The 2024-25 NBA season is here! We break down the biggest questions, best and worst case scenarios and fantasy prospects for all 30 teams. Enjoy!
DENVER NUGGETS
2023-24 end
Offseason moves
Additions: Russell Westbrook, Dario Saric, DaRon Holmes II
Subtractions: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Reggie Jackson, Justin Holiday
Complete roster
The Big Question: Can the Nuggets stem the tide of attrition?
The Nuggets have Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. and … who else exactly? Don’t get me wrong: That’s an incredible top four — the foundation of a team that won the championship in 2023 — but the rotation around them has taken hits over the past two summers.
Bruce Brown and Jeff Green left for more money after the title run, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope did the same this past offseason. None of them are necessarily game breakers, but combined they are enough to make a war of attrition. Without Brown and Green, Denver couldn’t extract the value it would hope from Christian Braun and a collection of rookies to avoid a second-round playoff exit.
now what? Does the loss of Caldwell-Pope pull them further out of contention?
Let’s slow down for a moment. The Nuggets still boast Jokić, the best player alive, an offense to himself and a 50-win season going as long as he stays healthy. They have Murray, whose pick-and-roll partnership with Jokić forms the most lethal offensive combination in the league. Porter is a flamethrower from the top of his 7-foot wingspan, while Gordon possesses untold strength and athleticism.
Throw anyone in, and that group will cause plenty of problems, as it did last season, when they outscored opponents by 14.5 points per 100 significant possessions without Caldwell-Pope in the lineup with them.
But are they enough to navigate the Western Conference gauntlet, let alone beat whoever comes out of the East? Certainly not if Murray still needs to address his health. He told reporters at media day that he was not limited by the knee injury that cost him the entire 2021-22 campaign, or the ailments that contributed to his poor performances in last season’s finals and the Olympics. .
The Nuggets are always one injury away from fielding an even thinner rotation. There is one big name who has joined them — former MVP turned 36-year-old journeyman Russell Westbrook — but he brings his own set of complications. He is the worst high-volume shooter in NBA history and a detriment to any defensive scheme. He is also an incredibly explosive playmaker in the open floor. Much of it has led him to a single playoff series victory in the past seven seasons, despite a string of All-Star teammates.
Perhaps more important is the continued development of Braun, Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther. That was also the plan last season, when Watson and Strawther provided nothing in a second-round loss to Minnesota. It’s one thing to expect Braun to contribute; he was a valuable piece of their title team. It is another to require a multitude of prospects to support at once.
But again: Jokić and Murray will provide the necessary space to stand out, if someone is ready to take his role. They will create open shots, reward knives and save broken property. There will be growing pains. What heights Denver’s youth stand at at the end of the season will dictate whether this season ends like the previous season or the one before it. It is within their reach. Remember: blowing a 20-point lead in Game 7 against the Timberwolves is all that stood between them and a return to the conference finals.
Best case scenario
Denver’s investment of a max contract for Murray is a reflection of their confidence in his health. He and Jokić are taking the league by storm, and everyone else is raising their game. Porter contributes more than just his shot. Braun seizes his spot as a fifth starter. Westbrook injects some ferocity into the bench. As Gordon told reporters at media day, everyone on the Nuggets should feel compelled “[hold] up my end of the bargain.” That bargain? With Jokić in his moment, he gives his team a title shot every season.
If everything falls apart
Murray can’t stay on the floor or is decimated when he is on it. We see no marked improvement from the youth of Denver. Westbrook injects chaos into the bench instead. The reported noises that head coach Michael Malone and the front office “don’t exactly see eye to eye” is becoming a distraction. The Nuggets are shown another second-round playoff exit. Ownership doesn’t see the point in investing another $80 million in Porter through the 2026-27 season, and Denver is hitting a reset button around Jokić and Murray.
A fancy spin
Rather than gushing about Jokić being one of the best fantasy assets in the game, let’s talk about Jamal Murray. The market doesn’t seem concerned about Murray’s health or lackluster performances in the 2024 finals and Paris Olympics. I wish I shared their optimism, but I’m fading Murray’s fifth-round ADP.
Aaron Gordon is a player I have targeted in point leagues. He flourished in the place of the dunker for Denver and it unlocked his ability to accumulate various fantastic statistics by scoring, rebounding and generating assists. — Dan Tito
schedule 2024-25
Jokić averaged 53 wins a season over the past six years. That’s the standard for the game’s best player, and he should hit that mark again — with or without superior depth. Take the upper hand.
