The Denver Nuggets need something very specific to happen after a long offseason where they made some very pointed improvements to this roster: if the young talent on their team can reach a new level and flourish, it will put Denver into an even higher echelon of championship contender in the coming season.
This past summer was about finally retooling Nikola Jokic's supporting cast for the Nuggets. For two years following their championship in 2023, Denver had done little to nothing to externally improve. That is to say, bringing in new and tenured players that would provide an immediate lift alongside the greatest player in the world. Instead, the Nuggets had been banking on internal improvement, which it's safe to say hadn't really picked up much speed over the last two years.
But now, with Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, Jonas Valanciunas and Tim Hardaway Jr. all on the roster, Denver now has a plethora of veterans, floor spacers, and guys who can defend to really strengthen the overall look of this roster top to bottom. The last thing that's left, of course, is seeing the younger guys, like Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson, Jalen Pickett and DaRon Holmes begin to pan out as well.
Denver's young players need to continue growing
Most national analysts already have the Nuggets tabbed as a top two or three team in the Western Conference in this coming season. If the Oklahoma City Thunder didn't exist, might be the favorites to take home a championship. So while they are already in excellent position to continue achieving, reaching that next level is decidedly about several of the young guys beginning to reach their potential.
I think it's pretty obvious that the Nuggets would love to see more than one of Strawther, Watson, Pickett and Holmes become players who can contribute here and now, rather than being guys who simply have some nice future upside. There's obviously been plenty of flashes from these guys already, but it's of course about turning those flashes into very consistent production over the course of a long, 82-game season.
The ultimate goal here being that Denver could evolve from being simply a top-heavy, aging team that has to rely pretty heavily on its top three to four players into more of a team like the Thunder. Oklahoma City is stacked with useful players from the top of its roster down to the bottom.
That's the next step for this Nuggets team, and it's how dynasties are built. Your veterans get you to the mountaintop, but it's your youth that allows your window to extend.