The Denver Nuggets have reached a point where patience is starting to look a lot like hesitation.
With the 2026-27 NBA season on the horizon, Denver still has not solved the restricted free agent situation with Peyton Watson, and plenty of fans are looking at the offseason and wondering where the promised upgrade actually is. The Nuggets came into the summer expected to sharpen the roster after that first-round playoff exit. Instead, they have mostly stood still.
That matters because this is no longer some distant long-term project. Nikola Jokic is 31 and still operating at a level that should keep Denver in the title picture right now.
Last season, he became the first player in NBA history to lead the league in both assists, at 10.7 per game, and rebounds, at 12.9 per game. He remains an unquestioned top-three player in the league.
The question hanging over the Nuggets is whether the team around him is strong enough to match that standard.
Denver does have real pieces. Jamal Murray is the kind of All-Star co-star teams dream about next to Jokic.
Aaron Gordon continues to be one of the league’s most valuable non-stars. Cameron Johnson and Christian Braun also bring value.
On paper, that’s a group with legitimate championship credentials.
But paper doesn’t survive the playoffs.
The hard truth for Denver is that the last few postseasons have changed the conversation. When the Nuggets won the championship in 2023, the window looked wide open.
Since then, they have gone three straight playoff runs without getting back to the Western Conference Finals. That makes the current moment feel less like a celebration of what already happened and more like a warning about what could slip away.
The comparison point is uncomfortable, too. The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are the teams that keep coming up as the Western Conference powers built for the future.
The question is whether this Nuggets roster can beat either one in a seven-game series. Last season, those teams looked like they were operating on a different level.
That’s why the fear in Denver is real: if the Nuggets don’t make meaningful changes, the championship window may already be closed. Maybe the more hopeful read is that the door is still open. But that optimism has to coexist with Jokic’s contract situation, and that part of the story is impossible to ignore.
In each of the last two offseasons, Jokic has passed on signing an extension. There is understandable logic behind that, since he will be eligible for the largest contract in NBA history next offseason. Still, it leaves Denver in an uneasy place.
If Jokic doesn’t believe the Nuggets are on track to contend soon, he would have the chance to leave next summer. That is not the likeliest outcome, and the franchise can always point to the fact that it drafted him with the 41st pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. But the possibility alone is enough to sharpen the pressure on the front office.
The message is pretty clear now: Denver needs to build a real contender around Jokic, and it needs to do it soon. Not just to chase another title after 2023, but to give the best player in the world a reason to stay put.
In Other News...
Nuggets Draft Record Is Raising A Tough Question About Their Depth
The Nuggets used the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft to add Trevon Brazile and Bryce Hopkins, continuing a run of draft-night maneuvering that has become a familiar part of their roster building. Over the past five years, Denver has been active in trades around draft night, bringing in players such as DaRon Holmes, Jalen Pickett, Julian Strawther and Hunter Tyson, with the results ranging from useful rotation pieces to shorter-lived swings.
What makes the latest additions worth watching is the larger question they sit inside. Denver has tried to keep adding forward depth through the draft while also sorting out the back end of the roster, and the movement around recent picks has only sharpened that conversation. Picketts departure and Tysons quick path elsewhere are reminders that finding a lasting foothold in Denver is still a challenge, even for players the Nuggets have invested in. [Read more 🡒]