As I detailed yesterday, the Denver Nuggets have placed themselves in a position to succeed. With nearly $20 million in cap space right now and upwards of $40 million next offseason, they have the money to lure a big-name free agent.
Now, all they need is the credibility.
In the NBA, no superstar is going to choose a small-market team that doesn’t have a legitimate chance at winning the NBA title, no matter how much money they have on the table. You need credibility, a winning culture and, most importantly, a plan for the future.
Right now, it’s hard to make a case that the Nuggets have any.
In terms of credibility, the meeting with Dwyane Wade definitely helped, but only time will tell how much. And while I believe Michael Malone has begun the foundation of a strong culture within the Nuggets locker room, I can’t say it’s a “winning culture” because they haven’t won.
The “plan for the future” part, though, is where it gets interesting. The Nuggets have a bright, young core. In guys like Nikola Jokic, Emmanuel Mudiay, Gary Harris, Jusuf Nurkic and Jamal Murray, Denver has guys with All-Star ceilings, if not All Pro. And that’s without mentioning veterans like Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Will Barton and Kenneth Faried.
Oh, and I can’t forget Darrell Arthur and Joffrey Lauvergne. Or Axel Toupane and Jakarr Sampson. Ah! I don’t want to leave out the player/coaches in Mike Miller and Jameer Nelson, either.
And that’s my point: Denver may be overdosing on talent (not a bad thing), but there’s so much going on that drafting a clear picture of their future is difficult.
With the reported news that Juancho Hernangomez is coming over to the NBA this season, Tim Connelly now has 17 players under contract (they can only take 15 into the season), and they’re still $20 million under the salary cap with no way to spend it.
Just look at this depth chart. Where are you going to put a top-tier free agent, a guy who’s going to be worth a large chunk of that salary cap space, this year or next? (The only major contributor coming off the books next season is Gallo, who’ll have a player option)
POINT GUARD
Emmanuel Mudiay
Jameer Nelson
SHOOTING GUARD
Gary Harris
Jamal Murray
Will Barton
Malik Beasley
SMALL FORWARD
Danilo Gallinari
Wilson Chandler
Axel Toupane
JaKarr Sampson
Mike Miller
POWER FORWARD
Kenneth Faried
Darrell Arthur
Juancho Hernangomez
CENTER
Nikola Jokic
Jusuf Nurkic
Joffrey Lauvergne
The Denver Nuggets have more assets than they know what to do with, and that, in this case, is not a good thing. If nothing changes, they’ll enter the 2017 offseason with upwards of $40 million in cap space but no roster spots to use it on.
What Connelly needs to do is consolidate those assets and trade for an All Star. And he needs to do it right now.
Yes, Connelly could wait until the trade deadline — he could even wait until next offseason — but if the Nuggets want to prove that they can be a marquee destination for a marquee free agent, they need to make a power move as soon as possible.
The Nuggets need to take the next step now, not next season. They need to prove that not only are they a playoff team but that they’re on the verge of contention. That won’t be accomplished with this young core alone.
If they can bring in a proven All Star, contend for a top-four seed in the West and enter next offseason with a shimmering glow surrounding their future, they’ll be in the position to actually use some of that wallet-shattering cap space on a second All Star.
In today’s NBA, you can’t win with one star; you need three or four to truly contend.
The Nuggets have a path to accomplishing just that, and it starts with trading for one right now. After that, you sign another next offseason and then hope that one or two of your young assets can develop into an All-Star talent, too — they’re not that far off.
