After trading away Peyton Watson, the Nuggets moved quickly to add former Kings forward DeMar DeRozan. How will he fit alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray?
The Sacramento Kings got younger this offseason, bringing in Darius Acuff Jr., Emanuel Sharp, and Alex Karaban through the draft, and parting ways with veteran pieces like DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook had an offer to return to the Kings, but opted for retirement, ending an illustrious NBA career.
DeRozan, on the other hand, had been weighing his options since being bought out by Sacramento, before signing with the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
About an hour before the news broke, I reported on Denver's increased interest in the six-time All Star, as the team just traded Peyton Watson on Thursday.
Later that night, DeRozan agreed to a one-year, $3.9 million deal, joining three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and a Nuggets team looking to return to championship ways.
There was initial interest from teams like the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors, but with Miami opting to sign Klay Thompson and the Raptors hashing out the Kawhi Leonard investigation, Denver pounced on the opportunity.
While DeRozan is not the athletic scorer he once was, he will definitely benefit from Jokic's playmaking attention and gravity, while giving the Nuggets another guy who can create his own shot.
While defense has been the weak point for Denver over the past few seasons, having Aaron Gordon healthy and Christian Braun continuing to grow should improve things on that end.
Offensively, DeRozan can play a similar role to Gordon, running the baseline and spacing when Jokic has the ball in the post.
DeRozan averaged 18.4 points per game this past season in Sac Town, shooting a stellar 49.7 percent from the field.
This showing marked the fifth time in DeRozan's career shooting 49 percent or better, a highly efficient mark for a jump-shooting wing.
DeRozan's availability has also stayed steady, playing in 74 or more games for the past five seasons.
This type of consistency and availability will be a big boost to Denver's playoff hopes, especially considering the injury issues the team has endured over their past few runs.
DeRozan will also be pushing for NBA history with the Nuggets, as another similar statistical season will have him closing in on Shaquille O'Neal for a place within the top 10 point scorers to ever lace them up.
Last season, DeRozan passed multiple current and past legends on his way up the list, including John Havlicek, Paul Pierce, Tim Duncan, Stephen Curry, Dominique Wilkins and, most recently, Oscar Robertson.
While critics may point to DeRozan's negative advanced metrics or lack of postseason success, his place in scoring history is becoming difficult to ignore.
Denver gives DeRozan a good opportunity to remain efficient as a scorer and push towards that elusive NBA Championship.
