Following what can only be described as nothing less than a valiant effort throughout the year, the season has finally come to a close for the Denver Nuggets. It was a bitter end to what was a tremendous season through and through, as Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers defeated them on their home floor in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Sunday.
Fatigue, inexperience, a lack of a bona fide second superstar — these are just some of the reasons some people have identified which may have caused Denver's eventual demise. Whatever the case may be, one thing is clear: it's back to the drawing board for the Nuggets this offseason as they hope to come back better and stronger next year.
So at this point, the most important question that needs to be asked is this: what do the Nuggets have to do this summer in order for them to give themselves a shot of even bettering their performance this season? We've outlined the three most important things Denver should focus on this summer.
Maintaining the Status Quo
Make no mistake about it; with multitude of big names in the free agent market, this is definitely going to be an offseason for the books. However, in the case of the Nuggets, this should be a case of making the best move by not making any major moves at all.
The good news for the Nuggets is that majority of their roster are going to be tied down for next season. With the exception of veteran power forward Paul Millsap (more on him later), nearly every significant member of the squad will be coming back next year. This being the case, the Nuggets should still be a formidable squad next season, with the added bonus of some useful playoffs experience under their belts.
Re-signing Millsap
Millsap will be entering the third and final year of his deal next season. However, what makes this interesting is the fact that the Nuggets have a team option on his deal. While this does come with a hefty $30-million price tag, this deal still seems like a no-brainer at this point. Given how the former four-time All-Star has proven to be such a crucial part of the team's defensive improvements this year — among other things, of course — the Denver front office should no longer think twice about picking up his option for next season.
In fact, the Nuggets should even try and work out a deal with Millsap wherein he signs a longer deal which will be worth less money. Millsap has been around the block already, and he is no longer the superstar he once was. At this point in his career, he has probably placed his championship aspirations above his desire for another huge payday. Having Millsap agree to a three-year deal in the range of $50 million would give the team a significant amount of cap space to sign a free agent that could help them with their depth.
Focusing on Youth Development
If the above Millsap scenario comes to fruition, then the Nuggets should look into adding a piece that will complement their current roster, and not one that might be exciting on paper, but will still require some additional roster-tweaking in order to properly incorporate the new addition.
One thing we've learned this season is that the future is looking bright for the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Gary Harris are all 24 or younger — a young nucleus that has a potential to develop into a formidable Big 3 in the very near future. Moreover, other youngsters on the squad such as Malik Beasley and Monte Morris have proven that the Nuggets possess other significant assets in their pockets. We also remain extremely high on the returning Michael Porter Jr., who when healthy, has the potential to become a franchise-altering star.
Notably, the Nuggets do not have a first- or a second-round pick in the upcoming draft, so it would only make sense for them to focus on the development of the young guys that are already on their squad.
It was indeed a very disappointed end to the season. No amount of words can console the bitter feeling of defeat and failure. Nonetheless, one thing going for the Nuggets is that there's definitely a lot to look forward to. So long as they make the right types of moves in the summer, we can only expect that this team will only get better for the 2019-20 season.
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