The Denver Nuggets didn’t do much at the start of the offseason, but a pair of recent moves has started to reshape what their 2026-27 rotation could look like. Peyton Watson is gone to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and DeMar DeRozan is in to help carry the scoring burden off the bench. That doesn’t lock anything in for David Adelman and his staff, but it does give the next version of this roster a much clearer outline.
At the top, the picture is already pretty firm. Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Cameron Johnson, and Jamal Murray are all set to start.
Christian Braun should keep his spot in the first five over DeRozan, though there’s at least a small chance Adelman experiments with Braun coming off the bench. That doesn’t feel like the likeliest path.
The main wrinkle in the starting group comes when Gordon needs a night off. If the Nuggets are smart, there should be plenty of those. Spencer Jones, who started 37 games in 2025-26 while mostly filling in for the injured Gordon, looks like the obvious stand-in again whenever that rest day arrives.
The bench is where things get interesting. It’s not a deep unit, but it can still work if Denver keeps the rotation tight.
DeRozan is the clear sixth man and should play with both the starters and the second group. He gives the Nuggets a different kind of punch than Tim Hardaway Jr. did in that role, because DeRozan lives in the mid-range and at the line instead of bombing away from deep.
That shift matters. Denver will lose some perimeter volume from the second unit, especially after Hardaway hit 224 threes and Watson shot 41.1%.
But Spencer Jones helps offset some of that. His form doesn’t always scream it, but the results do: he hit 39.6% from three in 2025-26.
Jones also brings defense, which matters in a second unit that may need some patchwork lineups. He shouldn’t have to moonlight as the center as often now that Marvin Bagley III is positioned to handle the backup five minutes.
Bagley is the primary answer behind Jokic, though he could also slide in to relieve Gordon, which would let Jones move down and give Johnson a breather. That kind of flexibility is part of the appeal here.
Alpha Diallo could wind up being one of the more important names in the mix. The 29-year-old rookie defensive specialist can guard positions one through four, and if his defense translates, he may play far more than anyone first expected. He’s essentially Denver’s replacement for Watson on that end, so there’s a real path to steady minutes.
The top nine look solid enough, but the Nuggets still need someone to back up Murray at point guard, and that job currently belongs to Tyus Jones. Even then, he may not see a heavy load. Denver could also lean on DeRozan as a point-forward, much like the role he filled at times with the San Antonio Spurs.
Beyond that, the rest of the roster looks more like insurance than part of the regular plan. Zeke Nnaji still hasn’t cracked the rotation during his six years in Denver, and DaRon Holmes II along with Trevon Brazile would seem to have a shot at impressing before Nnaji does. Julian Strawther, meanwhile, appears to be the odd man out again at shooting guard and small forward.
In Other News...
Nuggets Just Made A Jonas Valanciunas Move With Bigger Cap Stakes
Jonas Valanciunas is already out of Denver and onto his next stop in Lithuania, but the Nuggets are still sorting through the financial aftershocks. The club will use the stretch provision on the remaining $2 million cap charge from his contract, pushing the hit over three seasons and giving the front office a little more breathing room as it looks ahead to its books.
The effect is less about this season than the one coming next, when every dollar on the cap sheet matters for a team operating deep in the tax. Denvers move trims its projected luxury tax bill in a meaningful way, a reminder that even a waived player can linger in the ledger long after he is gone from the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Suddenly Face A Big Post-Watson Bench Defense Question
The Nuggets addition of DeMar DeRozan gives the bench another proven scorer, but the bigger question left by the Peyton Watson trade is how Denver replaces the defensive value Watson brought off the bench. Watson was the kind of disruptive perimeter presence that helped the second unit hold up against quicker wings and guards, and his departure leaves a role that cannot be filled simply by adding another bucket-getter.
For that job, Denver may have to look to rookie Alpha Diallo, whose defense stood out in the EuroLeague and earned him Defensive Player of the Year honors. Diallo has the length, activity and discipline to profile as the sort of perimeter stopper Watson was asked to be, but the real test is whether that edge carries over to NBA pace and spacing. For a Nuggets team trying to keep its bench balanced, that translation could matter just as much as DeRozans scoring. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Still Have Two Roster Decisions That Could Matter A Lot
The Nuggets have already done a fair bit of reshaping this summer, moving Peyton Watson, adding DeMar DeRozan and then bringing in rookie Bryce Hopkins on a two-way deal. Even with those moves on the books, Denver still has one standard contract spot and one two-way opening available, leaving a little more room for the front office to tinker before the 2026-27 season arrives.
One name to keep in mind for the last standard deal is Lonnie Walker IV, who looks like the most natural fit if the Nuggets decide to use it. The two-way picture is less settled, too, with Julian Reese now in the organization after being part of the Watson trade. He is still expected to be waived, but Denver could also choose to keep him around a little longer as the roster edges toward completion. [Read more 🡒]