Denver Post beat writer Bennett Durando opens up the Nuggets Mailbag periodically during the season and offseason. You can submit a Nuggets- or NBA-related question here.
Hey Bennett, will we see much from Julian Strawther or Jalen Pickett this year? It seems like they’re going to be losing minutes after all those new guys we signed.
— Mark, Arvada
I actually think they’ll get pretty decent playing time over the course of the regular season. That doesn’t mean they’ll be in the rotation for all 82 games. But even before the “interim” tag was removed earlier this year, coach David Adelman was very articulate about his belief that Denver needs to find a way to get to the playoffs without burning out the starters in 2025-26. Guys like Strawther and Pickett are part of that formula, at minimum. My guess is that Adelman wouldn’t have played 33-year-old Reggie Jackson 82 games two seasons ago, and he won’t play 33-year-old Tim Hardaway Jr. 82 games next season.
That being said, Denver’s bench ultimately will be a meritocracy. Strawther (Game 6) and Pickett (Sacramento) both showed encouraging flashes late last season, but if they play poorly, they’ll play less. The Nuggets should have enough depth for that to be the case now more than last year. “This is going to be an open competition; I hope our young guys understand that,” Adelman told The Denver Post in July. There’s nothing ambiguous about his approach to this.
And what’s the future for Zeke Nnaji? We’re paying a lot for a guy who’s riding the bench.
— Mark, Arvada
When you get paid more, expectations are obviously loftier. (See Jamal Murray.) Nnaji has been held to a higher standard than Denver’s other young players in the court of public opinion since he signed the extension. He simply hasn’t been an $8 million-per-year player.
Now, I do think he deserves some grace. The last couple of years have been awkward to navigate mentally while trying to make it in the league. Nobody got caught by the shrapnel of Denver’s internal strife between Michael Malone and Calvin Booth quite as much as Nnaji, whose position was a topic of constant litigation. I am curious to see if he can play more freely and produce more consistently with that conflict out of the way.
On the other hand … his position is still being litigated. Malone and Booth being fired doesn’t necessarily change that. The numbers make it seem fairly obvious that he’s better suited to play only the four, but versatility is how role players stick around in the NBA. Nnaji is listed as a “forward/center” on the official roster. It’s probably a fair critique to say he needs to be somewhat capable in both roles to be worth his contract.
The situation is pretty stagnant for now. The Nuggets openly tried to trade him at the deadline last season. If he doesn’t recoup some of his value on the court, it’s difficult to see them finding any takers any time soon. He’s low on the pecking order in Denver, but the new regime could at least be something of a fresh start for him.
Who’s going to be the Nuggets’ second-leading scorer this year? Jamal Murray’s been that guy, but Cam Johnson looked great with a terrible team last year, and if Christian Braun takes another step up, he could be special this year. Thanks.
— Mike, Denver
Don’t overthink this one. It’s Murray, health abiding.
So I’ll pretend you asked a slightly different question instead: I could see any of Johnson, Braun or Aaron Gordon being Denver’s third-leading scorer. Johnson is the easiest bet, considering he averaged 18.8 points in Brooklyn last season on a similar number of field goal attempts (13.1) and 3-point attempts (7.2) to what Michael Porter Jr. took with the Nuggets.
But Nikola Jokic also tends to cultivate a pretty natural balance of opportunities for various teammates to finish possessions. Braun should score plenty as a cutter and roller in the half-court, in addition to his transition leak-outs. How opponents guard Gordon on the perimeter will be a key storyline to watch early in the season. Will he continue to get open looks after his career year as a 3-point shooter? Or will most of his scoring have to be from the dunker spot if defenses start to respect his range?
It seems reasonable to expect all three of those starters to average somewhere between 14 and 17 points. I’ll go Johnson third, Gordon fourth, Braun fifth.
The good news, if you’re a Nuggets fan, is that all three of them have sturdy team-first reputations. Any of them would probably roll their eyes at this topic. Still, it’s a fun question to debate (especially at the point of the offseason where we’ve run out of things to talk about).
Last year, you predicted if there was going to be a seventh different champion in seven seasons, it would be Philadelphia. Not quite. So I ask you now, who is most likely to be the eighth different champ in as many years?
— Ed, Aurora
Geez, who predicted that? Why would you ever listen to that guy?
In fairness, I wrote that Oklahoma City was the most likely Western Conference candidate, then acknowledged that I was getting cute with the Philly pick. But that’s fine, I’ll own it, Ed.
So the Nuggets, Thunder and Lakers are the main contenders disqualified from this prompt. I could convince myself that Houston gets over the hump with the addition of Kevin Durant, or that Anthony Edwards reaches an MVP level and takes Minnesota to the promised land. But for the distinction of “most likely,” I’m once again compelled to pick an Eastern Conference contender with an easier path to the Finals. Give me the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Hi Bennett, I was looking at your All-Century Nuggets team, and I was shocked Antonio McDyess was rated so low. Nene was a solid starter for Denver, but McDyess was special when he was here. Out-of-the-world athleticism, he was well on his way to becoming the next Shawn Kemp or Dominique Wilkins if knee injuries didn’t derail his career.
— Ryan M., Denver
Fair question, Ryan. McDyess did receive one First-Team vote, matter of fact. I omitted him from my ballot, though, a decision that ultimately came down to the 21st-century cutoff. It had nothing to do with his talent. We based our votes on the 25 full seasons played this century so far — starting with 2000-01. That means that if you’re playing by our rules, McDyess (a six-year Nugget) had only 80 games eligible to be considered for this exercise.
He was an All-Star in 2000-01, hence the Third-Team inclusion. But most of us valued the longevity of players like Gordon and Nene over the higher highs of McDyess. If this were a “last 30 years” project, he might’ve been on my First Team as well. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the rest of the roster we chose.