The Nuggets became a hipster NBA favorite during the 2016-17 season. Players like Jamal Murray and Gary Harris showed real long-term promise. The team found an identity in moving the ball, playing hard and executing. At the center of it all was Nikola Jokic, a big man who gives the Nuggets a legit franchise cornerstone to build around for the next 10 years. It was no fluke that they had the league’s best offense once Jokic was inserted into the starting lineup.
And yet, the team just missed the playoffs. They probably wouldn’t have advanced in the playoffs — such is life when you’d have to face the Warriors in the first round — but the Nuggets weren’t quite ready for the postseason anyway. This year is about taking that next step.
Over the summer, the Nuggets made the moves to just do that. Danilo Gallinari is a loss — the team is now thin at small forward — but it’s not an insurmountable one. By parting ways with Gallinari, the Nuggets created the space they needed to sign Paul Millsap, a veteran leader who fits perfectly as a frontcourt partner for Jokic.
Millsap is strong enough to battle inside against bulkier fours, can defend a little on the perimeter and replaces some of what Gallinari brought from behind the arc. He also provides necessary rebounding help for Jokic, who had a habit last year of not always going for rebounds after playing strong defense for an entire possession. Millsap won’t eat up cap space as the Nuggets begin signing extensions, either, because he’s signed to a shorter, team-friendly contract.
In one preseason game, you can already see how Millsap fits into Denver’s system. He and Jokic overlapped some and took up each other’s space in the halfcourt, but that will change over time. And Millsap can rub off on all of the Nuggets’ young players along the way. While this still isn’t a team ready to contend now — Jokic is 22, Harris is 23 and Murray is 21 — they’ll be able to get there in time. Millsap has been on competitive teams and know what it takes to get there even though he hasn’t competed in anything beyond an Eastern Conference Finals. This year is the first year towards that future.
A lot of their success will depend on internal growth. Jokic, if he’s in better shape, needs to improve as a rebounder and show he can carry a team over the course of a full season now that opponents have a better idea of what to expect. Murray showed flashes last year of being a capable lead guard, particularly in an offense that moves as much as the Nuggets’ and has a hub like Jokic pulling all of the strings. The key for him is to become more effective all around and being better on defense. Then there’s Harris, who would benefit from developing as a ball handler and as a shooter.
There’s also Emmanuel Mudiay to consider. After a rough sophomore season that saw him possibly fall out of Denver’s plans, he’s been the talk of Nuggets camp and started recently against the Lakers. If he can show improvement this year as a ball handler and generally look like a starting quality NBA player, he gives the Nuggets another playmaker who can fit into their system and maybe keep the offense flowing when Jokic sits.
It all, of course, comes down to Jokic. What he did last year was incredible and puts him in a category with Karl-Anthony Towns, Joel Embiid and Kristaps Porzingis. But fair or not, he has to be that guy for the entire year this season. If he does it, and the rest of the Nuggets click around him, the playoffs are a realistic goal for Denver.
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Will the Nuggets be a legitimate title contender someday? Maybe — it’s too early to tell. But this year is the first step towards figuring it out.