The Denver Nuggets haven’t exactly looked settled out of the gate, and that’s left the door open for possible roster changes. With salary cap constraints limiting what they could do over the offseason, the Nuggets have had a thin margin for upgrades, but that hasn’t stopped them from being linked to a backcourt addition.
One name now tied to Denver is Kevin Porter Jr. According to The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer, the Nuggets have expressed interest in him, along with Sacramento.
“Yet several teams, sources say, are still evaluating their respective backcourts and could emerge as potential Porter suitors depending on how things unfold. Two such teams, according to sources, are Denver and Sacramento,” Fischer wrote.
Porter would give Denver another scoring option off the bench, the kind of streaky shot-making that can swing a second unit in a hurry. For a team still sorting through some uneven early-season performances, that kind of move could make sense.
The Nuggets have already had a few rough moments, including their win over the New Orleans Pelicans, when they found themselves in a big hole before rallying. After that game, Nikola Jokic pushed back at fans who booed the team.
“I think the fans that booed us are not welcome here anymore, if you ask me… if you guys follow us, you know that we never quit and we came back from much worse for similar situations,” Jokic said.
Then came Monday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors, a game that got away from Denver late. Jokic sat out the final four minutes as Golden State pulled away for its first win of the season.
As Yahoo Sports’ Dan Devine put it, “Nikola Jokić watched the final three and a half minutes of Monday night's matchup with the Golden State Warriors from the bench. Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman had pulled his starters after a Gui Santos 3-pointer gave the visitors a 21-point lead - the sort of deficit that not even a three-time NBA Most Valuable Player could erase, even if he and his teammates were playing at the peak of their powers,”
With the Nuggets still working through a sluggish start, the idea of adding another guard to the mix is at least one path they appear to be considering.
In Other News...
Nuggets Just Got A Reminder About The Wolves Without Anthony Edwards
Minnesotas latest injury update is a familiar one for the Nuggets to keep in mind, because Anthony Edwards has already gone through arthroscopic knee surgery and is expected to miss a couple of months. It is a significant blow for a Timberwolves team that leans on Edwards as its engine, but it is not uncharted territory for a group that has shown it can still function without him, including during last springs playoff matchup with Denver.
The Nuggets will also have to remember that Minnesota is not short on ways to survive a star absence. With other pieces capable of taking on more, the Wolves believe they can keep competing while Edwards is out, which makes the schedule ahead worth watching from Denvers side. Their next two meetings come at the end of December, and there is at least a chance the picture looks different by then. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Suddenly Have An Energy Issue They Can't Ignore
Through the first three games, the Nuggets have looked better at one end of the glass and noticeably shakier at the other. Their offensive rebounding has climbed into the top five early on, a sign the coaching staffs emphasis on crashing the boards is already showing up, but the defensive side has been a different story. Denver is giving away too many extra chances, and that has become an early energy test the team cannot really dismiss.
Nikola Jokics presence usually steadies that area, which is why his quieter start there stands out so much. After leading the league on the glass last season, he has been held to 7 rebounds in both the Thunder and Warriors games, and the Nuggets have felt the difference. It is still a tiny sample, but if Denver is going to clean up this part of its game, it likely starts with Jokic setting a firmer tone on the defensive boards. [Read more 🡒]
DeMar DeRozan Could Quietly Solve A Nuggets Problem Around Jokic
Denver has opened the season 1-2, and the early offensive picture has looked a little too familiar in the wrong way: Nikola Jokic is still the hub, but the spacing around him has not been crisp enough. A big part of the reason DeMar DeRozan has been worth watching is the way he has slotted in as a bench scorer, giving the Nuggets another creator who can take pressure off the front line when the half-court game bogs down.
What makes his role even more interesting is the possibility that his outside shot might be coming along at the right time. With the Nuggets dealing with multiple injuries and the perimeter numbers lagging, any real boost from DeRozan beyond the arc would matter a lot for an offense that needs more reliable shooting around Jokic. If that part of his game keeps trending up, it could quietly change how Denver manages the minutes and matchups that have already started to define its early-season rotation. [Read more 🡒]