David Adelman addresses the Denver Nuggets roster and its biggest need.
After losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games in the second round of the NBA playoffs in 2025, the Nuggets made roster changes in the offseason.
Though Denver hung tough with the eventual NBA champions, their lack of bench showed up against the deepest team in the league.
Denver addressed that issue in the offseason, adding Tim Hardaway Jr as a reliable knockdown shooter, acquiring Jonas Valanciunas to backup Jokic in hopes of not bleeding points when their MVP candidate sat, and bringing back Bruce Brown, a physical defender and shooter who was part of the 2023 Nuggets team that won the championship.
They also traded Michael Porter Jr to the Brooklyn Nets for Cameron Johnson after Porter Jr, who played through a shoulder injury, had a disappointing playoffs with the team.
Despite a variety of injuries in the regular season, the team finished third in the West. Once the playoffs started, the group fell below expectations.
Biggest Roster Need
Many things went wrong for the Nuggets in their first round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. They couldn't get timely stops on the defensive end, Nikola Jokic struggled more often than fans are accustomed to, and Jamal Murray didn't look like the same player he was in the regular season.
Combined with injuries to Peyton Watson and Aaron Gordon, and role players underperforming, it's easy to see why Denver fell in six.
Speaking to the media at an end of season press conference, Nuggets head coach David Adelman addressed the biggest need for Denver.
“We’ve talked about the teams who we’ve lost to (in the playoffs) in the last three years, and I do think that what stood out was ball-handling. Handling pressure. … That really hurt us. And I thought, you know, athleticism is part of the league. The league is younger. The league changes fast. … We have to rely on more people to bring the ball up the floor. And we have guys on our team that have gotten better at it over the years, but if somebody’s out, other people have to step up. And then on top of that, I have to put them in a situation that’s comfortable for them. … It’s team-reliant. That’s the new NBA. You’re watching all these series. There’s so many people bringing the ball up the floor.”
Addressing The Need
Finding a ball-handler who can handle pressure in the playoffs is easier said than done.
For Minnesota, they had Donte DiVincenzo, Anthony Edwads, Ayo Dosumu, Mike Conley, and Julius Randle as players who could bring the ball up court. Even though they lost DiVincenco and Edwards in game four, Jaden McDaniels proved he could handle the ball when called upon.
The injury to Watson took one potential ball handler out of the equation. Gordon, being limited and ultimately missing the majority of games, took another ball-handler off the team.
The free agency market is bare as far as reliable ball handlers go in the Nuggets price range.
Nuggets executive Josh Kroenke already stated that outside of trading Nikola Jokic, everything is on the table for Denver.