The Denver Nuggets regressed this past season finishing 21 games worse than they did in 2012-13. Injuries, a coaching change, and new general manager all factored into that drop in the standings. With no cap space available and a couple of bad contracts on the roster, Denver faces a challenging off-season in trying to get pointed back in the right direction.
Denver Nuggets (36-46 last year)
2014-15 Projected Depth Chart:
C: J.J. Hickson/Timofey Mozgov/JaVale McGee
PF: Kenneth Faried/^Darrell Arthur/Anthony Randolph
SF: Wilson Chandler/Danilo Gallinari/*Quincy Miller
SG: Randy Foye/Evan Fournier
PG: Ty Lawson/^Nate Robinson
NBA Free Agents:
^PF-Darrell Arthur (PO)
^PG-Nate Robinson (PO)
PG-Aaron Brooks (UFA)
PF-Jan Vesely (UFA)
*SF-Quincy Miller (TO)
2014-15 Team Salary: approximately $64.7 million
Team Needs:
1. Creativity:
The Nuggets won’t have much flexibility in free agency. Simply using their mid-level exception and relying on a healthy Danilo Gallinari and JaVale McGee to right the ship isn’t going to be enough. Gallinari and McGee each have two years and more than $22 million left on their contracts so if Denver can somehow sucker some team into taken on their contracts, it needs to be done.
With that option unlikely, the Nuggets should explore trade options with every player on their roster. I am not saying they need to completely blow up the ship but nobody should be untouchable, not even Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried, or their first round pick.
2. Get Defensive:
Only two teams allowed more points than the Nuggets did this past season. Losing JaVale McGee early on hurt because he was the only true rim protector on the roster. Whether they add a new face or two who can provide more tenacity on the defensive end, or make more of a commitment on that side of the floor, actually trying to stop the other team from scoring would be a good idea.
3. Back-up Point Guard:
With Aaron Brooks a free agent and Nate Robinson having the ability to opt out of the final year of his contract, the Nuggets should be searching for a backup point guard to Ty Lawson. They could go the cheap route via free agency or there could be some candidates like Tyler Ennis or Elfrid Payton available when Denver picks 11th overall in the 2014 NBA Draft.
OTHER NBA OFF-SEASON TEAM NEEDS PAGES:
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Milwaukee to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag), and finished with the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft (nearly a three-peat.) You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.