The Nuggets’ new front office has done a marvelous job of transforming the roster this offseason and adding meaningful depth at almost every position. Frankly, they didn’t have enough players who could be trusted on the floor during playoff time, and they’ve solved that problem, but perhaps created another one: they don’t have a lot of plus defenders.
Trading Michael Porter Jr. for Cam Johnson won’t change a lot on the defensive end for the starting lineup. MPJ is bigger and a better rebounder, but Johnson can probably guard slightly better. But the real issues lie with the bench unit.
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas are aging vets who have never exactly been defensive aces. At this point in their careers, they may be more like liabilities. Denver’s bench wasn’t good last season, but the guys they brought in certainly provided defense and energy, like Peyton Watson and Russell Westbrook.
Russ is now gone, and Watson is likely the 9th or 10th man. Bruce Brown was a plus defender last time around, but he’s years older and is hardly a lockdown guy on that end either. The Nuggets’ bench should have no problem scoring and holding the fort, but they may have a hard time getting stops.
Will Adelman lean into defensive lineups?
The team still has some good defenders in guys like Watson, Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon, and (hopefully) DaRon Holmes II. But playing four, and maybe even three of those guys together is going to yield a lineup that will have a hard time putting up points on the offensive end.
The team is inarguably much deeper and better this season, but there’s still no path to being an elite defense. They are going to have to outscore teams for the most part and get by with effort and wisdom on the defensive end.
Ideally, this will be a point of emphasis for Adelman and his staff during training camp and they will make it clear that playing time will be earned, not given, this season. In years past, they may not have had much choice, but this season, Denver has at least 12 players who truly believe they are worthy of nightly regular season minutes.
We all know the team isn’t going 12-deep, so that means there is going to be some serious competition for playing time. Veteran status and salaries can’t dictate minutes for a team with title aspirations. Everyone is going to have to come into camp, work hard, and prove that they are going to fight on the defensive end, or Adelman may have to start looking in another direction.