The Denver Nuggets are hoping to have a bounceback 2022-23 NBA campaign. Nikola Jokic did everything he could to carry the team last season, winning the MVP award for a second consecutive year. However, the team failed to find as much success on the court without two key contributors in Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.
Murray missed the entire season as he recovered from surgery on his ACL. Porter appeared in only nine games as he underwent another procedure on his back. That left Jokic to do all of the heavy lifting, as the Nuggets were excellent with him on the court but it wasn’t a stretch to say they were the worst team without him.
Looking to change that this offseason, Denver made some changes to its roster. Swiss army knife Bruce Brown was signed away from the Brooklyn Nets and the team also made a trade with the Washington Wizards. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith were acquired in exchange for Monte Morris and Will Barton.
Caldwell-Pope will certainly be an upgrade on the wing when it comes to 3-and-D production, which Denver was in desperate need of. But, as one NBA scout said when talking to NBA Analysis Network, figuring out what to do with Porter and Aaron Gordon is what could determine the team’s level of success.
“One thing I’ll be curious to see how they handle is their wing rotation. I never was a big fan of how Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. fit together. It’s tough to have MPJ guarding 3s, and I don’t think Gordon isn’t fluid enough on the perimeter to do a whole lot. They also have Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, and Nnaji in the mix to utilize, but I see each of them as being at their best playing the four. It just seems like there’s overlap there.”
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There are only so many minutes that Michael Malone will have to hand out in the frontcourt. Jokic will play as many as he can handle as one of the best players in the NBA. After that, Malone could take a bit of a hot-hand approach.
The scout suggested an interesting idea that involves the team going small. Small ball has become very popular in the NBA as teams play more positionless basketball now than ever before. That is something the Nuggets should try as the scout isn’t a fan of DeAndre Jordan’s fit on the team.
“I haven’t been a fan of DeAndre Jordan’s game since even before his time with the Clippers ended. He seems pretty lazy defensively. He plays in a deep drop and you just rarely feel like he’s being assertive. I don’t trust him as a rotation player at this point. I think they should throw out some creative small ball lineups to make the most of all those unique wings they have in their rotation.”
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Giving rotation minutes to Jordan at this stage of his career would be a disservice to the franchise. He hasn’t been a positive impact player in years, evident by the fact that numerous contenders have glued him to the bench.
The Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers all found out the hard way that Jordan can no longer provide productive minutes consistently. His experience makes him a valuable depth piece in case of emergency, but if he is a regular part of the rotation, it could be troublesome.
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Seeing if there is value in going small would be a good move for the Nuggets. Jeff Green has played center previously in his career and Zeke Nnaji can handle minutes there as well. Brown plays bigger than his frame suggests and thrived playing the screener role with the Nets, providing Malone with some flexibility when it comes to his lineups.
