The Denver Nuggets suffered a major blow this offseason when they lost starting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in NBA free agency. Last season the Nuggets depth was already questionable and this offseason they didn't exactly have the requisite cap space to add to the team. But the Nuggets were able to strengthen their roster this week in NBA free agency with the addition of Dario Saric as per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Dario Saric hit unrestricted free agency this offseason and at this point had been one of the best available center options on the market. As per Wojnarowski, Saric's contract with the Nuggets will be for two years and worth around $10.6 million. It appears as if Nuggets used the taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Saric. The Nuggets also re-signed veteran center DeAndre Jordan.
Saric is capable of playing both center and power forward. He's got the opportunity to contribute immediately on a team looking to contend for a title. This past season, Saric appeared in 64 games for the Golden State Warriors at a little over 17 minutes per game.
He averaged 8.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists with splits of 46.6 percent shooting from the field, 37.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 84.9 percent shooting from the free-throw line. Saric is currently playing with the Croatian national team during Olympic qualifiers.
Nuggets hoping for a bounce back season
Signing Dario Saric in free agency was key move towards the Nuggets regaining status as a championship contender in the 2024-25 season. They had little to spend in free agency. The only way they were able to sign him to the mid-level exception was because they did not re-sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Otherwise that exception wouldn't have been available to them.
Replacing Caldwell-Pope will be no easy task. He was one of the league's best perimeter defensive players and a reliable three-point shooter. But the Nuggets are hoping Christian Braun will be able to step in and replace him in the starting lineup.
The Nuggets will also hope for internal development off the bench. There are two players in Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther who need to be able to take on larger roles if the Nuggets hope to regain contender status. For a team like the Nuggets who face the dreaded second apron, hitting on the margins becomes extremely important.
With that in mind, it's imperative that the organization find draft picks who can contribute immediately. They may have found a player like that in the 2024 NBA Draft with DaRon Holmes II. Holmes was player whose ut draft stock shot up in recent months after some mock drafts even had him in the second round.
But ultimately, the Nuggets contender hopes hinge on Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. As long as the Nuggets have their star duo available, they should be able to put the right pieces around them to maintain contender status while they are in their primes. In 2022, Jokic signed a five-year extension with the Nuggets. This offseason, Murray is reportedly in talks to sign a four-year extension with the team.
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