[Hoot Gibson]

Denver is having a great off season. Trading Michael Porter, Jr. to the Nets for Cam Johnson, which freed up cap space was only the beginning. Denver also traded the unplayable Dario Saric for Jonas Valanciunas, who should be a great backup for Jokic. The Nuggets also signed free agents Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway, Jr. The result is that a Denver Nuggets team that lacked depth last season and still took the OKC Thunder to Game 7 in the second round have become one of the deepest teams in the NBA. The Nuggets are at least two deep at every position and they still have an open roster spot if they choose to sign another player.

Also, Daron Holmes, Denver's first round draft choice in 2023, who missed the entire 2024-25 season, will be returning. Holmes will add depth at the 4 and 5 spots.

[-STAT-]

They've definitely been one of the winners of free agency, but of course they don't get talked about or much attention, but the new front office has done what they needed to do to surround the Jokic, Murray & Gordon big 3 with size, shooting, and defense, add in the young guys they already have and still developing, Denver could be a real contender next season.

[Cactus Jack]

I get why they made the move but I think part of what made Denver so tough was having three unicorns in Jokic, Gordon, and Porter. That kind of size and skill across their front line was a match-up nightmare-- guys that size aren't supposed to be able to do those things. Most teams didn't have two players who matched up really well against them all over the floor, much less three without giving up a serious mismatch. When Gordon and Porter were healthy and their shots were falling, the Nuggets were as good as it gets-- having the reigning three-time league MVP, a former dunk contest winner who could swat shots and start the break before hitting a corner three, and the former #1 player in his high school class who stands 6'10 and shoots over 37% from three for his career-- that's a lot even before you factor in Murray.

Think of it this way-- if you are the Nuggets, you probably trust Gordon or Porter to guard Johnson, but would you have the same trust in Johnson guarding either of them? If you don't, you probably don't put him on Murray, so you are probably hoping to hide him on the odd man out at best.

But Porter's health has always been a question mark after having spinal surgery (microdisectomy at L3-L4 nearly a decade ago) and there's always been innuendo about how off-court issues would at least affect his psyche. Gordon is older and coming off an injury himself, but you can still see their thought process in choosing him over Porter. If nothing else, I'll defer to the organization that gets to see each of them train and play everyday and has a world class medical team to evaluate them.

With the Porter's exit, I'd expect to see the Nuggets playing a more conventional style by today's standards, but teams will be able to match-up better (or at least less awkwardly). Sure, Cam Johnson will space the floor better as a spot-up shooter and it will open up new things on offense, but it's easier to put a smaller player on him and get away with it on each end.

I think we'll see teams start to attack Jokic differently. If I'm an opposing coach, I'm looking to test Jokic's cardio now more than ever-- I look to put him in situations defensively where he has to chase a player coming off of a lot of screens and/or defend lots of actions that require him to move his feet and expend energy. If I'm able to wear him out defensively but they still find a way to beat me then I'll live with the results.

Even if Jokic and Gordon are both able to pack it in, I'm seeing if Johnson is the same caliber of defender as Porter. Having a third big who is 6'10 and can step out like that is a luxury even in the NBA, whereas everyone in the league is capable of rolling out line-ups where their third big is a 6'8 shooter that doesn't defend or rebound exceptionally well.

Again, all of this is coming from someone who is a Nuggets fan and wants to see them do well, but this move makes it seem as though a once-dominant force became much more mortal in the age of parity. As is, Jokic gets away with a lot of whistles (or lack thereof) that other players just don't. If DeMarcus Cousins were officiated the same way, he'd have averaged much higher numbers-- that's an argumentative hill that I'll die on. Jokic's durability and luck with officials is going to be pressed even further now that he's only got the "3" in a "3 and D".

Not to say that Porter was an all-world defender (he wasn't), but he meshed really well with what they were trying to do and could at least use his length to contest and hope that Jokic or Gordon got a rebound and started the break (if it wasn't a Gordon contest where Jokic and Porter looked to start the break). Johnson is a subpar defender who they'll live with just being able to contest more times than not.

Offensively, they won't lose a lot, but how just how far they drop defensively remains to be seen. Regardless, you see why it was inevitable that they had to make a move and you can see the reasoning why Porter was the odd man out when it allowed Denver to cut over $30 million in salary and avoid the luxury tax.

[Cactus Jack]

@Hoot Gibson is Valanciunas reporting or what's the deal on that stalemate? He isn't Porter, but it would give them some height and someone that could play well with Jokic.