With Nikola Jokic Still At The Peak of His Powers, The Denver Nuggets Are Finally Acting Like It

You know, it would’ve been easy for a lot of NBA teams—especially in the Western Conference—to look at the Oklahoma City Thunder, recognize that they're young, just won the championship, and say, “You know what? This is their time. Let’s just sit back and wait for our turn".

But so far this offseason, the Denver Nuggets have made it their mission to take them on. And I love it.

When you have Nikola Jokic, the best player in the world in his prime and at the absolute peak of his powers, you are mandated to go all-in for a championship every single year. No excuses. And the Nuggets are doing just that.

They managed to shed Michael Porter Jr.’s salary by trading him to the Brooklyn Nets, clearing about $17 million off their books, and in my opinion, they actually got a better player and cleaner fit for their roster in Cam Johnson—one of the best 3-and-D wings in the league. Johnson’s ability to space the floor and guard multiple positions should be a great fit alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

The Nuggets also added some depth up front with Jonas Valanciunas as a reliable backup big for Jokic, which was something they sorely lacked last season. And then came the underrated free agent moves: bringing back Bruce Brown, a key piece from their 2023 championship run who was no doubt missed by the team the past two season. Also, adding Tim Hardaway Jr., gives them even more shooting to space the floor.

Let’s not forget: in the playoffs, Denver was the only team that gave OKC any real problems out West. They were the only team that pushed them to 7 games when they met in Round 2 this past spring. With these offseason additions, I believe the Nuggets (alongside the Houston Rockets) are shaping up to be OKC’s biggest competition once again in the Western Conference.

Like I said from the start: when you have Nikola Jokic—one of the greatest players we’ve ever seen—you are obligated to go for it every single year. And after a couple seasons where it felt like Denver was pinching pennies, they are finally back to making serious win-now moves.

That being said… if they bring back Russell Westbrook, I’m out.

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