Should the Nuggets go all out for a star?
The Denver Nuggets went 54-28 and grabbed the third seed in the West, then watched the Minnesota Timberwolves bounce them in six games.
Three years removed from a championship and still rolling out Nikola Jokic, a first round exit is not something this team can brush past.
Jokic himself said the group is far away from where it was in 2023, and the series did nothing to argue with him.
Most of the starting five is locked in.
Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Christian Braun are all back on big money next year, which means the flexibility lives on the edges of the roster.
Denver has to figure out who stays, who gets dealt, and whether the front office can finally land something bigger than another free agent flier.
Jokic averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists and led the league in rebounds and assists, while Murray made his first All-Star team, and they still ended up watching the conference semis from home.
Players Denver Should Move On From
Two of last summer's signings probably should not be back.
Tim Hardaway Jr. gave Denver useful shooting off the bench and finished third for Sixth Man of the Year, but he disappeared once the lights got brighter, and the Nuggets cannot keep cutting checks to vets who go cold in April.
Bruce Brown is harder because of his 2023 ring, though the version playing now is nowhere near the Swiss Army knife from that title run.
The bigger call sits with Cameron Johnson.
Brought in last July as the centerpiece of the Michael Porter Jr. trade, Johnson averaged just 12.2 points across 54 games and never quite cracked the spacing Denver needed around Jokic.
His $23 million expiring contract is also the cleanest piece to move with Peyton Watson hitting restricted free agency, and the trade calls have already started coming in from contenders who liked him in Brooklyn.
The Big Splash to Shake Up the Roster
This is where the front office has to swing for something.
Denver's offense ground to a halt against Minnesota once the Timberwolves committed to swarming Jokic, and another bench tweak is not closing that gap.
Trading for Kevin Durant is the move that changes the math, because his contract slots in under both Jokic and Murray and gives them a second guy who can run a possession when Jokic catches a breather.
The Nuggets have not put a real second star next to Jokic since the title run, and the distance between this team and Oklahoma City keeps growing every May.
A package built around Johnson, Hardaway Jr., Julian Strawther, and the No. 26 pick is at least enough to get a conversation going with Houston.
Draining what is left of the bench is a hard pill to swallow, but Denver is short on draft capital and the clock on Jokic's prime keeps moving.
With Jokic getting his long-term extension and the West stacking up around them, running back the same group and hoping for a different April is the worst answer of all.
