Denver Nuggets Rise Back To Title Contention With Huge Offseason
It’s been quite the offseason so far for the Denver Nuggets, as the team has gone from fringe title contenders to championship favorites in the blink of an eye. After the team’s loss to the newly-crowned NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, the future seemed bleak in the “Mile High City.” Let’s examine the moves the Nuggets have made so far and analyze why they make Denver the most dangerous team heading into next season.
Michael Porter Jr. Trade
Before the start of the NBA offseason, Nuggets President Josh Kroenke said that the team would have to make painful moves to keep the franchise’s title hopes alive. That move revealed itself immediately at the start of the NBA offseason, as Denver traded franchise cornerstone Michael Porter Jr. to the Brooklyn Nets for the services of sharpshooter Cam Johnson.
While the trade on the surface level looks like the Nuggets are just acquiring the same player, Johnson does provide more than just shooting compared to MPJ. Johnson is widely considered one of the better 3-and-D players in the league and is on a considerably cheaper contract compared to MPJ as well. Although this was the biggest move for Denver so far, it is only one piece of a much bigger puzzle that the team has collected to this point.
Free Agent Signings & Other Trades
The biggest issues for the Nuggets last season were the team’s lack of depth at key positions and bench scoring. In almost one fell swoop, the franchise solved those two problems with the trading of Dario Saric for Jonas Valanciunas, and the signings of both Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown.
The Nuggets have struggled with acquiring adequate depth at the center position to give their three-time MVP Nikola Jokic more rest. The acquisition of Valanciunas will help in that department. As for the other signings, the return of Brown will give Denver the bench the scoring it has sorely missed the past two seasons, as Brown was a crucial piece in the Nuggets’ 2023 championship run.
Final Thoughts
According to Vegas Insider, the Nuggets currently possess the third-best odds to represent the West in next season’s NBA Finals, sitting just behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and revamped Houston Rockets. That is a far cry from where the team’s sixth-place ranking was just a week prior. While Denver still has plenty of moves left to make this offseason, they are no doubt going to be a popular pick by experts to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy next season.
