Denver Nuggets: Five former players that would have helped this team

1. Chauncey Billups (2008-09 or 2009-10)

In fairness, adding Chauncey Billups to any team would make them better, and he’s easily the closest thing to a superstar or a Hall-of-Fame-caliber player on this list.

Billups had two separate stints with the Nuggets, first in the late 90s, and then a second run roughly ten years later where he made the All-Star team twice. While the former stint featured a solid player during his limited time with the team, the latter showcased a much more developed player who would be an excellent addition to the team.

In his 201 games with the team from 2008-2011, Billups averaged 18.1 points, 5.8 assists, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game on .423/.408/.914 splits. Second-stint Billups offers Denver additional ball-handling, perimeter shooting, perimeter defense, and most importantly, he brings veteran leadership and playoff pedigree to a young Nuggets team.

Billups has proven himself to be a consistent force in the postseason from his time with the Detroit Pistons and his Western Conference Finals run with the Nuggets. In the 2008-09 playoffs, he upped his averages to 20.6 points, 6.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game and shot 46.8 percent from deep.

While the Nuggets came up short against the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, Billups was arguably the reason they made it that far to begin with.

The addition of Billups would move Gary Harris to the bench, and he’d share point guard duties with Jamal Murray. Both Murray and Billups would effectively work as combo guards given their ability to handle the ball, play-make, and shoot either off the dribble or on spot-up looks.

Additionally, with Murray’s ability to move without the ball and relocate for three-point attempts, the Nuggets could potentially have something similar to the Stephen Curry-Klay Thompson tandem on the Golden State Warriors.

Granted, neither Murray nor Billups shoots the ball or moves without the ball quite as well as the Splash Brothers do, but with an offensive maestro like Jokic on the squad who can create opportunities with the slimmest of openings, the Denver Nuggets offense could project to be equally devastating.