Cam Whitmore’s arrival gives the Nuggets one more jolt of athleticism in a summer built around changing the shape of the roster.
Denver’s shortcomings were laid bare in last season’s first-round playoff loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and one issue that came up again at the team’s end-of-season press conference was athleticism. The Nuggets have attacked that problem on the fly, and Whitmore might be the piece that puts the final stamp on the overhaul.
Whitmore, a former first-round pick, is on a two-way contract, which limits him to 50 games. Even so, the Nuggets could move him to a standard deal later in the season if their salary cap situation changes. For now, though, he stands out as one of the most explosive athletes on the roster, maybe even the most athletic Nugget of all.
The bench looks a lot different, and a lot faster, after Denver moved on from Jonas Valanciunas, Tim Hardaway Jr., Bruce Brown, Jalen Pickett, David Roddy, Curtis Jones, and Peyton Watson. Of that group, Watson was really the only notable athletic loss.
In their place, the Nuggets brought in Marvin Bagley, Alpha Diallo, Trevon Brazile, Bryce Hopkins on a two-way deal, Whitmore on a two-way deal, DeMar DeRozan, and possibly Lonnie Walker IV if he earns a spot out of training camp. That’s a clear infusion of bounce, burst, and downhill pressure. Even if DeRozan has lost a step, he still gets to the rim better than Brown or Hardaway.
That athletic depth could matter beyond the highlight plays. If David Adelman chooses to widen his rotation and trim a few minutes from the starters, those new legs could see real run as the season goes on.
The catch is that the Nuggets still have work to do on the other end. The new additions can score, but the defensive side remains a work in progress.
Diallo has the upside to become a difference-maker on the perimeter, and Brazile could potentially help as a rim protector. Beyond that, the group needs development.
That’s where two coaching additions come into focus. Denver brought in defense-minded Dave Joerger, who is expected to serve as Adelman’s lead assistant, and added former CU Buff legend Austin Dufault as a new player development coach.
Their job is straightforward: help the younger players tighten up enough that they don’t have to rely on athletic recovery mode possession after possession. If that happens, the Nuggets won’t just look more explosive. They’ll be much closer to closing the athletic gap that hurt them so badly against Minnesota.
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For Denver, the issue is not just where the team stands now but how it can create enough breathing room to keep building. The Nuggets are operating above the NBAs second-apron threshold, which limits flexibility in a hurry, even as possible cap changes and the use of draft assets could open a better path by the 2027-28 season. [Read more 🡒]