The Nuggets’ offseason already took one painful hit when Tim Hardaway Jr. walked in free agency, and that loss may end up mattering almost as much in the short term as anything else Denver dealt with this summer.
Hardaway fit cleanly into the roster. He stretched the floor, kept the ball moving, and gave the Nuggets the kind of three-point volume they badly needed.
He was one of the team’s most dependable offensive pieces over the course of the season, and with Michael Porter Jr. gone a year earlier, Denver’s outside shooting picture has only thinned out further. Jamal Murray remains the main perimeter threat, but the Nuggets don’t have much else out there that forces defenses to stay honest.
Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic can both make shots, but they are not the kind of players defenses chase off the line. Cam Johnson is probably the closest thing Denver has to a true movement shooter, yet his production has been uneven, and the Nuggets need far more than simple spacing from him.
That is why Buddy Hield suddenly matters. The Hawks traded Hield to the Hornets, who are expected to waive the 33-year-old Bahamian, and that opens a possible lane for Denver to add a needed shooter without spending much.
Hield has made 39.5% of his career three-pointers on 7.3 attempts per game. His best days may be behind him, but he could still supply useful bench minutes and punish defenses when Jokic and Murray create clean looks for him. Even if he is no longer the same player, teams still have to account for him.
That alone makes him interesting for a Nuggets team that already has its share of one-dimensional role players and defensive liabilities. Hield would bring one elite skill that remains highly valuable: shooting. He might not solve everything, but he would at least give Denver another body defenses cannot ignore.
And with the Nuggets operating without much flexibility, the margins matter. They already explored DeMar DeRozan for a veteran scorer and creator, and Hield offers a similar kind of swing in a different lane - a veteran sharpshooter who could help fill the gap Hardaway left behind.
In Other News...
Cam Whitmore Arrives With A Real Chance To Matter For Denver
The Nuggets added another swing-for-the-fences piece to the edge of their roster by bringing in Cam Whitmore on a two-way contract after his release in a five-team deal that sent him out of Washington. For a team operating with limited cap flexibility, the move fits Denvers habit of hunting for upside wherever it can find it, and Whitmore arrives with the kind of pedigree that makes him more than just a flyer.
He also brings a small jersey wrinkle into the mix, settling on No. 00 for Denver, a number last worn by Markus Howard in 2022. On a roster where the margins matter, the fit is still the bigger question, especially after Whitmore came in with two familiar numbers already spoken for, leaving the Nuggets to see how quickly a high-ceiling player can carve out a role. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Face A Brutal Jokic Era Roster Squeeze Milwaukee Never Did
The Bucks summer reset, after moving on from Giannis Antetokounmpo, has invited the usual round of comparisons to Denvers future around Nikola Jokic. But the Nuggets are operating in a very different kind of squeeze, one shaped less by a clean break from a championship core than by the burdens that come with trying to keep one intact under the modern cap system.
For Denver, the issue is not simply paying to stay competitive. The stricter luxury-tax environment leaves far less room to patch holes or add midseason help, and the clubs history of smaller tax bills only sharpens the contrast with teams that have long treated spending as part of the price of contention. The result is a roster-building problem that could force difficult moves, even if the path forward is not as straightforward as the Bucks post-title pivot. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets May Face Another Roster Squeeze Before Camp Begins
Ryan Nembhard has quietly become a name to watch around Denver as camp approaches. The former Hornets guard is expected to be waived by Charlotte, and the Nuggets are reportedly among the teams showing strong interest in bringing him in on a two-way contract. For a team always looking to balance upside with flexibility, it is the kind of low-cost move that can matter long after the news cycle moves on.
The catch is that Denver does not have an open two-way slot, which means any move for Nembhard would require some roster maneuvering before it can happen. That part is where the story gets interesting for the Nuggets, because a possible addition in the backcourt could force a decision on one of their current developmental pieces before training camp even begins. [Read more 🡒]