5 reasonable expectations for the 2024 Denver Nuggets offseason

5.) The Nuggets will look to add a reliable veteran to the bench

One of the biggest issues that ultimately undid the Nuggets this season was that they never replaced veterans Bruce Brown and Jeff Green. Both players were huge parts of the Nuggets bench that helped win them a title and both walked in free agency.

The Nuggets tried to pick up the slack with their young players and put bluntly, it didn’t work. Justin Holiday was able to offer solid minutes, but he was overtasked with being the 7th man on a team with title aspirations. Reggie Jackson was almost unplayable and DeAndre Jordan was completely unplayable.

The reality of the situation is that teams need veteran players on the bench that the coach can trust in order to compete for titles. The Nuggets didn’t have that luxury this season and it’s something they should look to change.

They have just the taxpayer's midlevel exception ($5.1 million) and veteran minimum contracts to offer free agents, but they should be able to find one or two guys who will take less money for a decent role on a contending team.

The Nuggets can also think about trading some of their young players or the 28th pick in this year’s draft. I know Calvin Booth wants to build for the future but it would be an injustice to not give Nikola Jokic a chance to contend for titles each season. The team has to get better depth and that begins with some reliable vets.