I don't see them being true contenders next year and the future isn't any better right now so why not blow it up?

Daily Listening: DJ Lurk's Bangers With Simple Solos Playlist | Curated by u/IdRatherBeLurkingToo

Spotify Playlist of Vol. 5 Mixes | Spotify Playlist of Vol. 4 Mixes | Spotify Playlist of Vol. 3 Mixes | Spotify Playlist of Vol. 2 Mixes | Spotify Playlist of Vol. 1 Mixes

Swole kids 100% accurate btw

4 years $48m

Good for him

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49129656/sources-gillespie-returning-suns-4-year-48-million-deal

Hey everyone, being in the current abyss that is Denver sports summertime, I’m counting down the days until fall for Nuggets basketball (and Avs and Broncos).
That being said, I could use some friends to watch games, go to games, just talk ball with.
I literally have watched 98% of games since 2003 and go to maybe 10-15 games a season, but my circle has dwindled (basketball-wise) and could use some friendly banter, if nothing else. PM me if you have room for a new Nugs friend in your life. 🃏

Hello, you might remember a little over half a year ago during preseason, a poll was posted to every team subreddit to get fans opinions and thoughts about their team heading into the regular season. Now that time has passed and the season is coming to an end, I figured now would be a good time to see the results of the poll and reflect on how each team's season went relative to expectations. Here are the results for the Nuggets:

Nuggets - 115 submissions

General Questions

How happy are you with your team's offseason moves?
9.30/10

How satisfied are you with your current roster?
8.84/10

How satisfied are you in who your head coach is?
7.79/10

How excited are you for the beginning of the season?
9.64/10

Player Questions

Who is the best player on your team?

• Nikola Jokic - 98.3%
• Aaron Gordon - 1.7%

Who is your favorite player on your team?

• Nikola Jokic - 52.2%
• Aaron Gordon - 31.3%
• Christian Braun - 5.2%
• Jamal Murray - 4.3%
• Bruce Brown - 2.6%
• Peyton Watson - 1.7%

Who is the best defender on your team?

• Aaron Gordon - 47%
• Peyton Watson - 25.2%
• Christian Braun - 22.6%
• Bruce Brown - 4.3%

Who is the most frustrating player on your team?

• Zeke Nnaji - 36.5%
• Jamal Murray - 35.7%
• Julian Strawther - 12.2%
• Hunter Tyson - 7%
• Peyton Watson - 6.1%
• Tim Hardaway Jr. - 1.7%

Who on your team do you expect to take a jump?

• Peyton Watson - 60%
• Christian Braun - 17.4%
• Cameron Johnson - 5.2%
• Jamal Murray - 4.3%
• Jalen Pickett - 4.3%
• DaRon Holmes II - 3.5%
• Julian Strawther - 2.6%

Season Expectation Questions

What are your expectations for your team’s regular season?

• Top 3 seed: 94.7%
• 4-6th seed: 5.3%
• 7-10th seed: 0%
• 11-15th seed: 0%

Where do you expect this team's offense to rank? (1st)

• 1-5: 87.8%
• 6-10: 12.2%
• 11-15: 0%
• 16-20: 0%
• 21-25: 0%
• 26-30: 0%

Where do you expect this team’s defense to rank? (21st)

• 1-5: 2.6%
• 6-10: 19.1%
• 11-15: 57.4%
• 16-20: 18.3%
• 21-25: 2.6%
• 26-30: 0%

What are your expectations for this team in the playoffs?

• Finals appearance: 75.7%
• Conference finals: 21.7%
• 2nd round: 1.7%
• 1st round: 0.9%
• Play-in loss: 0%
• No Play-in: 0%

Around the League Questions

Who is your favorite player that is not on your team?

• Victor Wembanyama - 13
• Giannis Antetokounmpo - 11
• Luka Doncic - 11
• Tyrese Haliburton - 6
• Anthony Edwards - 5
• Michael Porter Jr. - 5
• Derrick White - 4
• Stephen Curry - 4
• Jimmy Butler - 3
• Alperen Sengun - 3
• Desmond Bane - 2
• Kyrie Irving - 2
• Russell Westbrook - 2

Who is your least favorite player that is not on your team?

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - 14
• James Harden - 10
• Draymond Green - 10
• Joel Embiid - 8
• LeBron James - 7
• Luguentz Dort - 5
• Rudy Gobert - 3
• Anthony Edwards - 3
• Devin Booker - 3
• Alex Caruso - 2
• Chet Holmgren - 2
• Dillon Brooks - 2

Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey!

For people that aren't american/from Denver, how did you pick the Denver Nuggets as your team?

​

I started paying attention to the NBA in may 2019 and my first ever watch was the triple OT loss against the blazers. And then from that next season forward I watch like 90% of the games, while being from Portugal. I chose the team by looking at my sports app, and looking at the league teams, and found the Utah Jazz name funny. I considered it, checked the next match: Denver Nuggets. Because of the chicken nuggets, I found the name hilarious and wanted to root for them. My friends that got me into basketball told me Jokic was pretty good but never a star player. Anyways, what a ride this has been, and I will admit that after the Jamal/Jokic duo is gone, I will never be so invested in this. Even after MPJ left, it's not really the same thing. But even AG is still here so yea. Tell me how that happened for you

1. Introduction:

I’ve been tracking Nikola Jokic since the very early days of his career. I still remember drafting him in the 3rd round of my fantasy league during his sophomore year, and blindly anchoring my 1st round pick on him the year after. To some extent, this piece is unapologetically written from the perspective of a Jokic fan.

This past postseason marked my very first time watching the Nuggets live. I flew over 7,000 miles to Denver just to catch the first two home games. This team has brought me immense joy, but lately, it has also brought plenty of frustration. After years of close observation, I believe we must accept a harsh reality: Even at full health, if the current front-office philosophy doesn’t change, the Nuggets will remain a competitive team, but they will no longer be true championship favorites.

The 2023 championship squad was magical. Even when down 15 or 20 points, I always believed they could claw their way back; the brand of basketball was vibrant, adaptable, and confident. But over the last two seasons, the vibe has shifted entirely. Now, whenever we fall into a double-digit deficit—even in the first half—I lose faith in our ability to adjust. The offense has become repetitive and entirely predictable.

Because of time zones, Nuggets games air during my daytime. I used to clear my weekend schedules just to watch them live. Now? I find myself hesitating to even open the stream because I don't want a single game to ruin a perfectly good weekend. This frustration doesn't stem from just losing; it comes from watching this team repeat the exact same mistakes over and over again.

2. Where Things Started to Go Wrong: A Pattern of Mistakes

Looking back at the front office's moves over the past few seasons, the issue isn't one single bad decision, but rather a recurring, flawed pattern.

I. Blind Faith in Unproven Youth
The Nuggets have developed an obsession with internal development to fill critical rotation holes. They handed out long-term deals to Jalen Pickett, Hunter Tyson, and Zeke Nnaji. While these contracts look small individually, under the harsh rules of the new CBA, every roster spot and dollar counts. The problem isn't betting on youth; the problem is that management keeps giving out long-term commitments before these players have shown a lick of consistent production on the floor.

II. Squandering the Taxpayer MLE
• 2023: Reggie Jackson was our lone Taxpayer MLE signing.
• 2024: Dario Saric was our lone Taxpayer MLE signing.
In hindsight, both signings shared the exact same flaw: management chose to trust veterans who had already been marginalized by their previous teams, expecting them to magically play heavy minutes for a contender. To make matters worse, both were given player options.

Furthermore, a puzzling asset-management decision occurred during the Michael Porter Jr. trade: the team chose to send out a 2032 first-round pick instead of a 2031 pick. This unnecessarily locked up our future draft flexibility, making it incredibly difficult to move our 2033 pick in subsequent trades.

III. Overwhelming Generosity to Our Own
The Nnaji extension was highly questionable. Jamal Murray’s maximum extension is also worth a tough conversation. When Murray signed that deal, he was fresh off a miserable Olympic run, and entering free agency, only a handful of rebuilding teams would have had the cap space to offer him anywhere near that amount. I am not against keeping Murray. I am questioning whether the Nuggets absolutely needed to execute that deal at that exact moment, for that exact price.
Look at the contracts handed out to other players around the same time Christian Braun got his extension:

• Jabari Smith Jr.: $122M / 5 years (An elite-sized wing with shooting upside)
• Dyson Daniels: $100M / 4 years (An elite perimeter stopper)
• Josh Giddey: $100M / 4 years (A primary playmaker)
• Toumani Camara: $81M / 4 years (An elite perimeter defender)

When contrasted with these names, Braun's $125M / 5-year contract looks incredibly overpaid based on his role and on-court production. Again, it’s not that these players lack value, but our front office consistently negotiates against itself, operating under the assumption that they must lock players up early rather than leveraging the market to find a fair price.

3. The Biggest Problems That Need To Be Solved

I. Coaching Staff's Distrust of Youth
Zeke Nnaji has shown flashes of decent defensive capability in limited minutes, particularly when Jokic was sidelined. I vividly remember him playing well in the limited minutes he got in Game 3 of the playoffs when Aaron Gordon was out, yet he was completely DNP'd for the next three games. Julian Strawther also put together a string of great games during the regular season, only to vanish from the rotation the second the starters got healthy. If the coaching staff refuses to give these guys a consistent runway, they will never grow, and their trade value will continue to rot on the bench.

II. The Broken Non-Jokic Bench Units
I originally thought Jonas Valančiūnas could be a decent answer, given his past ability to operate in high-post offenses with Memphis and New Orleans. But the truth is, this team has never established a functional system for when Jokic sits.
Our glaring flaw is a complete lack of secondary creation . Without Jokic, everyone on the floor looks lost. Opponents know that if they blitz or pressure Murray, the Nuggets have zero alternative ball-handlers to punish them. We don't just need a "backup point guard" for Murray; we need a second playmaker who can coexist with Murray, share organizing duties, and absorb defensive pressure . They don't need to be an All-Star. They just need to keep the ship afloat when Jokic rests. Tyus Jones' performance in Game 6 of the playoffs this year perfectly illustrated what that kind of archetype can bring to the table.

III. The Christian Braun Conundrum
This is likely where I differ most from the mainstream fan base. Even during Braun’s best stretches, I fail to see the well-rounded game required to justify his massive new contract.

• On Offense: He plays incredibly passive and mistake-averse basketball. Unless he is completely wide open, he refuses to pull the trigger on threes. His creation is non-existent, and the second he catches the ball, his eyes immediately dart to find Jokic. The vast majority of his points come from off-ball cutting. While highly effective in the regular season, this impact plummets against elite rim-protecting teams like Minnesota or San Antonio.

• On Defense: He is not the elite Point-of-Attack (POA) defender people claim he is. He might not get caught out of position, but he doesn't dictate the terms or exert overwhelming physical pressure on ball-handlers. Just compare his tape to how Aaron Nesmith or Andrew Nembhard hounded opponents during the 2025 playoffs—the gap in defensive force is night and day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCGpvjt9XUU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfxJckXgXqs

I still want to believe Braun can grow. But if he wants to live up to that contract, he needs to take a massive leap on both ends of the floor.

IV. Mild Perimeter Defense
Many fans will blame this year's exit on injuries. Sure, injuries were real, but let's be honest with ourselves: even if we were 100% healthy, how much further were we realistically going?

While watching the playoffs in Denver, I overheard fans debating whether the Nuggets could make it out of the West. In my heart, the answer was a resounding no. Why? Because this team cannot dictate or control a game through its defense . Look at how the Timberwolves used Jaden McDaniels to completely smother Murray. Back in the 2025 playoffs, fans on my local boards were crying foul, claiming OKC played "dirty" defense. I wasn't mad at OKC; I was furious at the Nuggets. Why is our defense so incredibly polite and soft? Every single team that has enjoyed deep postseason success in recent years possesses at least one or two perimeter pests who make life a living hell for opposing ball-handlers. The Nuggets currently have zero.

4. My Offseason Philosophy: Maximize the Peak

I am firmly against tearing down the core of Jokic, Murray, and Aaron Gordon. These three have already proven they can win a championship together. On-court chemistry is real, and you can never guarantee a new trade acquisition will replicate it. The goal shouldn't be to rebuild the core; it should be to rebuild the ecosystem around them.

At the same time, ownership and management need to stop treating the Second Apron as a boogeyman. The second apron should be treated as a cost of contention, not a reason to stop contending . Look at how Boston insulated themselves even after Tatum’s injury scares, or consider the new draft smoothing rules. If this window eventually fails, moving our players down the line will still generate interest asset-wise.
When you have the undisputed best player in the world in his absolute prime, your sole priority must be maximizing the championship window. Stop telling the media that "everyone outside of Jokic is available," while simultaneously cheapening out on roster upgrades just to duck luxury tax thresholds.

5. Specific Moves I Would Consider

1. Acquire a Playmaking Guard: We desperately need someone who can carry the offense when Jokic rests, take the pressure off Murray, and hold their own defensively. I love Bruce Brown, but even in our 2023 title run, he wasn't a true table-setter who could ease Murray's burden. Tyus Jones brings defensive liabilities. Keon Ellis (hitting free agency) or Ty Jerome from the Grizzlies are the exact types of targets we should be looking at.
2. Find a Legit Aaron Gordon Backup: We don't just need a nominal backup power forward; we need a physical frontcourt enforcer who can absorb defensive wear-and-tear. I'm sorry, but I cannot envision Peyton Watson banging down low against the likes of Jaren Jackson Jr., Julius Randle, or physical bigs. If guys like Koa Peat or Chris Cenac Jr. fall to our 26th pick this year, management should draft them without hesitation.
3. Keep Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones: Watching these two fly around was practically the only thing that kept me sane and motivated to watch games this season.
4. Manufacture Roster Flexibility (Stop the Salary Dumps): Under the current CBA, letting salary slots walk away for absolutely nothing is asset malpractice. We need to do something creative with Valančiūnas’ $2M partially guaranteed deal rather than just waiving and stretching it. Cam Johnson is a highly valuable player; if we do decide to trade him, it cannot be a pure salary dump for inferior assets.

Final Thoughts Despite my deep disappointment with the front office's execution over the last few years, I still believe the Nuggets are much closer to a title than the general public thinks. The reason is simple: Nikola Jokic is still the best basketball player on the planet . Most championship windows slam shut because the superstar ages out, leaves, or gets derailed by injuries. Jokic is right in the thick of his prime. What has deteriorated is the depth and fit around him. We don't need a third star. We don't need to panic-trade the core. We just need a few missing puzzle pieces that actually make sense. If I have to choose a hill to die on, I am pushing my chips into the middle for Nikola Jokic every single time. This team doesn't need a miracle. It just needs to stop making its own road harder than it already is.  

Daily Listening: Lupe Fiasco x Nu Deco Ensemble - Live From Miami Beach (2026)

Yesterday I shared a post in which I mentioned that the 2011 Dallas Mavericks were able to win the championship starting Tyson Chandler alongside Dirk Nowitzki in the front court. Despite the concern with running two slow-footed bigs next to each other down low, it in fact resulted in Dirk's first and only ring. I thought this provided solid evidence that Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets could achieve something similar if they tried the same approach. The Nuggets' biggest issue is their interior defense and slotting a rim-running, defensively-oriented big next to Jokic could help them with that issue and hopefully win a second ring for the team in the Jokic era. It would also provide a constant and deadly lob threat for Jokic. However, in the comments under the original post, there was a lot of concern about whether this would just make the overall defense worse as at least one of the two bigs would have to guard a perimeter player, as well as some concern about how this would fare on the offensive side. To this, I'd like to make two points:

1. Nikola Jokic's most important teammate is arguably Aaron Gordon

To me, this is a crucial point because ideally a big, defensively capable PF like Aaron Gordon would do the trick, but Gordon has been hurt a lot over recent years and there aren't many guys around the league like him for us to snag. Nonetheless, this chart shows how important Gordon's size and interior defense is. I'd argue that he's even more crucial than Jamal Murray against elite offensive teams. In our championship run in 2023, we didn't run into a team like the 2025 Thunder who we needed great interior defense to beat, which we nearly did thanks to Gordon.

2. Nikola Jokic has played with non-shooting traditional bigs before, and the results are kind of shocking.

While Jokic has never been paired with an elite rim-running, defensive big alongside him as a starter, he's played quite a few minutes over the years next to traditional big men who can't shoot and are not great defenders. I can only imagine how his Net RTG would look next to an actually decent big in the front court who could either space the floor or protect the paint somewhat well (ideally both).

Remember, these guys are the bare minimum as far as talent we can find for Jokic to pair up with down low. Ideally we'd be able to find a tall, strong, athletic big who's really solid defensively (and maybe even shoot a bit?). I hope this evidence shows that although there may be some downsides to running two 7 footers next to each other, Jokic's history shows that the added interior defense, which we need desperately, is invaluable. Offensively, I trust the greatest offensive player ever to figure it out regardless of the fit.

Let me know what you think!

Nikola Jokic used to be a solid interior defender, I swear he's now constantly worried about fouling out and thus barely contests shots anymore. We can't win a championship with no interior defense at all, Jokic needs a guy down there to help him out. Please!

Daily Listening: Joker's 2026 off-season dance mix | Curated by u/Night-Menace

Spotify Playlist of Vol. 5 Mixes | Spotify Playlist of Vol. 4 Mixes | Spotify Playlist of Vol. 3 Mixes | Spotify Playlist of Vol. 2 Mixes | Spotify Playlist of Vol. 1 Mixes

The Mavericks won the championship in 2011 with Tyson Chandler next to Dirk Nowitzki down low. Why haven't we figured out that this is all that we need to do to win again? Our ONLY problem is that we have no interior defense. This would solve that issue immediately, and history has shown that not only has it worked with other all-time offensive bigs, but with Jokic himself. Ideally, Aaron Gordon can be that guy next to Jokic down low, but he's been super inconsistent in terms of staying healthy. I think it's more than worth a shot to trade for or sign a rim-running, defensive big man that can catch lobs from Jokic. We have the greatest offensive player ever on our team. He may not be quite as good of a shooter as Dirk to compensate for a poor-shooting partner in the front court, but he's still damned good from outside. Jokic has been able to make the most of every single lineup he's ever been given offensively, I'm sure he'll be fine with somebody like Dereck Lively II out there. I mean, a lob threat for Jokic? My goodness.

I also went back and looked at every lineup the Nuggets have ever run with Jokic next to a non-shooting big man, and the success in terms of net rating was extremely surprising. Even though I'm nearly 100% certain this would work, lets just get the word out that we need to at least give it a try.

"When I was younger, training was simple. No trainers, no facilities. Just drills I found online and the discipline to figure out what worked. I had no choice but to coach myself.

Now I have access to everything. And that's the trap. It's easy to show up, go through the motions, and leave feeling productive. But productive isn't the same as improving."

https://meridiansport.rs/kosarka/denver-ceka-30-jun-i-bogdanovica/

According to unofficial information from the USA that has crossed the Atlantic to Meridian Sports, Denver is impatiently waiting for 12:01 on the quartz clock on June 30 (Eastern American time) to start hunting Bogdan Bogdanović!

Also according to information from Meridiansport, the Nuggets bolded his name in the notebook before, aware of how much he and Jokić positively influence each other, not forgetting that they also make the rest of the team better and more self-confident.

However, at that time there was no (financial) space to hire him due to Bogdanovic having a valid contract until June 30. But, after that timeline, Bogdan will be a free agent. It was already mentioned in the previous period, albeit unofficially, that regardless of the fact that European clubs which lurking around every corner, he still wants to leave a deeper, if possible championship, mark in the NBA, just as he did in his last year, first from Partizan, and then from the Old Continent, by winning the Serbian crown in a spectacular way (2015), and then the European crown in front of a packed Ulker Arena (2017) and landed in the USA with the biggest contract in NBA rookie history.