Denver Mortgaged Four Drafts to Keep a Defense That Still Ranked 21st
The Nuggets sent Oklahoma City three future first-round selections to keep this core together, betting more on continuity than on fixing the defense that let the Thunder end last season's run.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray remain the engine of an offense that finished No. 1 last season, but the defense around them ranked 21st, and no summer addition was built to change that math. Denver enters camp with $221.1 million committed and three future first-round selections owed to Oklahoma City, the team that ended last season's title defense — a bet that the passing already in place is worth more than what it cost to protect.
What Denver already spent
Denver's payroll totals $221.1 million across 14 contracts, past the league's $209.0 million apron threshold and clear of the $200.4 million tax figure. The largest deal belongs to Jokic at $59.0 million, followed by Murray at $50.1 million, Gordon at $33.7 million and Cameron Johnson at $23.1 million. To keep that group together, Denver has sent Oklahoma City protected first-round selections in 2028, 2029 and 2030 — on top of a 2027 first Denver still holds only with protections attached — leaving little draft capital to fix anything that doesn't work.
The number the picks didn't buy
That spending was supposed to buy a team built to finish what 2023 started. Instead, Denver's defense ranked 21st last season, allowing 116.0 points per 100 possessions against an offense that scored 121.2, a differential of plus-5.2, seventh-best among all 30 teams. Oklahoma City beat that version of the Nuggets in seven games in the second round before winning the title itself, and no defender arrived with this summer's additions.
What continuity is actually worth
The offense doesn't need fixing. Jokic averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists last season, finding Murray for 25.4 points and 7.1 assists a game, with Cameron Johnson (43.0 percent from three) and Spencer Jones (39.6 percent) spacing the floor around them. Denver's summer additions — Emanuel Miller, Dane Goodwin and Coleman Hawkins — are fringe pieces competing for camp spots, not answers for a defense that finished 21st.
The answer
Denver's bet is that the passing behind its top-ranked offense is worth more than the picks spent protecting it, and that continuity beats a defensive overhaul it hasn't paid for. That bet is reasonable with Jokic still playing at an MVP level, but the margin for being wrong is gone: with three future firsts owed to the team that eliminated them, Denver doesn't get another cycle to try this differently if the defense stays 21st.
How many first-round picks does Denver owe Oklahoma City?
Denver owes Oklahoma City protected first-round selections in 2028, 2029 and 2030. A separate protected 2027 first-rounder remains Denver's own, tied to trades made to keep its current core together.
Where did Denver's defense rank last season?
Denver's defense ranked 21st among all 30 teams last season, allowing 116.0 points per 100 possessions, well behind an offense that finished No. 1.
