5 reasonable expectations for the 2024 Denver Nuggets offseason

2.) The Nuggets will invest in a legitimate backup center

For too many years the Nuggets have been getting killed when Nikola Jokic is not on the floor. Obviously, their best player is a center so it doesn’t make sense to invest too much more in that position, but the fall-off has become too marked to ignore. This year may have been the tipping point as DeAndre Jordan and Zeke Nnaji struggled to afford Jokic any rest at all. Neither one was in the playoff rotation and the lack of size and depth was a major issue against the Wolves.

This has been a constant theme and it’s time for Denver to address the problem. This could mean using some draft capital as there could be big men available with the 28th overall pick who could step in and provide immediate minutes off the bench.

This could also mean adding a veteran in free agency. The Nuggets will only have veterans minimum contracts to work with but they should be able to find someone to fill the role, perhaps a guy like Andre Drummond would fit the bill.

The other option is to seek out a backup center in the trade market. The Nuggets don’t have a lot to part with but perhaps if they don’t see a viable role player in the draft they could trade their pick for a veteran big man to back up the Joker.

Whatever the route may be, the Nuggets have to go out and find somebody who can eat up minutes in the regular season, and can at least be an option to play a few minutes here and there in the playoffs.