Nikola Jokić says Denver Nuggets ‘definitely need’ to add more depth on next year’s roster

The Denver Nuggets are headed home after a Game 7 loss in the conference semifinals for the second consecutive year, and face some difficult decisions this offseason. 

Nikola Jokić remains one of the game’s most dominant forces, but the lack of depth on the Nuggets roster remains an issue and appears at this point to be an untenable situation without some major changes. The group of Jokić, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun all performed well this postseason, but beyond that quartet there are a lot of questions. 

Michael Porter Jr. struggled mightily, and even understanding he was playing through a shoulder injury, his fit with this particular group (at his massive salary) is in question. For as helpful as he was against the Clippers, Russell Westbrook was equally destructive in his minutes against the Thunder. Peyton Watson gave them occasional bursts of energy but still isn’t a trusted part of the rotation, even with David Adelman at the helm. Julian Strawther helped win them Game 6, but couldn’t replicate that showing in Game 7. 

Maximizing Jokić’s prime has to be the most important thing for the Nuggets, and for as much as Jokić likes to avoid discussing roster moves, even he noted that the team “definitely needs” to add more depth this summer. 

Jokić isn’t saying anything people don’t know, but it is notable that he sees the trend shifting in how teams need to be constructed. For a long time before their title run, the Nuggets had depth but lacked the tight playoff rotation needed to win. They built that in 2022-23, with an eight-man rotation that was the best in the sport, but have seen it deteriorate ever since. 

When the Nuggets won their championship, they looked like a team that could win multiple titles. They had the best player in the world in Nikola Jokić, a guard in Jamal Murray who was an ideal complement on offense and had built out an eight-man rotation that fit together perfectly. The problem was they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) re-sign everyone. 

Those role players who flourished as depth pieces around Jokić and Murray were in line for big pay days and found more money elsewhere. Bruce Brown and Jeff Green left that summer in free agency for Indiana and Houston, respectively, and then Kentavious Caldwell-Pope departed a year later for Orlando. 

While they were capped on what they could pay Brown, not re-signing Caldwell-Pope was a financial decision and the Nuggets hopes that they could replace those pieces with young players never quite panned out. Braun has grown into a reliable starter, but Peyton Watson hasn’t fully found footing in the rotation and Zeke Nnaji has simply not panned out. 

Even in an era where it seems anyone can be had for the right price, Jokić is a true untouchable. One would think Murray, Gordon and Braun are pretty close to that line, but that doesn’t leave a lot of avenues to make a major change unless there is a team out there that believes Michael Porter Jr. is being held back in his current role. Denver likely goes shopping for Porter Jr. trades, but at his salary, it’ll be hard to even turn him into one or two positive rotation pieces. 

What will make Denver’s offseason even more interesting is they are set to hire a new front office after announcing Calvin Booth won’t return as general manager. If they hire someone from the outside, there won’t be the same emotional attachment to the core group that won them a title, and perhaps a more cold, calculated hand would be willing to discuss trades on some of the players that fans may view as untouchable. 

This is the new way of the NBA world, where title windows open and close in a blink of an eye. The Nuggets can re-open theirs quicker than others because of Jokić, but it might take some uncomfortable changes to get there.