The Nuggets’ 2026-27 rotation is getting a fresh look, and with DeMar DeRozan and Marvin Bagley III stepping in for Tim Hardaway Jr. and Peyton Watson, the spotlight naturally falls on the stars first. Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon will drive everything Denver does. But there’s also a quieter layer to this roster - a group of players who could swing games without drawing nearly enough attention.
Julian Strawther is one of them. His place in the rotation still isn’t locked in, and the biggest question is whether he can handle the role Tim Hardaway Jr. leaves behind.
Even so, Strawther has earned a little more respect than he gets. The 24-year-old guard is heading into a contract year, and with a bigger job as Denver’s only backup shooting guard, the setup is there for a real jump.
Last season, Strawther put up 7.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 15.1 minutes per game. He also hit career-best marks from the floor, shooting 46.7% overall and 38.7% from three.
The catch is volume - he only took 2.6 threes per game. If Denver bumps him into the 22-25 minute range and lets him fire away, he could give the second unit the scoring punch it needs.
He’s still unproven, and Lonnie Walker IV could take some of those minutes if he makes the final roster, but Strawther is set up for an interesting season.
Cameron Johnson deserves a different kind of reappraisal. His Nuggets stint has already been labeled a disappointment by some fans, especially those who viewed him as a step down from Michael Porter Jr.
The slow start to his first season in Denver didn’t help, and the trade chatter around his 2026 offseason has only made the noise louder. Plenty of fans also weren’t thrilled that the Nuggets kept him over Peyton Watson.
That reaction has buried how useful Johnson can be. After a rough first 11 games, he settled in and played at a high level over his final 43 regular-season appearances, averaging 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.3 stocks per game while shooting 50.1% from the field and 46.8% from deep.
His shooting, efficiency, and ability to stretch the floor mattered a lot for Denver last season, and that same value should carry over into 2026-27. Even with the possibility that he could be moved before February’s deadline, Johnson still helps winning more than a lot of people seem to realize.
Then there’s Trevon Brazile, the Nuggets’ draft-night surprise. Denver traded out of the first round, but still landed a player with first-round upside at No.
- The Arkansas forward was quickly signed to a four-year deal, and while his path to minutes is still unclear, he brings the kind of versatility that can force its way into a rotation.
Brazile is 23 and comes off a final season at Arkansas in which he averaged 13.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 52.5% from the field and 34.1% from three. He affects the game in a little bit of everything, which is exactly why he fits Denver’s style so naturally.
As a lob threat, a defender, and a shooter, he could become a major asset alongside Jokic. The only thing left is earning the chance to show it.
In Other News...
Peyton Watson Opened Up About A Brutal Michael Malone Lesson
Peyton Watsons time in Denver came with the kind of hard-edged coaching that can stick with a young player long after the practice ends. In a recent interview with Michael Porter Jr., Watson revisited a rookie-season moment when Michael Malone called him out in front of the team, a scene Watson said was embarrassing at the time but ended up becoming part of his early education in the NBA.
Watson, who was recently sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade deal from the Nuggets, said the lesson forced him to sharpen his attention to detail and deepen his understanding of the game plan. Porter Jr. echoed that sentiment as they looked back on Malones style, suggesting the Nuggets coachs blunt approach was difficult in the moment but also a big reason young players in Denver kept growing. [Read more 🡒]
LaVar Ball Just Gave Nuggets Fans A New Jokic Debate
LaVar Ball has managed to give Nuggets fans another reason to argue about Nikola Jokic, even if the debate starts from a place that feels pretty far removed from Denvers reality. On his show, Ball said Jokic would not be a fit in his preferred fast-paced system, arguing that the reigning centerpiece in Denver is not the kind of athletic big man he wants running the floor and finishing above the rim. He did acknowledge Jokics talent, but made it clear his idea of how basketball should look leaves little room for a player built like the Nuggets star.
For Denver, the more interesting part is how upside-down that critique sounds when measured against the way Jokic actually plays. His game is built less on sprinting for lobs than on rebounding, vision and passing that can turn a defensive stop into a quick strike before most teams are set. That contrast is why Balls comments land as more than just a hot take, because they reopen the same old question about whether the best offense is the one that looks fastest or the one that keeps finding Jokic in the middle of everything. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Fans Just Got A New Reason To Question Ownership Priorities
Stan Kroenkes sports empire is getting even bigger, and Nuggets fans have another reason to wonder how ownership chooses where to spend. Kroenke Sports & Entertainment has agreed to buy controlling interest in the Los Angeles Angels from Arte Moreno, a deal reported at a MLB-record price north of $3.9 billion, adding another major franchise to a portfolio that already includes Denvers NBA team.
For Nuggets supporters, the timing is hard to ignore because the conversation around the roster has already shifted toward restraint and cost management. Denvers recent trade of Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers only sharpened that focus, with luxury tax considerations hanging over every move and the team already operating under the pressure of the second apron. The question now is whether a growing sports empire means more flexibility or just a clearer line between where the money goes and where it does not. [Read more 🡒]