1 week Ago By Bennett Durando
Point Guard | 27 | 6-foot-4 | 215 pounds Is he the best player in the league who has never made an All-Star or All-NBA team, or is he an unreliable second option who didn’t deserve a ? This season could be a referendum on Murray’s efficacy as a long-term running mate for Nikola Jokic. But whatever happens, the $209 million has already been voted into office by the Nuggets for the next four years. Shooting Guard | 23 | 6-foot-6 | 220 pounds Nobody in the home locker room was more visibly distraught than Braun after the Nuggets blew a 20-point Game 7 lead against Minnesota.
“I just (freaking) hate losing,” he told The Denver Post this preseason. Now he can take matters into his own hands as the . His defensive chops earned him this promotion, but can his 3-point shooting contribute enough to keep it? Forward | 26 | 6-foot-10 | 218 pounds Last season was the .
Can this one be his most productive? He has never surpassed his 19-point-per-game campaign in 2020-21, but the Nuggets will need him to stagger with the second unit as a four in addition to his regular role as a starting small forward. MPJ should be the offensive engine and the best scorer on the floor with bench lineups. The deck is stacked for him to average 20.
Power Forward | 29 | 6-foot-8 | 235 pounds Sporting a new jersey number in honor of , Gordon is ready to reprise his role as superglue guy. He’s an explosive force of athleticism and a PhD student of the game, a willing and malleable defender, an option to bring the ball up and catch lobs from the dunker spot and post up as a backup center and maybe do the team’s laundry, while he’s at it. He’s also next in line for a as the season nears.
Center | 29 | 6-foot-11 | 284 pounds With all the uncertainty surrounding the Nuggets’ roster moves and health, it helps that the is also a known entity. In the last six seasons — dating back to the year of Jokic’s first All-NBA nod — he has played the fourth-most minutes in the NBA, outdone only by Mikal Bridges, DeMar DeRozan and Jayson Tatum. He has missed just 26 regular-season games during that time.
Point Guard | 35 | 6-foot-4 | 200 pounds Jamal Murray chased his man around the 3-point arc at Ball Arena to no avail. It was April 9, 2017, and Westbrook was not to be denied the ball on a night he had already broken Oscar Robertson’s NBA record for triple-doubles in a season (42). With Murray contesting the shot, to reach 50 points and hand the Nuggets a 106-105 loss.
Seven years later, a is an unexpected ally, brought in to back up and to push Murray. Russ is seeking his 200th triple-double and his first championship. Shooting Guard | 22 | 6-foot-6 | 205 pounds Removed from Michael Malone’s rotation around the halfway point of last season, Strawther sacrificed to make sure he’s indispensable this time.
He was in Denver’s practice gym every day, preparing his shot to be a focal point of the Nuggets’ bench. He needs a sophomore surge after making only 29.7% of his 3s.
Small Forward | 22 | 6-foot-7 | 200 pounds His 88 blocks ranked 14th in the NBA last season, landing him and — despite playing a fraction of the minutes. “Swatson” is already one of the best rim-protecting wings in the league. But he has much to polish and prove as an offensive player after his inability to space the floor caused Malone to stop playing him during Denver’s second-round playoff series.
Power Forward / Center | 30 | 6-foot-10 | 225 pounds Two minutes after checking into Game 1 of his first career NBA Finals, Saric’s world screeched to a halt. The Croatian big man tore his right ACL, sidelining him for the remainder of the series — which his Suns lost in heartbreaking fashion — and for the entire 2021-22 season. , representing arguably his best chance to make it back to the promised land where he experienced that agonizingly brief taste of action.
Power Forward / Center | 23 | 6-foot-9 | 240 pounds It might not be fair to him, but it’s the reality: Any assessment of Nnaji’s play must be considered in the context of his contract. He’s the fifth highest-paid player on the roster as a goes into effect, but he’s still struggling to find a foothold in the rotation. Whether he’s a four or five is open to debate, but one way or another, the Nuggets probably need to find minutes for him to gain confidence and become a positive asset.
Center | 36 | 6-foot-11 | 265 pounds Beloved by teammates, coaches and front-office executives, Jordan is practically a player-coach at this point. Any given night, he can be spotted outside the huddle, either with an arm around a young player to offer advice, or with his voice in a referee’s ear to impart Denver’s agenda. (He’s the good cop to Malone’s bad cop.
) But don’t be surprised if the Nuggets keep using Jordan as a backup center in certain matchups . Forward | 24 | 6-foot-8 | 215 pounds With Watson nursing a hamstring injury during training camp and preseason play, slotted into the second unit. His outside shooting hasn’t been as good as it needs to be for him to earn consistent playing time, but chances are there will be occasional opportunities for him.
His embrace of the physicality in the NBA game has been encouraging, if overzealous at times. Forward | 27 | 6-foot-8 | 236 pounds The readjustment process might take time for Cancar, who missed last season with a torn left ACL. He shot poorly in a with the Slovenian national team this summer, and he didn’t look fully comfortable in his preseason minutes for Denver.
Still, the Nuggets might need his services at the stretch four when the season starts to feel long. Point Guard | 24 | 6-foot-2 | 202 pounds In theory, he is the Nuggets’ third-string point guard and thus their backup on the occasions when Murray is injured or unavailable. But that’s not how the minutes shook out last season, when was a rookie.
They often went to two-way guard Collin Gillespie (now in Phoenix) or to Braun, who converted from shooting guard to point when necessary. Can Pickett earn more trust? Power Forward | 22 | 6-foot-10 | 225 pounds The Nuggets traded up in the first round of the draft , only for him to tear his right Achilles in his . Denver wanted him to be a plug-and-play rotation big man, but that version of his rookie season has been replaced by a year of rehab.
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