The Nuggets need guards.
The Denver Nuggets are close to finalizing their roster ahead of next season after matching the Oklahoma City Thunders' two-year, $12 offer sheet for Spencer Jones, thus keeping their homegrown forward aboard, but there are still holes for the team to address for the first game of the 2026-27 season tips off.
Before the offseason began, the Nuggets were already a forward-heavy lineup that relied largely on size and the abilities of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray to generate offense, but so far this offseason, the Nuggets have only become more forward-oriented, and that's a problem for next season.
They already lost Tim Hardaway Jr., a huge presence in the back court coming off the bench, to the Miami Heat and they've yet to sign Bruce Brown or Jalen Picket, two other bench option guards from this past season's roster.
The Nuggets' Options
There's also, of course, Peyton Watson, the Nuggets' top priority in free agency and even though they played him more as a three this past season, Watson's versatility as a swingman also affords the Nuggets some flexibility in the backcourt, but he too remains unsigned at this point.
Without any of those players, the Nuggets' guard options at this moment are Jamal Murray and Christian Braun as starters, though both suffered their fair share of injuries this past season, followed by Julian Strawther and Spender Jones as their two next best options at shooting guard and Tyus Jones and K.J, Simpson as their only two options at point guard behind Murray.
Who Can They Sign?
That is simply not enough talent coming off the bench for the back court and it leaves the Nuggets seriously flawed. They have to devote their final two roster spots to signing guards, preferably point guards, but at this point prioritizing talent over exact position fit should be the direction the Nuggets take.
The obvious solution to this problem is to bring back players from last season's roster, namely Watson and Brown, which would be in line with the Denver front office's goal at the start of the offseason to "run it back" with as much of their existing roster as possible.
If the Nuggets were to go a different route than players from last season's roster, they have some options with players like DeMar DeRozan or Bradley Beal, but no matter what direction that the Nuggets decide to go in, it's clear that guards have to be their priority with their final two roster spots.
