The Denver Nuggets' big move this offseason wasn't who they added, but who they lost, as they sent Peyton Watson to the Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade last week. Not long after, they signed DeMar DeRozan to a one-year deal, making him their top acquisition. It's not exactly the position fans hoped they'd be in, but if what ESPN predicted comes true, this summer wouldn't look so bad.
ESPN released a piece on Monday, projecting what the conference standings for the East and West will look like. As expected, the Spurs and Thunder sit atop the West (in that order), with the Nuggets coming in at No. 3, just as they did last season.
A sizable gap would still exist between San Antonio (62-20), Oklahoma City (60-22), and Denver (51-31). Still, the fact that the Nuggets are projected that high might surprise many, given how the past couple of months have played out. More specifically, the past week.
Michael Wright cited Nikola Jokić's existence as the reason why you can't count the Nuggets out, and while that's 100 percent true (I mean, did you see his stats last season?), it's still somewhat hard to believe that they'll hit 50 wins next season.
ESPN predicts Nuggets will finish No. 3 in West
Now, no one should seriously believe that Denver will miss the playoffs next season. Losing Watson didn't knock them down to the irrelevance level, but it did make their roster worse than it was at the start of the offseason, which isn't an ideal place to be. Signing DeRozan gives them a needed scorer off the bench, but their defense is the big question mark.
Still, not only is Jokić, well, Jokić, but Jamal Murray is a star, coming off one of the best seasons in his career. Aaron Gordon is an elite role player when healthy, which is a concern, but it was still worth keeping him around, at least for another season, because of the impact he makes.
Cam Johnson is entering his second full season in Denver, so he shouldn't be dealing with the rust he did during the first part of the year, and Christian Braun can start to prove that he was worth the five-year extension that will kick in this season.
When you look at who is still in Denver, it's not just Jokić plus a few random players, so it wouldn't be surprising if the Nuggets finished third in the West again. They have a proven championship core, but the rest of the conference (and league) has only gotten better. Things have changed over the past three years.
Outside of the top two (and while that's not guaranteed, it's a safe bet), Denver can fall anywhere between No. 3 and No. 6 (and hopefully not any lower). ESPN had the Rockets finishing with the same record as the Nuggets, just right behind them, followed by the Timberwolves at No. 5 (50-32), and the Lakers at No. 6 (45-37). It will be another season where literally every single game matters.
You may not be completely sold on Denver finishing as a top team in the West, especially if you're still feeling frustrated over how the summer played out, but what's true is that the Nuggets haven't faded into the background. They can still compete for a title; finishing No. 3 in the regular season won't matter much when the playoffs roll around, but hey, that'd still be nice.
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