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Projected Nuggets depth chart, starting lineup, & rotation entering 2024-25 preseason

It's been a tumultuous offseason for the Nuggets but here's how things look as the smoke begins to clear.

By Ben Handler

Minnesota Timberwolves v Denver Nuggets - Game Seven
Minnesota Timberwolves v Denver Nuggets - Game Seven / C. Morgan Engel/GettyImages
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The Nuggets have seen a lot happen in the last month. The team entered the 2024 NBA playoffs feeling good about the way they were rolling and liking their chances to repeat as champions. Things went according to plan in round one as Denver took care of the Lakers in 5 games. But in round two, they ran into a buzzsaw and choked away the series to the Timberwolves.

Following the disappointing collapse, they finally broke up their elite starting lineup when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signed with the Magic in free agency. To make matters worse, first-round draft pick DaRon Holmes tore his achilles in the first game of Summer League and will miss the season. The team also parted with vets Reggie Jackson and Justin Holiday from the rotation.

They finally added reinforcements in the form of Dario Saric and Russell Westbrook, plus they got some promising play in Summer League from Julian Strawther and Trey Alexander. Despite the myriad of question marks surrounding the Nuggets, they enter next season with championship or bust expectations.

On paper, the team may have gotten worse, but when you have the best player in the world, the goal is to win a title every season. As long as Nikola Jokic remains in Denver and maintains his MVP form, the Nuggets will be contenders. The team will look a lot different in 2024-25, but the expectations haven’t changed.

Projected Denver Nuggets Starting Lineup

PG - Jamal Murray

SG - Christian Braun

SF - Michael Porter Jr.

PF - Aaron Gordon

C - Nikola Jokic

The Nuggets' strength over the past few seasons has been in their dominant and consistent starting lineup. But that lineup has now finally changed with the departure of KCP. Braun is expected to get the first crack at taking his starting spot.

He was a solid sixth man for the Nuggets last season after a strong finish to his rookie season. Braun needs to be a more willing and steady shooter but can bring a lot of energy and effort that the team needs. He can commit to hounding people on defense and helping the team get out in transition.

Braun’s real job is just to fit in with the other four starters who already have great synergy. Jokic, Murray, and Gordon make basketball nirvana on offense, and MPJ has learned how to find open shots and space the floor for the other three. As long as those guys are on the floor, there is very little doubt that this will remain an elite unit next season.

Bench Rotation

Sixth Man - Julian Strawther

Strawther balled out at Summer League and showed he can be the conventional sixth man, providing scoring punch off the bench. Strawhter will be relied on for volume shooting, scoring, and a dose of secondary creation and playmaking off the bench. He scored 26 and 32 points in two Summer League games and made 9 threes. The Nuggets haven’t had that kind of offensive spark off the bench in ages.

Key Bench Players

Russell Westbrook, Point Guard 

Russ was brought in as a much-needed veteran presence to run the second unit. He can still bring energy, playmaking, leadership, pace, and tons of chaos. But that chaos can also be a negative if Russ fails to properly channel his energy and stay in his lane. If he plays to his strengths, he can play a role similar to what Bruce Brown did for the Nuggets in their title run.

Dario Saric, Center

Saric will be the main big man off the bench. It’s going to be tough for him and Jokic to survive together defensively, but offensively Saric will be the best floor-spacing big that the Nuggets have had in forever. He’s a great shooter and passer; if Michael Malone is smart about his rotations and surrounds Dario with athleticism, he can be a high-impact bench player in Denver.

Peyton Watson, Forward

Watson came into last season with a lot of promise but lost Malone’s trust in the playoffs and fell out of the rotation. This year, that won’t be an option as the Nuggets need Watson’s defense and athleticism. He’s going to have to be a do-it-all type of forward this season, helping speed the team up, excelling on defense, and finding ways to be useful on offense. Developing a reliable jump shot would also be a massive development.

The Rest of the Bench

Those top 9 players seem pretty locked in, but there is still plenty of uncertainty and there are others who could easily carve out a role Vlatko Cancar will get a chance to play in some matchups and could provide some much-needed shooting. Zeke Nnaji may get another crack at playing a backup big-man role for the team. 

Trey Alexander had a great Summer League and has earned a shot as a backup guard. Hunter Tyson could be a desperation option because the team is so thin on the wing. DeAndre Jordan and Jalen Pickett shouldn’t see the court unless it’s an emergency.

Full Denver Nuggets Depth Chart

Point Guard

  1. Jamal Murray
  2. Russell Westbrook
  3. Jalen Pickett

Shooting Guard

  1. Christian Braun
  2. Julian Strawther
  3. Trey Alexander

Small Forward

  1. Michael Porter Jr.
  2. Peyton Watson
  3. Hunter Tyson

Power Forward

  1. Aaron Gordon
  2. Vlatko Cancar
  3. Zeke Nnaji

Center

  1. Nikola Jokic
  2. Dario Saric
  3. DeAndre Jordan

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