David Adelman Gives Insight Into Nuggets’ Rotation for This Season

The Denver Nuggets are going into this season with the intention of being championship contenders once again. The Nuggets will start their season with the same starting lineup as last season. 

Denver is one of the veteran teams in the NBA, led by former MVP Nikola Jokic. While the lineup of Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson, Aaron Gordon and Jokic is established, the second unit seems to be a big question mark. 

The Nuggets signed multiple veterans to the roster this offseason to be potential key pieces off the bench. Their most notable signing was veteran forward DeMar DeRozan, who was previously with the Sacramento Kings. 

While DeRozan could compete for a starting job, head coach David Adelman and the coaching staff feel that it's best that he spends time with the second unit to start the season. As for the rest of the second unit, that's an area of the roster that Adelman is still looking to establish. 

"I do not want to play a starter with the second unit if I don't have to to start the season," Adelman said. 

Adelman also expressed his faith in his starting lineup to be successful this season. "Our starters will be fine," he said. The Nuggets have a veteran lineup and have kept their big three of Jokic, Murray and Gordon. 

Last season, Aaron Gordon's season was short due to lingering leg injuries, and it will be interesting to see how impactful his return will be. 

The biggest problem this second unit is running into is its guard depth. Just recently, the team signed guards Ryan Nembhard and Cam Whitmore, two young players who have upside. 

Early in the offseason, the Nuggets signed guard Lonnie Walker IV, who spent time away from the NBA as he was playing overseas, but he was recently waived by the franchise, and they continue to dwindle down their roster. 

With the backup guard position in the state it's in, this could be a spot to watch on the roster come the trade deadline in February. The Nuggets have clearly prioritized having a veteran presence on their team, and that could be something they look for in the middle of the season. 

Ideally, they would like to see one of the young guards emerge and step into this role, but no player has yet stood out. David Adleman will need to figure out his second unit rotation very close to the start of the regular season, and there could be growing pains for the Nuggets on the bench.