We’ve heard a lot of outlandish and out-of-pocket takes about the Nuggets this offseason. The team was unceremoniously bounced from the playoffs, lost a big piece of their title squad, and saw one of their biggest stars struggle mightily on the international stage. It was a long summer with much more negative than positive discourse.
But still, when things came out on the other side, the Nuggets still have one of the best teams in the league on paper, they still have the best player in the world, and they’re still one of the favorites to win it all. Things aren’t perfect, but they could certainly be a lot worse in Denver as well.
Bill Simmons' #1 concern in the NBA is the Nuggets
Given the overall state of affairs, it was somewhat surprising listening to a recent episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast and hearing him and ESPN’s Zach Lowe rank their biggest concerns coming into the NBA season and hearing Simmons take the Nuggets at number one. Lowe even confirmed that he also had Denver in his top 5.
Let’s provide some context here; they weren’t saying they are worried in the sense that they are worried the Nuggets will miss the playoffs or fall off a cliff. But Bill explained that he is worried that we may never see a dominant, Nikola Jokic-led team. He argued that even in the year they won the title, they weren’t that, and the team has gotten worse two offseasons in a row.
He also added that now teams like the Thunder, Mavericks, and Timberwolves have caught up to the Nuggets and leveled the playing field - at least for the regular season. Bill explained that he’s nervous this Nuggets team is on the downswing; that they’ve already peaked and we’ve seen the best version.
Obviously, that team did win a title, but Bill argued that for a player of Jokic’s stature, it would be a somewhat disappointing run to make just one final and one other conference final while never winning 60 games in a season. He qualified his statements by saying that he is a big fan of Jokic and he’s nervous that the team is out of moves and this is it.
Simmons' concerns are valid, but over the top
These are all valid concerns and nothing Bill said was particularly crazy, but the concern still seems a little over the top. The Nuggets have been playing for this to happen; they knew what was going to happen with the cap and they’ve made a calculated bet on Jokic, Murray, Gordon, Porter Jr., and all of the young players that they have drafted.
It’s a risky bet, but it’s one that has been coming for years. If it doesn’t work out then Simmons’ concerns will be somewhat justified, but if it does, the team may remain in contention for the rest of this decade. The new CBA is forcing every team to make tough decisions and making it harder for good teams to keep their cores together.
The Nuggets put their cards on the table and they’ve played their hand. It may not ultimately come to fruition, but every team is going to have to make tough choices. Even with the uncertainty, the Nuggets still are set up for success as well as just about any team in the West.