The Nuggets will begin in the back half of their season against Oklahoma City on Tuesday. They are 16-25 through the first 41 games and are in a strange position because they are only two games out of 8th place in the Western Conference, yet they would also own the 6th spot in the lottery if the season ended today.
Danilo Gallinari has been playing very well, which has contributed to the team winning three out of their last four with one of those being an amazing win over Golden State where he had a clutch steal on Stephen Curry to seal the game in the closing seconds. Plenty of teams will come calling about his availability, but the front office needs to stand firm. He is very important to the success of the Nuggets in the next five years and they cant trade him away for just anything,
There is no reason that the front office to buy during the trade deadline as it wont make the Nuggets contenders. However, there is very little reason to give up and start selling assets because they could have a high pick in the lottery anyways. Adding another draft pick to the team next season could make them an actual contender in the future.
The team has to be excited about how they are playing right now. Even though they are still one of the worst teams based on their record, they are competitive on most nights, which is sadly a compliment after the Brian Shaw era. They need to continue to develop their young talent. Gary Harris is a very good defender early in his young career, but he has made great strides on offense. He upped his three point percentage by 16 percentage points up to 36.5% and field goal percentage up 15 percentage points up to 45.8%. If he continues to develop offensively, the Nuggets have their shooting guard of the future.
Emmanuel Mudiay has struggled at times, but if he gets his turnovers under control, he can still be the player that the Nuggets envisioned when they picked him with the seventh pick. Josef Nurkic and Nikola Jokic might be the two most important young players on the team.
Nurkic has only played 6 games due to injury this season. However, he completely changes the game on the defensive side when he is in the game. Nurkic is the only rim protector on the team and he is big enough to handle any player in the league on the block. Hopefully he is not a player that will be chronically injured because he has the ability to be a defensive player of the year award candidate when he reaches his prime.
Jokic is a better player on the offensive side of the ball and at 19 years old, he has a lot of potential. Having two players like that to anchor the front court in the future should not be tinkered with by bringing in players at the trade deadline that would start immediately.
The Nuggets should stand tight for the rest of the season and just see where the season takes them. If they contend for a playoff spot, that will provide great experience for the young players. I won't complain if they end up with a nice shot at a top lottery pick though as long as they don't give up in the process like last season.
I look forward to seeing the development of the team throughout the second half of the season. Even if the team begins to lose, the games will still be fun to watch because of the young talent on the team.
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