The Nuggets Got Worse This Offseason
The Nuggets have gotten progressively better over the past two seasons, reaching the Western Conference Finals this past season. The Nuggets had a couple of key decisions this offseason, and also had opportunities to get better and improve the team for future runs. But the Nuggets took a step back in terms of talent this offseason, and here’s a breakdown of what they did wrong.
(Note: Drafting RJ Hampton was quite the steal, and I think he’ll be really good. But other than that, they had a bad offseason.
Losing Jerami Grant
Grant was the Nuggets starting SF and he made this team leaps and bounds better. He was an excellent slasher who had an excellent jumpshot, and he really tied this team together. He was an excellent defender and was the Nuggets only defense against the strong Western teams. Grant was the glue guy for this team, and he was really important.
Grant really showed his worth during the Western Conference Finals, where he averaged 16 points and 1 steal per game. He shot 46% from the field and 31% from 3. He also had the task of trying to slow down Lebron James.
Grant was really good this season and that series, and really deserved a new contract from Denver. He declined his $9 million dollar play option, in the hopes of making more money. All the Nuggets had to do was pay him and make him their #1 priority this offseason.
Yeah, that didn’t happen. Grant took a 3yr/$60 Million Dollar Deal from the Pistons. And the Nuggets lost their glue guy just like that. It was disappointing how easy they let Grant walk, even though he was a vital part of their team.
Grant is a very good SF, and the Nuggets are going to miss him and his versatility a lot during the 2020-21 season.
Losing Mason Plumlee
Plumlee has been a solid backup for the Nuggets, one of the most talented backups in the league. Plumlee is a great passer and a solid scorer, although he doesn’t have much of a jumper. But he is still a backup for the Nuggets, and as of right now, he was their only real option. I mean Bol Bol is still very raw and needs to become a lot stronger to be considered a solid role player on the team.
Plumlee was likely the #2 or #3 priority this offseason, and the Nuggets let him walk to. Plumlee also went to Detroit with Jerami Grant, signing a 3yr/$25 Million Dollar Deal. Now this is a lot more than Denver would have payed him, and I wouldn’t recommend the Nuggets paying him that much, but losing him nonetheless hurts.
Now the Nuggets are without their backup center, and will likely have to go smaller and play MPJ at center a bit when Jokic isn’t on the floor, or give a lot more trust to the unproven Bol Bol. I think having Plumlee would help right about now.
Re-Signing Paul Millsap
I thought that the Nuggets would be smart this offseason. They had two young athletic wings in Jerami Grant and MPJ. Re-sign Grant and now you have some potential at forward. But the aging Millsap was not the move. He shouldn’t have been resigned as Denver should have put Grant and Plumlee higher on their lists. Instead they let both of them walk and pay the old man.
Now this contract for Millsap is much better than paying him nearly $30 million a year. The contract is just for one season, at $10 million dollars. While that is much better, I think you would have Jerami Grant right about. Millsap is stills solid, but when you have the opportunity to go younger, then you should go younger. Millsap is 35 years old and will be 36 by seasons end. Signing him shouldn’t have been priority #1 this offseason.
While the contract for the aging Millsap is better, the Nuggets had a chance to go really young with Grant and MPJ at their forward positions, but instead they let Grant walk and resign Millsap, who is in the decline of his career.
Signing JaMychal Green
After losing Grant, the Nuggets got themselves a band-aid from the store in Green. But this band-aid isn’t even a good one. Green is a solid player, a decent shooter but he isn’t as quick and versatile as Grant is. Green isn’t as versatile on defense and can’t stay with guards on the perimeter.
The Nuggets signed Green to a 2yr/$15 Million Dollar Contract, which is a great value for Green, but I’m afraid that this band-aid won’t be great. Green isn’t quick or versatile, and is just like a younger Millsap without the offensive tools. If the Nuggets had envisioned Green becoming a perfect filler for Grant, they are sadly mistaken.
Getting Green is something, but Grant was just so good for this team, and losing him puts a big hole in this Nuggets team. I’m afraid that not much can fix the Nuggets mistake of not bringing back Grant.
The Nuggets offseason was pretty woeful. It starting with getting RJ Hampton, a versatile guard. That was the end of their good fortunes. They lost Grant, who was their glue guy and made this team a lot better. They lost their backup center in Mason Plumlee and now either have to go small or go with the unproven Bol Bol. They signed JaMychal Green in hopes that he would be a band-aid for losing Grant, but he’s just a worse younger Paul Millsap. The Nuggets got considerably worse this offseason, and I view them as a top-5 team in the West from a talent standpoint. Not where they should have been with all the momentum they’ve gained from these past couple of seasons.
Now lets see if the Nuggets can try and make another deep playoff run, although I doubt that’ll happen this year after management fumbled this offseason.
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