The Denver Nuggets don't plan to be a one-hit-wonder. As Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said during their celebration, they intend to win multiple championships. To do that, Denver needed to re-tool their roster in free agency, considering they were set to lose some key pieces from its championship run.
There was no way Denver would have kept Bruce Brown this offseason, no matter how confident yet sort of delusional Malone sounded during the Nuggets' championship parade. Brown indeed wound up leaving Denver and took the bag with the Indiana Pacers, signing a two-year $45 million contract.
Apart from Brown, the Nuggets also lost veteran forward Jeff Green. The 36-year-old signed a two-year $16 million deal with the Houston Rockets. As massive of a loss Brown is, the Nuggets' biggest mistake in free agency was letting Jeff Green walk.
Nuggets big mistake in 2023 NBA free agency
Jeff Green may seem like an indispensable piece for the Nuggets, but he still played a key role on their way to winning their first championship in franchise history. The veteran played 56 games during the regular season and still saw nearly 20 minutes in Michael Malone's rotation.
Green's numbers dropped from a season ago, where he started 63 of 76 games, largely because Denver became healthier. But he was still pretty productive in his role off the bench, averaging 7.8 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 48.8 percent from the field.
Green also played a key reserve role during the postseason. He appeared in all of Denver's 20 playoff games, netting over 17 minutes a night with averages of 4.1 points on 45.2 percent field goal shooting.
Those numbers may not seem much. But he was still a steady and reliable hand Malone went to when he needed to give Aaron Gordon or even Nikola Jokic a rest. At times, Green also gave the Nuggets an option to employ a small-ball lineup with him as a floor-spacing five when Jokic went to the bench.
More importantly, the Nuggets will miss Green's presence in the locker room and on the bench. Veterans are invaluable in the NBA and the 16-year pro provided that for Denver. Houston will be lucky to have someone of Green's caliber on its roster guiding the team's young players. Apart from his epic journey of coming back from heart surgery, Green is able to bring years of playoff and now championship experience to a bunch that needs to learn the ropes of being a true professional in the NBA.
There are still some veteran free agents out there the Nuggets can target to replace Green's on-court role. The 6-foot-8 forward was mostly a floor-spacing big who allowed Jokic to operate and do his magic within the arc. Christian Wood is the best remaining big man in the market and could be someone the Nuggets target. While he doesn't carry the veteran presence Green brought, Denver could entice him with a huge role off the bench to amp up his price tag for the 2024 offseason while getting the chance to win a title. The Nuggets could also look to bring back JaMychal Green, who played a couple of seasons in Denver before spending the 2022-23 season with the Golden State Warriors.
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