Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets could be a sneaky team to have their eyes on Bradley Beal this offseason and throughout the regular season. After reaching the Western Conference Finals this past year and learning a lot about the growth of their team, Denver is a team with a small championship window in a loaded Western Conference and if they are to continue contending, they need to be willing to make some big moves.

The Nuggets recently lost Jerami Grant to the Detroit Pistons this offseason, leaving them with a big hole to fill on offensive. Grant averaged 12.0 points per game last season and while he was not their biggest offensive threat, his number was called a lot in the playoffs and he stepped up big time for them. His perimeter shooting and defensive skills made him a very valuable player for Denver and losing him definitely hurts. 

Gary Harris and Will Barton being healthy for this Nuggets organization definitely helps their chances of making it back to the Western Conference Finals, but is it enough in a loaded Western Conference? They did not make any big offseason moves and as a result, may not have improved at all this offseason whereas that vast majority of their conference did. 

Bringing in Bradley Beal to pair with Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic definitely makes this Nuggets team legit and he fits perfectly into the Nuggets system. They run a lot of “screen-the-screener” actions, meaning that the Nuggets like to play a lot of two-man basketball with Jokic as the primary ball-handler and Jamal Murray running off of him as a screen. 

Adding Bradley Beal to this scheme not only opens up the offense more, but gives the Nuggets another option in this “two-man” basketball ploy and a potential third option coming off a screen on the other side of the court. Just imagine Beal and Murray running off of screens with Jokic as the primary ball-handler.

This Nuggets team would be a lot of fun to watch play and would keep Denver as a team that needs to be discussed as a top team in the Western Conference. This appears to be the right aggressive push needed to attempt to get over the hump.