DENVER NUGGETS
Last season: 50-32, lost to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference semifinals.
COACH: David Adelman (1st full season, 3-0 in regular season in 2024-25 and 7-7 in the playoffs).
SEASON OPENER: Oct. 23 at Golden State.
DEPARTURES: F Michael Porter Jr., C-F Dario Saric, SF Vlatko Cancar.
ADDITIONS: F Cam Johnson, G Bruce Brown, G Tim Hardaway Jr., C Jonas Valanciunas.
BetMGM championship odds: 5 1/2-1.
What to expect
The Nuggets' new front office duo of Ben Tenzer and Jonathan Wallace gave superstar Nikola Jokic the depth he asked for after the Nuggets were eliminated from the playoffs by the championship-bound Thunder in seven games. With the additions of several veterans, the starters should get more rest in the regular season and not be so spent by the time the playoffs arrive. A deeper rotation in the postseason also should help the Nuggets in their quest to leapfrog the Thunder and get back to the NBA Finals. Point guard Jamal Murray appears refreshed after some difficult offseason experiences in the past when he dealt with injuries and inconsistencies in international play.
Strengths and weaknesses
The good: The Nuggets are surrounding the best player on the planet with enough co-stars to give the franchise a chance to win multiple titles in Jokic's prime. Johnson is a sharpshooting wing player who's an upgrade from Porter, whom the Nuggets traded to Brooklyn in a deal that also saved them some money and gave them roster flexibility. Brown was a key component of the Nuggets' championship run two years ago and is eager to return to the city where he enjoyed so much of his career success. Valanciunas should give Jokic some much-needed breathers.
The not-so-good: Adelman is still raw as a head coach despite tons of experience as an assistant. How he and his bevy of new assistants stack the building blocks of chemistry will go a long way toward determining if the Nuggets can mesh all these new parts and actually make a championship run like they did under veteran coach Michael Malone Jr. in 2022-23. Adelman plans to play Jokic and Valanciunas together on the court at times, and all eyes will be on how that experiment plays out.
Players to watch
In addition to all their newcomers, the Nuggets also get 2024 first-round pick DaRon Holmes back from a torn Achilles tendon that sidelined him as a rookie. He could very well be the wild card for Denver this season.
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AP NBA: http://apnews.com/hub/NBA
