2024 NBA Offseason: Denver Nuggets

Updated: 5/30/2024

Free Agents:

Justin Holiday, UFA

DeAndre Jordan, UFA

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, PO

Reggie Jackson, PO

2023-24 Season Overview:

The Nuggets were somewhere between first and third in the West for the majority of the campaign, but they have been a different team in the playoffs, so they took it rather easy this season and settled at No. 2. They were basically the same team that just won a title, and their starting five is perfection, but their bench needed more talent. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., meanwhile, were simply poor against the Timberwolves. You really wanted to see one or two of Denver’s young guys take a leap and become part of the regular rotation, but Christian Braun is the only one, and he averages just seven points a game.

Holes:

Sixth Man

2nd Big

Shooting

Offseason Goals

The Nuggets have a very simple offseason ahead, because they lack funds to make a big move, so keeping their starting five is their one “have to” move. The starting point is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and he could net as much as $20 million per season, but it’s such a perfect fit that they can make a fair deal. Three seasons for $50 million or something similar would probably work. Denver should also cheaply return the rest of its free agents, as they fit together well.

The Nuggets could start acting like the Lakers and trade their picks for help, but that isn’t their style, so the only real addition could be their first-round pick at No. 28 in the 2024 NBA Draft. That should be spend on a sixth-man type, and there should be at least a half dozen in their range; Tyler Kolek is my favorite. Denver’s four non-Caldwell-Pope starters are still 28 years old or less, which isn’t fair for the rest of the NBA. The Nuggets just need Braun, Zeke Nnaji and Peyton Watson to be consistently plusses.

Potential 2024-25 Roster

PG: Jamal Murray, Tyler Kolek, Reggie Jackson, Jalen Pickett

SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Christian Braun, Hunter Tyson

SF: Michael Porter, Peyton Watson, Justin Holiday, Julian Strawther

PF: Aaron Gordon, Zeke Nnaji

C: Nikola Jokic, DeAndre Jordan