After winning the 2023 NBA championship, the Denver Nuggets are expected to dominate the tournament for a long time. They retained the most important players for this season, except for Bruce Brown Jr.
However, Michael Malone and his team could not defeat a better Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2024 Western semi-finals.
The question now is: What must the Nuggets do to improve the situation? If they want to build a new squad ready for the championship race in the 2024/25 season, Denver will have to consider finding suitable options.
Keeping Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a top priority
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has a personal extension option worth $51.4 million. With his talent, the player born in 1993 can absolutely look for a larger contract this summer. Caldwell-Pope is between two options, either becoming an unfastened free agent (UFA), or extending with the Nuggets.
For the Nuggets, they naturally want to keep Caldwell-Pope, because finding a quality name to replace is not easy with a relatively limited salary budget.
If Caldwell-Pope chooses to leave, the Nuggets must put their trust in Justin Holiday or recruit non-prominent names like Isaac Okoro, Josh Richardson or Taurean Prince.
At age 31, Caldwell-Pope’s contributions may decrease with each passing year. However, he is still considered a comprehensive defensive player with a 3-point success rate of 40.6% in the 2023/24 Regular Season. It’s not surprising that Caldwell-Pope was an important member of the championship of the Nuggets and before that the Lakers. He is still capable of playing regularly in the near future.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, KCP could reach a four-year extension worth $96.8 million with the Nuggets. This would push Denver closer to the limit of the apron tax law, thereby limiting their player recruitment. Michael Malone’s team will have to look for veterans who accept to sign a minimum contract.
Find a replacement for Michael Porter Jr.
Michael Porter Jr. went through a bad Playoff series. He only succeeded in shooting at a rate of 37.1% and shot 3-pointers at only 32.5%. Porter Jr. may be a good rebounder and good defender but his scoring ability is increasingly limited.
If the Denver Nuggets want to upgrade their starting lineup, Porter Jr. is the name that needs to go first. He will turn 26 next season and his salary of $35.9 million will not leave much space in the Nuggets’ salary budget. If MPJ is pushed out, the Nuggets can recruit at least one quality player to the squad.
One of the Nuggets’ biggest problems is the lack of depth on the roster. Nikola Jokic appeared tired during game 7 against the Timberwolves with a total rest time of only 84 seconds. The sale of Porter Jr. to bring in a few other rookies that will help Denver balance the roster.