The Denver Nuggets have done it. They have finally won the franchise's first NBA championship, and they did so without having to break the bank in free agency or swing a trade for a generational superstar. The Nuggets earned their championship by building their roster the “right way”, drafting Nikola Jokic with the 41st pick in 2014 and Jamal Murray with the seventh pick in 2016.
Nevertheless, that doesn't mean that trades and free agent signings on the margins didn't enable the Nuggets to get over the hump. Could the Nuggets have won this season with the likes of Monte Morris, Will Barton, and Gary Harris still playing huge roles? Perhaps. That is a testament to Jokic and Murray's brilliance that in a hypothetical world, they still might have broken through and won a championship with an objectively worse supporting cast.
But the additions of Aaron Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Bruce Brown, not to mention the underrated versatility that Jeff Green brought, certainly made winning a championship an easier task for the Nuggets than it would have been with their previous core.
Brown, in particular, will be in for a huge payday that the Nuggets won't be able to afford. The 26-year old guard/forward just does a lot of things on the court that contribute to winning, and he'll surely command a contract in the eight-digits. Meanwhile, the Nuggets can only afford to offer him a contract starting at $7.8 million, essentially guaranteeing his departure unless Brown decides to run it back at personal financial cost.
With that in mind, the Nuggets will have to find another team-first player who's willing to play different roles without pouting about a lack of touches. As it is, the Nuggets are over the luxury tax already, so they will have to hunt for bargains in free agency.
Here are the three targets they must set their sights towards with free agency only weeks away.
Justise Winslow
Justise Winslow's star has dimmed considerably. From a player who almost netted four-first round picks from the Boston Celtics on draft night, Winslow's stock may currently be at its lowest coming off a rough, injury-riddled season with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Winslow simply hasn't developed into the do-it-all playmaking two-way wing teams envisioned when he entered the NBA in 2015. But that doesn't mean that the 27-year old forward couldn't flourish within the Nuggets system, within a team setting where he won't be tasked to do too much on either end of the floor.
With Bruce Brown's departure looking very likely, acquiring a player who could fill in multiple gaps on either end of the floor will be a godsend. And Justise Winslow, provided he recovers fully from the ankle injury that ended his season prematurely, could be that guy. Winslow can handle the ball in pinches, like Brown does, and he can take on tough defensive assignments, like Brown does.
What Winslow does not have is Brown's offensive versatility. Brown showed all throughout the 2022-23 season that he can score from everywhere on the court, functioning in unison with the Nuggets' playmakers. Brown flourishes on the short roll, he can drain corner threes, and his finishing at the rim allows him to score efficiently despite being 6'4.
Winslow, on the other hand, is a much more crafty ballhandler, and at 6'6, he has greater size and length to bother opposing ballhandlers.
For his career, Justise Winslow hasn't experienced playing yet with an all-world playmaking force, like Nikola Jokic. And as Jokic has done for plenty of his teammates, he can make their scoring lives that much easier, which accentuates their impact in other facets of the game. Jokic could certainly do that for Winslow.
Winslow shouldn't cost too much in free agency, and for a very low price, the Nuggets may very well land themselves another steal in free agency.
Hamidou Diallo
Speaking of players who could flourish within the Nuggets' system, Hamidou Diallo may very well give them the guard version of Aaron Gordon — and no, it goes beyond their shared capability to dazzle with their incredible, Dunk Contest-level athleticism.
This is not to say that the current version of Diallo is equivalent to who Gordon was prior to joining the Nuggets. This is just to say that the current Detroit Pistons wing could reach another level when playing alongside more talented playmakers than in the Motor City.
As it is, Hamidou Diallo's efficiency from the field is nothing to scoff at. Even without the threat of a three-point shot, Diallo managed to get to the hoop at will, shooting 57.3 percent from the field last season despite playing for the moribund Pistons. Just imagine the ease with which he'll score the basketball in the Mile High City.
If Aaron Gordon's efficiency skyrocketed as he feasted on easy open looks in the paint due to the attention Nikola Jokic drew, Diallo could be shooting a Rudy Gobert-esque percentage from the field if he manages to find himself in similar positions.
The lack of a three-point shot is certainly concerning. But Diallo's insane paint efficiency, not to mention his athleticism that could, perhaps, allow him to unlock the more nitty-gritty parts of his game (defense and rebounding), should make him a very appealing target for the Nuggets in free agency.
Josh Okogie
Josh Okogie is far inferior player to Bruce Brown, that much is certain. Okogie's inefficiency from the field is unsightly. His lack of three-point shooting only compounds issues; unlike Brown or even Hamidou Diallo, Okogie lacks the athleticism and nuance to his game that allows him to flourish even without a polished jumpshot.
But Okogie is an active defender who loves to disrupt passing lanes, and he is a willing mover of the basketball as well as a cutter. He also loves crashing the boards, and he's had moments where he has caught fire from deep, suggesting that in a much more freewheeling offensive environment, like in Denver, his efficiency may very well skyrocket.
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