The Denver Nuggets have big decisions to make during the 2020 offseason as they aim to prolong their window of title contention.
Over the past couple of years, the Denver Nuggets have built a reputation as a young squad ready to challenge for Western Conference and NBA supremacy. This season, they were 43-22 prior to the league-wide pause, good for third place in the conference, behind only the Los Angeles Lakers and the LA Clippers.
Regardless of whether or not the current season resumes, the Nuggets should still be able to challenge for a title over the next few years. Denver has never won a conference title, let alone an NBA title, so maximizing the roster in the coming seasons is essential.
The two untouchable players on the roster are Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. They would be building blocks for any franchise in the league and will continue to be those for Denver for the foreseeable future. Gary Harris almost made that group a trio, though his struggles this season have lowered his ceiling with the franchise.
The biggest free agency decision this offseason for the franchise is the future of Paul Millsap. He legitimized the rise of the franchise by signing a massive free agency deal with the team in 2017 on the heels of four All-Star appearances with the Atlanta Hawks. While he has been a solid and consistent contributor, he hasn’t been an All-Star with the Nuggets and will likely have to accept a bench role (and contract) should he return in 2020-21.
Denver has four pending unrestricted free agents, two restricted free agents and a player option belonging to Jerami Grant. Here are three Nuggets unlikely to return to the team next season.