The Minnesota Timberwolves have plenty to feel good about this offseason, and the Denver Nuggets’ latest moves only make that picture brighter.
Minnesota’s headline addition is LaMelo Ball, a move that should be a major swing for the franchise and one that clearly boosts its championship outlook. But the Wolves’ good vibes don’t stop there. Their biggest rivals in the West have spent the summer looking stuck in place, and that matters after Minnesota already showed in the playoffs that Denver has real issues to solve.
The Nuggets have done little to change the roster after getting exposed in the first round for their lack of defense and athleticism. Their only addition so far has been Marvin Bagley III. Then came a weekend that tightened the screws even more.
Oklahoma City put a two-year, $12 million offer sheet in front of Spencer Jones, forcing Denver into a tough spot. The Nuggets matched it, and in doing so, moved into the second apron. That decision now complicates everything else on their board.
Peyton Watson is still in restricted free agency, and Denver has to figure that out next. If the Nuggets want to bring players back in a sign-and-trade, they now need to make a cost-cutting move first.
They can keep pushing deeper into the second apron to re-sign Watson, but that would shrink their flexibility and future options without making them look like a true contender. Denver has long tried to stay away from the aprons, and right now it stands alone as the league’s lone second apron team.
Even if Watson returns, the pressure doesn’t go away. Denver would still likely need to dump salary from one of Cameron Johnson, Aaron Gordon, or Christian Braun just to get back under the second apron. That leaves the Nuggets with a brutal reality: the path to real improvement looks thin, and the offseason has done nothing to suggest they’re closing the gap.
Nikola Jokic will keep Denver dangerous in the regular season, but the Wolves already showed that this version of the Nuggets is not built for playoff success. Watson missed the first-round series, and Gordon missed a lot of it.
At the same time, Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo missed the final two and a half games, essentially three games in DiVincenzo’s case. There’s also a real chance Denver has to get used to playing without one or both of those players next season.
Salary-dumping Johnson or Braun for nothing would not fix the bigger problem. The Nuggets still need actual upgrades, and their defense and lack of athleticism remain glaring issues. Trading Jamal Murray because of his massive salary and shaky defense might be the only real way to change the equation, but that’s a leap Denver does not seem likely to take.
So where does that leave them? Not many places good.
The West is being driven by the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, and keeping up with those teams requires aggression. Minnesota appears to understand that.
If LaMelo Ball delivers, the Wolves may have taken a meaningful step away from Denver this offseason.
Denver’s cap situation has made this messy, but the result is the same: the Nuggets still look like a good team, not a great one. For Minnesota, that’s reason enough to smile.
In Other News...
Naz Reid Could Reopen A Painful Timberwolves Trade Debate
Naz Reids move from Minnesota to Charlotte already had the feel of one of those deals that can age in a hurry, and the reason is simple: the Hornets are expected to give him a much larger role and more minutes than he had with the Timberwolves. For a player whose value has long been tied to what he can do in a bigger offensive lane, that kind of opportunity changes the conversation fast, especially for a Wolves fan base that has seen former players leave and immediately look more comfortable somewhere else.
The trade will also be judged through the lens of what Charlotte is building around LaMelo Ball, whose injury history adds another layer of uncertainty to any long-term evaluation. Minnesota did bring back draft compensation, mostly in the form of swaps, so the final verdict is not just about Reids production in a new uniform but whether the Wolves gave up a useful piece for enough future flexibility. If Reid takes off the way some around the league think he can, this is the sort of deal that could reopen an old debate in Minneapolis. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Suddenly Have The Leonard Miller And Josh Minott Problem
Leonard Miller and Josh Minott barely got a real runway in Minnesota before the Timberwolves moved on, and now both names look a little more complicated in hindsight. Miller was sent out in the Ayo Dosunmu deal, while Minott had his team option declined last summer, decisions that made sense at the time for a team trying to manage its roster and timeline.
Since then, the Wolves depth chart has shifted enough to make forward help a real need, which is why the two former young pieces stand out even more. Miller has flashed with the Bulls, and Minott has shown some useful versatility with the Celtics and Nets, leaving Minnesota to wonder whether the answer at forward might have already been in the building. [Read more 🡒]