Pure excitement and roars of “Let's go Nuggets” coming down from the very top row was all that could be heard in Ball Arena when the Denver Nuggets dribbled out the clock in Game 5 of the 2023 NBA Finals. It took over 50 years, but the Nuggets were finally able to call themselves NBA champions.
Nikola Jokic went from a two-time regular-season MVP to a Finals MVP, Jamal Murray completed his redemption arc from a torn ACL in 2021, Michael Porter Jr. successfully made his comeback from multiple back injuries, and head coach Michael Malone cemented his spot as one of the best coaches in the NBA over the last decade.
The celebrations from Denver's championship lasted weeks, and while the focus has now shifted to the upcoming 2023-24 season and training camp, their fans are still embracing this championship nearly three months after they won it all. With their entire starting five returning, the Nuggets enter the new year as favorites to repeat as champions, something very few teams have been able to accomplish.
As long as Jokic and Murray are healthy, the Nuggets have to like their chances against any other team in the league. However, change is inevitable for every franchise, and Denver's bench is going to look a lot different this upcoming year than it did during their recent title run.
Bruce Brown, the guy who was the bridge from the starting unit to the bench, ended up leaving for a bag from the Indiana Pacers in free agency. Brown did a little bit of everything during their title run and fit in so well, which is why his departure could really change the trajectory of the Nuggets heading into the new season. The same can be said for Jeff Green, as he was one of the veterans who led this locker room.
Great teams win championships, while legendary teams sustain success and overcome adversity year-after-year such as roster changes. Will the Nuggets be remembered as a great team that broke through and won a championship, or will they truly assert their dominance as the team to beat over the next several years?
Offseason additions and departures
Additions: G/F Justin Holiday (free agency – DAL), F Julian Strawther (draft), F Hunter Tyson (draft), G Jalen Pickett (draft)
Departures: G/F Bruce Brown (free agency – IND), F Jeff Green (free agency – HOU), C Thomas Bryant (free agency – MIA)
The Nuggets absolutely lost more than they gained this offseason, which is not too surprising for a championship team. Many of the core players from a title team end up returning to try and repeat as champions. At the same time, some jump ship and you cannot blame certain talents, especially role players, for chasing a larger contract.
This was the case with Bruce Brown this offseason, as the 27-year-old swingman ended up agreeing to a two-year, $45 million contract with the Indiana Pacers. He will now make $22 million during the upcoming 2023-24 season, a no-brainer decision when you look at the maximum $7.8 million that the Nuggets were able to offer him this summer.
Brown came to Denver for one season, and he played his role as well as any other player in the league. Defensively, he could realistically guard any position from point guards to centers, plus he was an extension of Jokic on the offensive side of the floor. Rebounding, passing, three-point shooting and energy is what the Nuggets got from Brown. While they would've loved to keep him, it just wasn't a realistic scenario.
Along with Brown, veteran Jeff Green also leaves a hole on this roster, as he agreed to a two-year, $16 million contract with the Houston Rockets. Another instance of Denver getting out-bid by another team for one of their players, nobody can really fault Green for getting paid at 37 years old.
His leadership and commitment, despite seeing an inconsistent role all year long, is what made Green a special player for the Nuggets. The entire coaching staff viewed him as an extension of themselves as the veteran aided everyone from Jokic to the end of the bench. While he did help out on the court, Green made a positive impact in the locker room by helping establish a culture, which is something every championship team needs behind the scenes.
Aside from the talent they had on the court, the Nuggets ended up winning a title this past year because of the fact that they were a tightly knit group. There were no cracks in their relationships, they all genuinely enjoyed playing with one another, and no drama presented itself over the course of the regular season. The focus for this group from their very first day of training camp in 2022 was to win it all, no matter who or how many people doubted them.
Brown and Green were big parts of this team's secondary unit, and they showed up to play their roles to perfection every single night. They may not have been the best players on the team, but these two made an impact when the Nuggets needed them. Replacing both players will not be an easy task for this organization.
It's also worth mentioning that the Nuggets lost some big-man depth in free agency with Thomas Bryant departing for the Miami Heat, the team Denver beat in the NBA Finals. General manager Calvin Booth and the Nuggets' front office have been constantly searching for reliable depth in their frontcourt, but things did not work out with Bryant as intended when he came over from the Los Angeles Lakers at the trade deadline.
The additions to the Nuggets' roster this offseason mainly came by way of the NBA Draft. Not having many draft picks entering this year's draft, Denver made a handful of trades and leveraged future draft picks in order to snag one first-round pick and two second-round picks. With the 29th overall selection, the Nuggets grabbed Julian Strawther out of Gonzaga, followed by Jalen Pickett (No. 32) and Hunter Tyson (No. 37) in the second round.
Strawther is an intriguing player for Denver, especially since he shares a similar build to that of Brown. The Gonzaga product is an above-average athlete and presents some upside as a two-way player on the wing. What the Nuggets will look to utilize right away during Strawther's rookie campaign is his shooting abilities, as he shot 40.8 percent from deep this past year in college.
Pickett and Tyson are two other interesting rookies the Nuggets will integrate over the course of the 2023-24 season. Known for his rebounding abilities at the guard spot, Pickett can do a little bit of everything with or without the ball in his hands. He understands the game at a high level and also demonstrated his three-point shooting abilities at Penn State.
When talking about three-point shooters, Tyson is the rookie who stands out. He shot 18-36 (50.0%) from the perimeter at Las Vegas Summer League and ended up being named to the NBA 2K24 All-Summer League First Team. Expect all three rookies the Nuggets drafted to see time over the course of the 82-game schedule, and perhaps at least one of them will make an impact like Christian Braun did last season.
While not listed above as additions, the Nuggets did retain some of their veteran leaders in free agency, as Reggie Jackson and DeAndre Jordan both returned on new deals.
Who will step up in Brown's place?
The main question for the Nuggets entering the 2023-24 season revolves around where they will get production from outside of their starting unit. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are going to do their thing, plus Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon will supply the team with secondary scoring out on the wing and in the paint.
Bruce Brown was so effective for Denver because of his abilities to rebound on both ends of the floor and hit a big three-point shot in transition. Even though he shot 35.8 percent for the season from downtown, Brown still opened up the floor and drew attention from his opponents. When looking at the Nuggets' roster right now, it is hard to point to a player on their bench and claim they have what it takes to fill this void left behind by Brown in free agency.
Bones Hyland is no longer a source of bench production after he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers ahead of the trade deadline, and Vlatko Cancar will not be available after he suffered a torn ACL while playing with the Slovenian national team this offseason. Brown, Green, Hyland and Cancar supplied the Nuggets with roughly 23 percent of their total scoring output from the 2022-23 season, which is why there are questions about who will step up.
The obvious choice to do so is second-year shooting guard Christian Braun. The Nuggets drafted Braun 21st overall in 2022, and he barely played over the first two months of his rookie season. As he gained more experience and worked with the veterans on this roster, he became one of the first players to come off the bench.
Defensively, Braun can be just as impactful as Brown was, and his confidence is very apparent no matter what role he holds. The 22-year-old is conformable going up against any other player in the league and there are not many limitations to his game. Looking at last year's draft class, Braun has a chance to become one of the most improved in his sophomore season.
Another second-year player to watch is Peyton Watson, the 30th overall selection in 2022. Unlike Braun, who saw his minutes increase during the second half of the season, Watson entered the league as a very raw prospect who spent a lot of time working behind the scenes. During games, he was a sponge for most of the year in the sense that the team wanted him to learn as much as he could from the veterans.
When Watson did get a chance to play when the core of this team took days off near the end of the year, the rookie showed flashes of his two-way potential on the wing. The 21-year-old has the ability to run in transition really well and has a lot of potential overall as he develops. Still very young and working on his craft, the Nuggets continue to be very high on Watson's ceiling.
As for another player whose role is expecting to increase during the 2023-24 season, Zeke Nnaji could wind up being the player the Nuggets have been searching for behind Jokic. The problem with Nnaji is that he has had trouble remaining healthy. In terms of where this team could receive production from in their frontcourt outside of Jokic and Gordon, the Nuggets should look no further than the fourth-year forward in what will be a contract year.
2023-24 season outlook
Even with all the changes the Nuggets have on their bench, the same starting group is back and Michael Malone's coaching staff remains untouched. This is the reason why the Nuggets still have a very good chance at claiming the 1-seed in the Western Conference and making it back to the NBA Finals.
Jokic is the epitome of someone who shows up to work every day and does their job to the best of their abilities. Jokic may not be the most athletic nor the best scorer in the league, but he is arguably the best passer in the NBA and may be the most skilled player we have ever seen at the center position. Everyone on this roster is a better player when he is on the floor, including Murray.
These two make up one of the most underrated duos in the league, and the only reason they gained appreciation this offseason was because the Nuggets won the title. If Denver failed to do so, nobody would be talking about how good these two really are.
The DNA of this team remains the same, which is why they will once again win 50-plus games during the regular season. Whether or not they can sustain postseason success is a whole different story, especially since more pressure is going to be on the core group of Jokic, Murray, Porter and Gordon during the first half of the year.
Guys like Brown and Green took strain off the stars and provided the Nuggets with a sense of depth. Right now, the team is hopeful Braun and Watson will be able to emerge as contributors, but they are still young talents who are learning the ropes of the NBA. What the Nuggets lost in the offseason will not be replaced so easily, which is why this team could face some struggles against the better teams in the league.
Until they are beaten in the playoffs, the Nuggets will still be sitting on the throne at the top of the league. However, they have gone from the hunters to the hunted, making it very interesting to see how this impacts the mindset of the organization.
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