The NBA inevitably moves on.

As the teams, coaches, and fans react to the player movement around the NBA and the world prepares for the Paris Olympics, a group of 14 players ready themselves for Las Vegas Summer League.

The Denver Nuggets, led by special assistant to the head coach Andrew Munson, are gearing up for the annual summer event. The team will partake in four official practices at Ball Arena in Denver before a quick flight to Vegas. The Nuggets will play at least five games, four of which are on the schedule below:

Every year, all 30 teams gather in Vegas and compete in a relatively informal setting. Often, high-profile rookies are the featured players on the floor. For the Nuggets, first-round pick DaRon Holmes II will be of particular interest, as will the three other players on the full-time roster: Julian Strawther, Jalen Pickett, and Hunter Tyson. All four players have made a positive impression in the early practices, and all four seem ready to take centerstage in Vegas soon enough.

Beyond them, the Nuggets signed Creighton guard Trey Alexander and Clemson big man PJ Hall to two-way contracts immediately after the 2024 NBA Draft concluded. They will get significant opportunities to showcase their skill sets as well. Alexander in particular is already making a strong first impression, and it’s clear that Hall really knows how to play and be impactful.

After those six, there are eight more spots on Denver’s Summer League team currently accounted for:

Some, like guards Armaan Franklin and Au’Diese Toney, have familiarity with the Nuggets already, having played with either the Summer League or G League teams in past years. Sy Chatman is a forward the Nuggets have known about for awhile and offered a spot to fill out big man depth.

Some, like guard Jahmir Young and forwards Gabe McClothan and Jaylin Williams, signed Exhibit 10 contracts with the Nuggets a couple weeks ago. They are expected to compete for the final two-way spot on the Nuggets roster, among a whole host of other players on the Nuggets summer roster and other NBA squads.

The final two spots should be of interest to all Nuggets fans: Walter Ellis and Parker Braun. Ellis is the son of Nuggets great LaPhonso Ellis, having played at Grand Canyon for two seasons before getting a couple opportunities in Summer League. Ellis spent last year with the Nuggets G League team. He can really shoot the ball when he’s out there, so keep an eye on him whenever he checks in.

Parker Braun is the older brother of Christian Braun, having spent five seasons at Missouri, Santa Clara, and Kansas in his final year. He got the invite after the season when his brother Christian told him about the opportunity. He didn’t believe it for another few weeks or so, but he’s in the gym and helping orchestrate things as a passer from the elbows. More on Parker in another article soon.

So, what should Nuggets fans expect from this group?

Smart, skilled frontcourt play

It looks like, barring unforeseen changes, that they Nuggets will start Jalen Pickett, Julian Strawther, Hunter Tyson, DaRon Holmes, and PJ Hall in their first game. That could change in time, and there will be plenty of opportunities to go smaller with Trey Alexander off the bench. Initially though, the Nuggets will likely play Hall at the starting center spot. He’s been impressive in practices so far and can serve as a real post presence, especially on switches. Hall sees the floor really well, and he made some nice passes in the scrimmage we watched on Wednesday.

Hall’s connection with former Clemson roommate Hunter Tyson will be on display. Tyson’s shooting the ball better than anyone in practice, and his ability to go off the dribble, rebound, and make plays will complement Hall.

If anyone’s a bit behind, it might be first-round pick DaRon Holmes. It took him a bit to get adjusted, but Michael Malone shared on Wednesday that he’s seen growth in the rookie from day to day.

“You could tell Day 1, it was a lot coming at him. It was better Day 2, and it was better Day 3. Settling down, simplifying some things, and getting used to our terminology and how we play.”

Each game in Summer League will likely be similar for Holmes, so judgments of his game should probably wait until the end rather than reacting to how he plays initially.

Trey Alexander stands out

Denver’s other two-way player, Creighton guard Trey Alexander, is likely to come off the bench to start things off. As the games go on, I expect him to find his way into the starting lineup and get more opportunities, especially if he plays in Las Vegas the way he’s played in the Nuggets gym.

“Trey, I’ve been really impressed with him,” Malone shared Wednesday. “His ability to play on the ball, off the ball, get by people, make his teammates better, shoot the ball. He’s been really well coached obviously at Creighton.”

Alexander was of course good enough to get drafted, but he wanted to come to the Nuggets. When it was clear Denver wouldn’t have a second round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, they found a way to get him here anyway, and Alexander wanted to be here too because he sees an opportunity.

“Obviously, we have JP (Jalen Pickett) at point guard, then we have Jamal who can play either position,” Alexander shared. “I feel like myself, I can play either position, so I feel like there’s always a situation where you can have somebody playing the 1 or the 2…I like the way that Coach Malone coaches this team, and we’ve had a lot of talks since I’ve signed with them about what types of opportunities would be presented in my development.”

Depending on what happens with a certain Los Angeles Clippers point guard in the next few months, the Nuggets backcourt rotation is suddenly very thin with Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope departing. A strong Summer League showing from Alexander might make the coaching staff think twice about whether Alexander could contribute sooner rather than later.

Can Jalen Pickett or Julian Strawther make the right impression?

The aforementioned Jackson and Caldwell-Pope leaving of course impacts Pickett and Strawther more strongly than Alexander at this time. Right now, Pickett is penciled into backup point guard minutes, while Strawther is penciled into backup shooting guard. Russell Westbrook might shift things around in time, but Pickett and Strawther have to be ready to go right now for a Nuggets squad with championship aspirations.

Pickett is 24 and will turn 25 right as the season begins. His time is now for showing what he can do. He excelled in the G League last year, but his initial Summer League was a bit more tentative than where he says he’s at now.

“Completely [different] ends of the scale,” Pickett shared of his confidence level then versus now. “Last year, I didn’t know what to expect. I was pretty confident coming in just from a good college season…now, I know most of the guys that are playing and who we’re going against, so the confidence is high.”

If Pickett can lead the Nuggets squad to some wins, perhaps that will give Malone and the Nuggets coaching staff a bit more confidence to deploy him in an NBA setting.

Strawther played 50 games for the Nuggets last season and was in the regular rotation before sustaining an injury in January. Malone likes his skill level and ability to create shots for himself and others. Strawther’s path to the rotation is a bit more simple than Pickett’s. There’s only one other shooting guard on the roster right now: expected starter Christian Braun.

The Nuggets struggled with their 3-point shooting volume and efficiency for much of last season, and the expectation is that Strawther can take a leap as a scorer and shooter. Seeing some growth in both categories at the Summer League level would offer some confidence in that plan, along with some additional playmaking responsibility.

The Nuggets need Strawther to be good immediately. It’s a lot of pressure. How he responds will be telling.