5 offseason needs for the Denver Nuggets

2. Get help on the wing

One of the favorite movies of mothers of millennials across the United States was Top Gun, a film about Navy fighter pilots starring Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer. The movie begins with some Tomcat pilots engaging with Russian Mig-28 pilots. One of the Mig pilots gets missile lock on Cougar and Merlin, who are flying alongside Maverick and Goose. While both planes escape the encounter unscathed, Cougar suffers a mental breakdown and is unable to return to deck without assistance. Maverick returns to Cougar’s side, risking his life and the life of his Radar Intercept Officer, and guides him back safely to the aircraft carrier.

Later, while Maverick and Goose are celebrating their appointment to the Naval Fighter Weapons School at a bar, a woman catches the eye of the young pilot. Maverick, confident in his ability, recruits Goose to help him woo the lady, regaling her with a heartfelt song. While he was successful in helping Cougar back to safety, Maverick strikes out with Charlie at the bar.

Why do I bring up these scenes from a movie made over 30 years ago? It’s because we’ve known for over 30 years that having a good wingman is of the utmost importance, both in good times and in bad.

The Nuggets only got 43 games from Will Barton, with the swingman getting placed on the shelf with a hip injury that limited him the entire season. While he missed the first half of the season, he was never really himself once he came back, struggling to finish in the paint with his typical flair and creativity, and lacking confidence in his outside jumper. He has never been a difference maker on defense, and while he can improve his effort and execution, he’s not going to get any taller in the offseason.

Torrey Craig was a diamond in the rough, giving the Nuggets a hustle defender and rebounder who could occasionally knock in a 3-pointer. While Craig was the Nuggets best defensive option at small forward this season, his limited offensive game and poor timing sometimes clogged up the swirling ball movement that helped the Nuggets win so many games.

Malik Beasley was the Nuggets best 3-point shooter this season and thrived on and off the court. He has entrenched himself as a reliable contributor off the bench behind Gary Harris, and if he can improve as a rebounder in the offseason, could find himself featured in more 3-guard lineups next season. Beasley has the athleticism and scoring ability to be one of the core players for a championship team in Denver, and is in line for a big role on the team next season.

While his fellow 2016 draft teammates Jamal Murray and Malik Beasley broke out this year, Juancho Hernangomez did the opposite of breaking out. The Spanish forward played just 141 minutes after the All-Star break, finding himself on the outside of the rotation while the Nuggets went with smaller lineups or put Mason Plumlee at backup power forward. While Hernangomez had his highlights this season and still has the shooting touch that helped him get minutes early in the season, the defensive breakdowns were too much for Malone to keep him on the court. If Hernangomez has a future with the Nuggets, he’ll need to improve on the defensive end of the court so that he can secure a backup role at the power forward position.

The only time Michael Porter Jr. put on a Nuggets jersey this season was for photo shoots, as the Nuggets 2018 first round draft pick sat out the year to recover from back surgery. The former Mizzou Tiger was one of the highest-ranked high school prospects, and if he had been able to enter the NBA draft straight out of high school, likely would have been a top-5 pick. In his exit interviews, Porter expressed confidence that he is healthy and will be able to participate in the 2019 Summer League.

The Nuggets are going to likely have to find their wing help for the 2019-20 season from this group of players. They don’t have a pick in the draft, and while they can probably buy a second-round pick from a team that

needs

wants the cash, that player is unlikely going to play himself ahead of the other players already on the team.

If the Nuggets are able to create the cap space by re-working Millsap’s contract, perhaps they can afford an offer for Kelly Oubre, but outside of the former Jayhawk, there aren’t many options in free agency that are a logical fit and have an interest in joining the Nuggets.