{"id":140261,"date":"2025-05-19T02:27:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T06:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=140261"},"modified":"2025-05-19T02:27:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T06:27:13","slug":"denver-nuggets-offseason-master-plan-draft-sign-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/05\/19\/denver-nuggets-offseason-master-plan-draft-sign-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Denver Nuggets: Draft, Sign, Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been mere hours since the Denver Nuggets were bounced out of the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, but it\u2019s already time to look ahead towards their offseason.<\/p>\n

2025 NBA Offseason: Denver Nuggets Master Plan<\/h2>\n

Draft<\/h3>\n

The Nuggets won\u2019t have any picks in the 2025 NBA Draft. Their first round pick, which would\u2019ve been 25th overall, is heading to the Orlando Magic as part of the Aaron Gordon<\/a> trade. Their second round pick, which they traded for Reggie Jackson<\/a> in a six-team deal, has taken a scenic route to the Phoenix Suns.<\/p>\n

Denver won\u2019t be complaining about this. Gordon has emerged as an essential piece of their championship puzzle, on and off the floor. Jackson is no longer with the Nuggets, but he generally played well during the 2023-24 regular season.<\/p>\n

With that being said, they\u2019ll have at least one rookie on their roster next season, as 2024 No. 22 pick DaRon Holmes II<\/a> tore his Achilles during Summer League. An adept shooter and shot-blocker at 6-foot-10, the hope is that the 22-year-old\u2019s major injury was just a minor setback. According to On SI\u2019s Rylan Stiles, Holmes has looked promising<\/a> in his post-injury practices.<\/p>\n

Free Agency<\/h3>\n

In free agency, the Nuggets will only be able to sign players to minimum contracts, for reasons that HoopsHype\u2019s Mark Deeks explains in full here<\/a>. This is particularly unfortunate for the Nuggets because their depth is definitely a concern. Nevertheless, Denver should be able to snatch up a backup point guard, 3-and-D wing, and 3-and-D forward; their team needs.<\/p>\n

At point guard, their options should include Chris Paul<\/a>, Bruce Brown<\/a> and Dante Exum<\/a>. Though they\u2019re more likely to be looking at teams who offer the mid-level exception, their age and\/or injury history is the primary reason why they might sign bargain deals. With that in mind, their Russell Westbrook<\/a> experiment has shown they need a more methodical and efficient player.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Jun 12, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke celebrates with the Larry O’Brien Trophy after the Nuggets won the 2023 NBA Championship against the Miami Heat at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 3-and-D wing players that they need to look at include Amir Coffey<\/a>, Gary Trent Jr.<\/a>, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker<\/a>. However, Trent and Alexander-Walker are likely to be out of their price range. With that being said, any wing who can provide stouter defense than Julian Strawther<\/a> but still knock down 3s would be welcomed with open arms.<\/p>\n

A few 3-and-D forwards that would be a fit for the Nuggets are Guerschon Yabusele<\/a>, Jake LaRavia<\/a>, and Chris Boucher<\/a>. As it\u2019s possible that each of them will be too expensive for the Nuggets, Taurean Prince<\/a> is an option as well. The key here is having a more reliable 3-point threat than Peyton Watson<\/a> but without a steep defensive drop-off.<\/p>\n

Trade<\/h3>\n

Getting blown out in Game 7 is embarrassing and that emotion has spurred fans to call for Jamal Murray<\/a>, Michael Porter Jr.<\/a> and others to be traded. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater will only cause more chaos and confusion. However, it\u2019s obvious that Nikola Jokic<\/a> has been overburdened.<\/p>\n

To that point, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant<\/a> is actually a terrific fit as Porter\u2019s replacement. Los Angeles Lakers point guard Luka Doncic<\/a> playing alongside Jokic would cause a frenzy. If possible, a sign-and-trade for Lakers forward LeBron James<\/a> could make them instant title favorites. Of those players, Doncic is ironically the most feasible option and only in the event he asks out<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Still, the most realistic trade would be for a role player who\u2019s better than their free agent options.<\/p>\n

Point guards like New Orleans Pelicans defensive stud Jose Alvarado<\/a> or Chicago Bulls two-way playmaker Lonzo Ball<\/a>. Perimeter defenders like Charlotte Hornets wing Josh Green<\/a> or Cleveland Cavaliers wing Isaac Okoro<\/a>. 3-and-D pieces like Suns forward Royce O\u2019Neale<\/a> or Dallas Mavericks forward PJ Washington<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been mere hours since the Denver Nuggets were bounced out of the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, but it\u2019s already time to look ahead towards their offseason. 2025 NBA Offseason: Denver Nuggets Master Plan Draft The Nuggets won\u2019t have any picks in the 2025 NBA Draft. Their first round pick, which would\u2019ve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":140269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,1608,9,30,2,26,62,556,33,13,28,29,34,4721],"tags":[229,4807,109,69,38,1133,1223,98,297,4557,4774,1382],"class_list":["post-140261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nuggets","category-basketball","category-cavaliers","category-mavericks","category-featured","category-lakers","category-nba","category-nba-draft","category-pelicans","category-76ers","category-suns","category-kings","category-spurs","category-trade-rumors","tag-chris-paul","tag-daron-holmes-ii","tag-jamal-murray","tag-kevin-durant","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic","tag-michael-porter-jr","tag-nba-draft","tag-nba-free-agency","tag-nba-offseason","tag-rumors","tag-nba-trade"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140261"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140270,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140261\/revisions\/140270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}