunder and the Spurs in the defense department, but the draft clearly left them even further behind. The Nuggets' 21st-ranked defense didn't get any improvement on draft night. It didn't get younger, and it didn't get bigger, either.
The Nuggets were undersized for much of the season, even resorting to playing Spencer Jones as the anchor of the small-ball unit when Nikola Jokic left the floor. At least if the Nuggets held on to Reed, they would have had a legitimate Jokic backup who plays better defense than Jonas Valanciunas provided last year.
But now the Nuggets will have to hope to add defense, rim protection, size, physicality, and, hopefully, some youth through trades or free agency, and hope for the best with their second-round picks. They did what they had to do for the better in the end. But their rivals still gained ground on them for next season and beyond.
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