Nuggets release official training camp roster littered with intriguing young players

After what felt like an endless offseason, things are happening fast for the Nuggets. Media Day is just hours away as it will kick things off this Thursday, then training camp starts on Friday before the team will travel to Abu-Dhabi to start the preseason against the reigning champion Boston Celtics on October 4th.

The Nuggets will enter the season with a lot to prove after a disappointing playoff exit last season. They’ve lost a lot of talented players since winning the title in 2023 and the roster is now littered with young, unproven options. This isn’t news, but it’s certainly a bit jarring when looking up and down the roster.

Nuggets announce full training camp roster

On Tuesday, the team officially released their full roster for training camp which included 21 total players. The squad is made up of 15 players with fully guaranteed contracts, three players on two-way contracts, and three players who received training camp invitations.

The breakdown is as follows:

Fully Guaranteed:

Christian Braun

Vlatko Cancar

Aaron Gordon

DaRon Holes II

Nikola Jokic

DeAndre Jordan

Jamal Murray

Zeke Nnaji

Jalen Pickett

Michael Porter Jr.

Dario Saric

Julian Strawther

Hunter Tyson

Peyton Watson

Russell Westbrook

2-Way Contracts:

Trey Alexander

PJ Hall

Spencer Jones

Training Camp Invites:

Gabe McGlothan

Jaylin Williams

Jahmir Young

The first thing that sticks out is the youthfulness of this team. The Nuggets signed two veterans in free agency this offseason, Dario Saric, who’s 30 years old and Russell Westbrook who’s 35. They also brought back the 36 year old DeAndre Jordan, but he’s almost more of a coach than player at this point.

Beyond that, everyone on the team is under 30 years old now. Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon are 29, Jamal Murray and Vlatko Cancar are  27, and Michael Porter Jr. is 26. Camp invite, Gabe McGlothan is 25 and everyone else on the roster is 24 or younger. 14 of 21 players are 26 and under and 12 of the 21 are 24 and below.

Nuggets need to get big contributions from young players

This is actually a pretty normal sight for NBA teams these days and it’s a progression that is long overdue for this Nuggets team. They need to be able to rely on youth to have sustained success and if this wasn’t already clear, it has become plain and obvious this summer. Michael Malone has no choice any longer but to play the kids and let them learn through their mistakes.

The core four players are veterans but they need to get contributions elsewhere. Obviously, they aren’t going to carry all of these guys into the regular season, but there is a big void to be filled and there is a real opportunity for playing time. There is a lot to play for in training camp and if one or two hungry youngsters stick out, they could earn a real shot.