Denver Nuggets 2024 NBA Offseason Preview

Denver Nuggets 2024 NBA Offseason Preview

hello and welcome to the Twan game with Chris and Scott live here on the bleacher report app we are your host and talking through some nuggets 2024 offseason preview and guide uh welcome in we are this is our second time on Bleacher Report app and we are also on action lab Sports on twitch every single Tuesday or Wednesday Thursday and Sunday and then we are also uh doing a lot of content on actionlab sports.com so make sure you guys check us out on the other platform as well but welcome in how we doing Scotty doing good man doing good uh it’s disappointing that we have to talk offseason with nuggets already was thinking maybe the season would still be going but hey what do you do so we at least got one last year with the title and now how do we fix what what just happened against the Wolves you know yeah yeah uh obviously disappointing losing in game seven to the Minnesota Timberwolves was an absolute disaster for the Denver Nuggets given the fact that if they win that game I feel personally that they had a chance to maybe take it to uh the NBA championship and and win another back-to-back but I digressed a lot went wrong and there was a lot of things in that series that I think really shine on what we’re about to talk about today with some of the offseason out out look and some of the things that we might need to take a look at when it comes to some of the moves some of the things that need attention on this roster and everything else so we’re going to dive into all of that stuff here on this show we are going to be breaking down kind of what the aspects of the offseason look like from just where we’re at on a roster and salary cap standpoint and then we’re also going to dive into a little bit of the questions and needs that the nuggets are going to be uh having to address in this off season in addition to what we would like to see happen as well so let’s dive into it Scotty uh let’s get into kind of the offseason Outlook now a lot of I mean you would think that this team based off of just how disappointing this was needs to be just figured out revamped all these different things but blow it up it’s not the case it’s not the case we’re not blowing this team up the sky is not falling and this is still a very good basketball team I mean I I I would assume that we’re g to be uh the Denver Nuggets gonna be a top three favorite in Vegas next year uh maybe top two to come back and try to go for a Championship uh but at the same time I there needs to be some sort of urgency as well like at least for me for my my not like an urgency of making drastic changes I don’t think that that’s necessary but to maximize the window for nicolea yic and what he has he’s 29 years old we’re still have the core of this team in place uh I think that there needs to be some adjustments that we don’t want to rely on young players and patience and everything else the window isn’t going to be there forever would you agree yeah I mean listen the president I think an oppressor just this past week uh Josh Kony came out and said himself he’s like we owe it to Nia to go be be all in like he’s given us everything three time MVP now um we can’t we can’t just like hey don’t like what happened let’s blow it up let’s start with a lot of fresh players I mean obviously there’s still a rhythm to this this was the best starting five in the regular season from a plus minus vantage point in all of basketball so it’s not listen I think right after they lost game seven with the way they did being up 20 in the second half there were a lot of people knee-jerk reactions frustrated upset with what you know the disappointment of the season ending that way and wanted to you know obviously there were some guys that didn’t have great series mpj did not have a great series there’s a lot of talk out there that we’ll get into on this stream I’m sure with you know is that someone we move on from you know kcp is up in the air and he didn’t have at least offensively uh a great series um so this is this yeah and with where the nuggets are with their you know who’s tied into contracts and financial tie-ups there’s not a ton they can do to just vastly change this roster what’s going to have to change is their mentality on getting some of these younger players some minutes in the regular season uh to hopefully not only rest our other guys but get those guys where they can actually be contributors in in the postseason I mean the the Nuggets through two rounds of the playoffs didn’t rely at all on their young guys outside of Christian Brown for some minutes outside of him pton Watson didn’t see any time and we drafted three rookies that just saw absolutely zero minutes in the playoffs so we’re gonna have to develop some of that young Talent which frankly is a concern under mik Michael Malone that’s not Michael Malone’s here to win he’s the coach he wants to win he sees the window and I get that but hopefully this this has made him realize that like hey to to win and be where we want to be we can’t just ride our horses all day long because they eventually I didn’t even mean to say that with jic riding horses but that just came naturally it just comes out it just came out you know but we have to figure something out and have these young guys develop so that not we’re not we’re not struggling to for energy uh in the playoffs or injuries like Jamal was dealing with and so on and so forth yeah and we saw it in this series where the joic was the highest used player uh among all pretty much everybody playing in the playoffs this this year and he absolutely was just he was a Workhorse from the start to the finish of the playoffs plus you know you also had the previous offseason you didn’t have a lot of rest you you know you won the championship so you’re coming off of that but a full season of how he’s been one of his things joic has been so good about being available he’s never really in that conversation of being hurt so he doesn’t jump off the ground he doesn’t do anything to get himself in a lot of ways but I think that there still needs to be that aspect of we need to give this guy some rest because if we don’t he’s going to be out of gas by the time we get to the second round of the playoffs when you use him even more than you would even use him in the regular season so that’s another offseason thing that that the uh deor nuggets coaching staff is going to need to evaluate when trying to figure out if he’s going to be needed from game to game and they give him kind of those injury rest uh games over the course of the regular season to keep him fresh for the playoffs but let’s dive into some of the you mentioned not having a lot of flexibility this team doesn’t the core of this roster is still in place right but you still have three max contracts on this roster as it sits so we still have a solid like just just core that isn’t going anywhere we’re first apron team until July 1st but that’s going to be most like we’re categorizing it as a second apron team because when or if kcp or another contract comes in it it will or should happen it will this de nuggets team will be a second apron team which gives them even less flexibility when it comes to how they navigate adding and uh building up this roster in the off season with you know midlevel exception contracts things along those lines roughly about 193 million in contracts next year so far uh you have first round picks uh in three of the next four drafts which um uh some of them one first round in the next four drafts uh which one of them is going to Orlando as a protected pick in 25 and a couple protected first round picks going to OKC in the following year so not a lot of draft Capital uh when it comes to first round picks in the next couple years for the Denver Nuggets extension eligibility we have Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray which uh those extensions uh should be due around uh we have until September is uh give or take on those we have options for player options decided by June 29th for kcp and June 25th for Reggie Jackson and if both of those players leave let’s just say both of those players leave there’s still a luxury tax team it offers a little bit of flexibility but not a lot because you’re still up there with some of the contracts you have but that’s kind of the Outlook Scotty of what we have to work with and I think that there’s a couple priorities I think kcp is going to be one that I’m going to emphasize a little bit we also uh Eric Gordon and Jamaal Murray will be important key factors there as well but from that Outlook what are your thoughts on on just that in general when it comes to their landscape yeah I mean listen there’s no there’s no free agents technically on the roster that were that were key contributors last year you talked about the two player options I’ll start with kcp he’s got about I think it’s 15.4 million doll player option for next year that he can either accept I think most people agree that he’s probably not going to accept that now that doesn’t mean that kcp is gone uh the nuggets with bird rights to that would then have the option to match any contract that another team offers if they so choose so they’ll have final say on whether they deem but you know I I look for kcp to try and get closer to 20 million a year over a couple years and we’ll see if the Nuggets want to match that listen I do not feel like KC kcp played great in the playoffs this year but defensively kcp is almost underrated defensively at what he does Chris he was the he he held his opponents to 40% shooting from the field this year which was number one in all of basketball on guys that had you know at least had 500 temp attempts against them so what he brings defensively and obviously he’s been for the most part a really good three-point shooter there’s been some you know just like every body goes through some times where he struggles and I feel like he did struggle a little bit from there I wish he would add a little bit more of like a you know break down the defense you know penetrate style to his game he’s basically a three-point or you know he’ll he’ll take a couple dribbles and shoot from the elbow um but we’ll see where the Nuggets value him obviously if he’s gone you’re probably moving Christian Brown into the starting five and then that that bench that was a weakness this year gets even lighter because even if he’s gone that doesn’t just free up that 15 or 20 million with where they are in the cap they would basically only have like a mid-level exception at about five million to offer a a season vet um and then you got Reggie Jackson his is about $5 million uh he his player option I I’m conflicted on that I’m not the biggest Reggie Jackson fan I feel like one you know I know that second line struggles but like he tries to make a little too much happen and misses a lot of shots and he’s a negative defensively uh there was too many games this year where he just didn’t look focused and ready to go but when he’s playing well he is much needed and I don’t know if we can upgrade him so in some ways I’m like I hope he just takes that five million um which I suspect he probably will that if I had to guess on on Reggie I think he’ll take the player option I think kcp will turn it down see what’s out there in free agency and then it’ll be up to the Nuggets to match I think it’s interesting with kcp because kcp and and to your point very good defensive L even at his as he’s aging he’s really really good defensively one of the top role players in my opinion in the entire NBA but another aspect of the game that people Overlook is the fact that he’s played a 96% of his regular season games since 20134 so he’s available and he’s reliable you you you know he’s going to be there and he’s going to be wanting to to play so I think that that’s an underrated aspect of what he brings to this team I do think he opts out I I’m curious on what his mentality is because does he take a team-friendly deal if he opts out and he’s like you know what I don’t want to go anywhere else and I think you know I’m I’m I’m really happy with where I’m playing now and I I’ll sign back for the maybe like you know 16 million or something something that’s a little bit more manageable um you know when it comes to not asking for a ton more knowing the situation of who we want to be bringing in and how we want to adjust and tweak this roster to get back to a championship I’d be curious to see what that looks like now I mean I think he is a priority for me and I think that that when it comes to Reggie Jackson with Reggie Jackson I think you’re right he’s going to be a player that is going to come back most likely and I’m with you I’m with you Reggie Jackson is a struggle for me in some games he’s that I he’s that when when you watch a basketball game and you see like kind of a questionable shot go up up you’re like no don’t do that and it goes in and you’re like yes he made it that’s Reggie Jackson in a nutshell like you just you just except a lot of them don’t go in Chris except a lot of I feel like a lot of them listen he’s had a tremendous career he’s just at the tail end of it unfortunately and I think he still thinks he’s at you know the the guy he was you know even several years ago with the Clippers having a huge role in the playoffs He’s Just Not That Guy anymore he’s got to be a little smarter and a little you know better shot selection and not dribble the ball with the ball in his hands for you know 18 seconds of the shot clock yeah yeah and I think um you know he’s he’s manageable he’s been a little bit in year two uh with the Nuggets he’s been a little bit better at navigating that second team and being able to execute some of those pick and roles which I think is helpful and I think he’ll get more in tune with that as time goes on but that then that leads to questions with other things so let’s get to the offseason questions and needs based off of you know we kind of laid the landscape for where the nuggets are at not a lot of flexibility but there’s a few questions that we have one Michael Porter Jr has been at the top of a lot of conversations because he’s a max player but he didn’t play like a max player in these playoffs he did in the Lakers series but he didn’t in the Minnesota series so there’s been a lot of questions do you trade him how do you how do you work that around because you can get away with having three max players when you’re winning championships but when you’re not winning championships it’s Amplified a little bit and you’re just looking at it like well you better be playing up to the expectations of being a max player when it really matters and I felt like he didn’t do that against the Minnesota Timberwolves he acknowledged after that series that he didn’t play well enough and it just it it hurts that much more when you’re paying him as much as you are and you don’t have the flexibility to make changes on this roster now we’ll get into some potential trades and different options and things that the Nuggets can do on our next show we’re going to be diving into some of those trade uh whether it’s small or large big time splashes I don’t think the Nuggets need to do that I think that Michael Porter Jr ends up coming back next year but there’s some interesting things that we could around Scotty what are your thoughts on Michael Porter Jr and whether or not you think he comes back and we’ll play around with it we’ll we’ll talk next week on like hey what are the what are the POs you know realistic options that maybe we could move him for um because yeah he’s making anywhere from 35 to 40 million over the next three years and we can’t have what happened in the Minnesota series where his number one trade is shooting and the guy Couldn’t Shoot Couldn’t Shoot to save his life against Minnesota unfortunately wide open shots too you know but a couple things caveats of that uh one he wascally our most consistent offensive player outside of maybe Nicole yic in the opening round against the Lakers he was 50% from three in that series absolutely torching him um played phenomenally well in that series just didn’t happen and second of all dude had a lot going on in his life right his family is doing him no favors he’s got you know obviously his brother who just got kicked out of the league for Life over the gambling thing he’s got another brother who obviously just got sentenced after a DUI where he ran over and unfortunately killed someone and then his other brother just got a DUI as well so I they’re doing them no favors that’s a lot to ask on a guy to be mentally there and and focused throughout when you have all this stuff in the background and um that you’re dealing with so while I like that he took responsibility because quite frankly if we did have first round Michael Porter Jr and the second round we’d be playing right now I I honestly believe that um so I like that he took the responsibility I don’t know I don’t know if you can make your team better by by moving him he is the one if you want to if you want to really mix up this roster that is the one piece that’s worth enough where you can you know get some actual legitimate solid value back and see where they’re at because his potential is out I mean he’s 610 he’s long he can shoot whether he’s open or not he’s one of the most pure Shooters in the game so there’s going to be some teams attracted by that I’d like for him to get more well-rounded kind of like what I talked about kcp he’s go a he he constantly does like the pump fake Chris and then just lets the guy Blow by and shoots a three sometimes I’d like to see him actually I don’t know dribble in you’re 610 you can dunk you’re pretty athletic if nothing all if they collapse on you find the open man um I see him with his size and height and length get in the pain a little more and and break down the defense like that opening it up for himself and other players from three-point line when he attacks the rim he’s a different Beast because he has so much length and he has so much speed off the dribble when he wants to he’s maybe not the most like athletic specimen on the court uh but he could still make things happen and has the length to do a lot especially from the defensive side as well but to your point think that there’s a lot to love and if if he wasn’t making the money that he’s making as a max player you know obviously we look at him a little differently right we look at him as a player who needs to come back who has a lot to you know offer across the entire season last year he was the best spot up three-point shooter in the NBA and this year he’s still one of the best three-point Shooters he’s a hand in his face and he could still make shots Lebron called him a laser in that first round of the series so he’s getting he he knows how to score the basketball adding another layer to his game and also adding some value on defense is where I think he can even add more value I would actually prefer that he adds more on his with his length on the defensive side we’ve seen him get blocks on the when he’s actively defending uh I I I think that there’s some uh things to really love about his game on that side of the theball he’s come a long way he can still make progress on defense he’s not a net huge strength on defense but come so far defensively and I give him credit for that from where he started he was an Abomination on defense Chris he was so bad in the first couple years of the league on defense like and he still has issues he had to come out of the game uh in certain periods late in games to for defensive minded players so yeah if he’s not hitting threes he doesn’t need to be on the floor yes yes when we have better defensive options absolutely otherwise another thing that you know we need to look at when it comes to the Denver Nuggets off season is how much do we believe and how much do we have patience in the young guys on this roster obviously Christian Brown pton Watson are two players that are have been in the rotation going back to the championship season pton Watson was kind of a ghost this playoffs when especially during the the series with the Minnesota Timberwolves but we also have Julian strw Jaylen picket who have been recent draft picks those guys again with Michael Malone and how he prioritizes the um young guys on the roster it’s a patience game again we talked about the window being a little bit shorter uh as we you know we trying to maximize Nicole jokic’s you know peak level of his uh career right now so being able to trust Christian Brown and pton Watson I think that that needs to be a big step forward for both of them to get time in the rotation whether that’s you know having a guy guy like let’s say you know let’s say Casey P doesn’t come back obviously Christian Brown needs to be stepping up into that role and he had a decent playoffs this it was good maybe not great but it was experience for the second year he was kind of the opposite of mpj he was real bad against the Lakers and he played pretty well actually in that Minnesota series for the most part defensively on Ant he was asked to guard him a lot when he was in and offensively he played pretty well as well and pyton Watson has the highest I think ceiling of anybody on this roster from a young St young player standpoint he has all the tools the athleticism the defensive prow he has block he could block anybody at The Rim so he’s very active on both sides if he can improve his jump shooting to be in that 35 that his three-point percentage into that 35 to 38% range and you know continue to elevate that midlevel game he could be one of the best players on this roster and he can provide that size athleticism that we’ve really needed in some of these matchups but I think having those guys step up next year is one of the most important things for this franchise to continue to keep with this roster how it’s constructed and what we’re paying out to some of these top end players on this team it it’s it’s needed it’s much needed absolutely and I mean from a Payton Watson perspective he provides something right now at least on this roster that no one else on this roster provides that’s shot blocking Chris we might be the worst shot blocking team in in basketball and can’t protect the rim that is something we I mean that’s my I don’t know what your number one thing you want to address is but we need backup bigs we need we need a guy that can protect the rim cause Havoc there get rebounds listen DeAndre Jordan is a nice player in the locker room a good leader they love him you know but the dude the dude doesn’t get minutes anymore I mean he’s he’s old he he can’t play anymore they need to address the depth to get you know Nico off the court more and like if you’re having problems where you’re not able to contain a guy like Anthony Edwards it sure would be nice if you had a guy you could bring into the game to at least protect the rim a little bit and know that there’s a threat there someone um that you know has proven to be a shop Alor because right now that’s just Peyton Watson but he’s also you know he’s not he’s not your traditional Center by any stretch of the imagination he’s more Wing um but he’s the one who provides that right now he’s the shot blocker he’s the defensive presence uh if he can like you said get a little you know get a little smarter especially offensively and consistently hit down that hit three which is Christian Brown’s biggest thing too I mean he was left they weren’t even guarding him in in the Minnesota series and credit to him he knocked a lot of those down so I know as a Kansas fan I know Christian Brown has that in him he just has to I don’t know if it’s a mental thing I don’t think it’s a question of him get in the gym I’m I mean the dude the dude works hard at his craft so those two guys are going to be likely as far as current guys on the roster two of the most important moving forward because we have to be better outside the starting five and Christian Brown and pton Watson are the two biggest factors in that 100 per 100 perc think so you you you kind of segue into this on what we would like to see in this offseason so I’ll give you my list and you know kind of already touched on yours but the biggest priorities for me that I would like to see a perfect off seon and again we’re surface level because it’s going to take some some you have to move some things around to make it so that you can make some trades or do get the right pieces in place but overarching we need to extend Murray we need to extend Gordon I think those are two of the biggest aspects of this team that moving forward to keep you know joic together with joic those are the big three that have to be here for the short term and keeping those three together it just that is the core that’s number one priority number two extend kcp I think extending kcp or just make sure that he’s on this roster moving forward that’s another aspect that I think will be important we talked about his defense we talked about the fact that he’s plays all the time and when he’s reliable that’s one of the best things you can have is a guy that could hit threes and play legitimate defense against some of the top players in the league dep depth of the bench is probably the other thing that we we talk about backup center a legitimate Sixth Man Off the Bench that can create shots and play defense we see this with NI Walker Alexander in Minnesota we see it with some of these other teams that can bring off a player a true Sixth Man when’s the last time the Denver Nuggets have had a sixth man come in and be in that conversation of man they’re they really can carry when our starters get off the floor like when our starters leave the floor it’s like night and day and how we just completely drop off in offensive efficiency defensive efficiency you name it someone that can be that that that pure just boost off the bench is something that we need a power forward Center and small forward any kind of bigger sized player that could protect the rim would be a luxury right backup center that could hold their own when joic comes off the floor I.E like let’s say Dario SAR coming in you know that you can trust the the fact that he can run an offense and be capable offensively but still provide a little bit of size uh at least protecting the rim to some extent cuz right now what we have I and I and I love DeAndre Jordan but I I just don’t see what he offers at this stage of his career so there’s there’s a lot of things that if we can get Murray and Gordon extended kcp on this roster in the uh in in the future a legitimate Sixth Man scoring option that could play a little defense Off the Bench that’s you know has some size and a backup center I think that would be a perfect off season again it t we’re going to talk about how some moves can shift back and forth to make some of those things possible and maybe some specific names on our next show but th that’s that would be a perfect off season for me yeah I mean you you touched on something we hadn’t really brought up well there’s not you know Big Time Players you know in free agency this off season next year that could change Jamaal Murray would technically this is the last year of his deal and as you mentioned Aaron Gordon has after this year a player option um that he could technically take for another year or he could then be a free agent as well so tying those guys up um I think Aaron Gordon’s been a perfect fit in this in this team since the trade several years back um and unfortunately we haven’t been healthy Jamal went healthy listen Jamal every playoff run in the last like three or four has been phenomenal didn’t live up to that sandard this year hopefully it was just a you know obviously he had some injuries with the calf and things like that um but Jamal’s got to be extended as well uh I already talked about having some size and Shop loocking presence Off the Bench ideally the other thing that I I have noticed watching this Minnesota Dallas series with Kyrie Irving specifically is we need a ball handler that’s quick and fast we’re not a fast team Chris I mean we’re slow Jamal Murray at point for all the skills he has is not known for his quickness obviously Joker Joker might be the slowest player in the league like I say that in Jess but like obviously not known for his speed kyp is not a huge penetrator Michael Porter Jor is not a huge penetrator like that is our biggest concern I want to find I don’t know how you find it I don’t know how this happens Chris but we need a guy that can break down the defense off the dribble that’s quick and fast to allow us to open up the offense a little bit that can also finish at The Rim because I feel like at times Reggie Reggie Jackson tries to be that guy but he he he doesn’t finish well enough and he’s he’s up there where he’s not the quickest either we need to improve Team Speed and team size in our depth that would be my dream scenario for the offseason otherwise kind of run it run it back and let’s not quit on this team after you know losing in seven games to a to a team that’s really good in Minnesota who’s Al also just a really bad matchup for us they were design beat us Sky’s not falling Sky’s not falling in Denver um you know and that’s one thing going back to last year when it came to role players that’s why Bruce Brown I felt was so impactful was the fact that he could put pressure on the rim from what he was he he he was the ultimate cutter he can he he’s off ball player that can cut on the backside or even with the ball create driving lanes and put pressure on the rim if needed that’s something that has lacked in Denver that I think if they’re able to one defensively protect the rim but still on the offensive side attack the rim and be able to cuz otherwise defenses know exactly what you’re you’re doing the Inside Out game is pretty is pretty complex with how the Nuggets run it but to add that additional layer of being able to attack whoever’s in the paint and get to the free throw line the Nuggets didn’t get to the free throw line at all because what you know it’s it’s hard to attack the rim when you’re just you know shooting and the way the offense is structured now so to be able to get that infus with this offense just adds another layer that teams are going to have to have uh on their game plan when they play the Nuggets especially in the playoffs so yeah I mean I think the biggest biggest difference in this playoff run from last year was the drop off from Bruce Brown to Reggie Jackson no disrespect to Reggie was Monumental Bruce Brown played phenomenal in the in the championship run last year in the playoffs was a huge LIF Off the Bench um and we just didn’t we didn’t we missed that a lot we missed that a lot you know um but yeah we’re going to need somebody to break that down currently on the roster the only guy that I really feel can strongly penetrate pretty quick and athletic is Christian Brown so if he gets more minutes maybe he can provide that and get because we we don’t go to the free throw line Chris the Nuggets don’t go to the free throw line doesn’t happen and part of it’s because they don’t drive hard of the paint like that and part of it’s because Nicole yic just doesn’t get any calls um that’s true too but moving forward we got to get we got to get to the liore we got to get those easy buckets and also that’s time to rest if we’re if we’re playing our guys big minute so um we got that’s that’s something we gotta find how we find it this offseason I don’t know Chris I don’t I don’t know but I have some ideas I have some ideas we’ll break into some some ideas on our next stream next week but Calvin booth has his work cut out for him yep absolutely well again we’re going to be breaking down every single trade idea Theory we’re gonna Theory craft the hell out of of trying to figure out how to make this roster better I got already two or three names in mind on how we can navigate those and we’ll talk about those on our next show coming up but that’s all that’s going to do it for this particular show of the Twan game with Chris and Scott previewing and breaking down all the off season and uh what the Nuggets need to do so keep it tuned in here on bleach report also tune in to the action lab Sports channel on Twitch Wednesday Thursday and Sunday night starting at 9:30 Eastern we’ll be doing a lot of other coverage on other sports other teams just everything in general so make sure you tune in to those shows if you are new to seeing us here on this platform but thank you guys for tuning in and we will see you guys on the next one love you love you guys thanks e

Chris and Scott discuss the Denver Nuggets 2024 Offseason Preview and Guide and what needs, trades, and free agents can help bring this back to a championship caliber team.

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