With training camp closing in, the Nuggets are staring at a familiar roster question: do they keep a spot open for flexibility, or do they use it to add another guard?
Denver currently has 14 players on standard contracts, and there’s been a slight expectation that the team could carry an open slot into the new season. But the need for more depth hasn’t gone away, and that’s why the final roster spot has become something of a two-man race.
Lonnie Walker IV is already lined up for a training camp deal, and now the Nuggets are expected to bring in another guard-wing option: recently waived Cleveland Cavaliers wing Cam Whitmore. The Nuggets have not officially signed Whitmore to a training camp deal yet, but they are the only team with reported interest, according to The Stein Line’s Marc Stein, so it looks close.
That puts Denver in an interesting position. Walker has had the inside track since early August, but Whitmore brings a different kind of appeal. If the Nuggets decide to make that move, they’d be betting on upside.
Whitmore entered the 2023 NBA Draft as one of the most intriguing names in the class, and plenty of people were surprised when he slipped to No. 20. In his rookie season with the Houston Rockets, he put up 12.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 45.4% from the field and 35.9% from 3-point range.
He’s the kind of wing who jumps off the floor and can score in bunches. He can get downhill, put pressure on the defense and finish at the rim.
The raw talent is obvious, even if the full package still hasn’t come together at the NBA level. For Denver, that makes him a classic low-risk, high-reward swing.
Walker, though, has his own case. The 27-year-old spent last season overseas and kept showing he can score. In his last NBA run with the Philadelphia 76ers, he averaged 12.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, which is a strong reminder that he still belongs in the league.
He brings a lot of the same downhill scoring juice as Whitmore, but he looks more polished as a ball-handler and playmaker. That matters here, especially if Denver uses the 15th roster spot on someone who can handle the ball.
That’s why experience feels like the edge. The Nuggets appear to value the safer, more proven option, and Walker fits that mold. He’s also someone they clearly wanted enough this offseason to pull him away from the EuroLeague.
Whitmore’s two-way eligibility adds another layer. It’s not clear whether he’d accept that kind of deal, but if Denver can land him on a risk-free contract, that changes the equation.
For now, though, the likeliest outcome is straightforward: the Nuggets sign Lonnie Walker IV to a standard contract. In the best-case version of this setup, Denver gets Walker on the main roster and Whitmore on a two-way deal. Whether it works out that neatly is another matter.
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