As the 2026 NBA Draft concluded, the Denver Nuggets’ two biggest rivals in the NBA’s Western Conference have improved their rosters, and now have even better teams than they did last season. The Nuggets themselves are arguably… less.
There are a pair of new Nuggets, both picked in the second round, and at least one of them is projected as a “nice depth piece” and a “two-way candidate.” Hardly inspiring.
Denver did add a “power forward” in Arkansas’s Trevon Brazile, whose upside is he’s 6’ 10” and can shoot from the outside (sounds very much like a younger version of “power forward” DaRon Holmes), and who’s downside is, according to ESPN, that he’s “slight (listed at 230 lbs) for a power forward, and struggles with physicality and consistency at times.”
During the recently abbreviated postseason, the entire Nuggets team struggled with physicality and consistency. Nice to see that their top draft pick is going to fit right in.
There’s no “power” there. And make no mistake, Denver needs a lot more “power.”
Their second pick was used on oft-injured 6’7” forward Bryce Hopkins, whose serious knee injury has “sapped some of his athleticism,” but who can “provide depth given Denver’s salary cap woes.”
Not so great.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City improved a lot in the same area where Denver has a gaping hole, drafting Michigan “monster” big man (7’4”) Aday Mara to add to their already formidable front court. San Antonio added a pair of inside players, snagging talented Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance before adding even more inside muscle – in a trade with the Nuggets, no less – to grab UConn’s Tarris Reed Jr. (6’11”, 265), another brute in the paint. And remember, this outfit already has Victor Wembanyana.
Denver badly needs a player like Reed.
Frustrated fans (and perhaps even Josh Kroenke) want to know what in the heck they were thinking in the Nuggets war room? They traded away a first-round pick who could potentially fill a need – to a division and conference rival no less – and made that team better. And remember, Denver is on the verge of losing their only true backup center (Jonas Valanciunas) to a Euro League team… again, to save money.
All in the name of acquiring cap space and “draft capital?”
Any and all player movement on the part of the Nuggets’ front office since the NBA season ended has (appeared at least) to be strictly about saving money and trying to re-sign wing Peyton Watson, at whatever the cost. In other words, basically “running it back” with most of a squad that couldn’t get out of the first round of the playoffs.
News flash: The skinny Watson is no Aaron Gordon. He’s never going to be able to play effectively down under the basket to help Nikola Jokic, or bring the ball up and take the load off Jamal Murray. Those are Denver’s two glaring needs. Wing is where they don’t need help, but where they seem to be focusing.
Head-scratching.
As of right now – even if they’re fully healthy – the Denver Nuggets are not a threat to win the Western Conference. Not with this roster. If they go into next season with this current roster, including Watson, they will be wasting another year of Jokic’s prime.
Then again… maybe… maybe there’s something bigger brewing? Maybe Denver really is in on a potential trade for Boston’s Jaylen Brown? If that (or anything similar) really happens, then the rest of this makes a little more sense, except the part about trading Reed Jr. to the Spurs. That will never make sense, even if it saves dollars.
