Denver Nuggets: 5 roster moves they must make this offseason

The Denver Nuggets were just three wins from making the NBA Finals last season. Here are five roster moves they need to make to continue that momentum.

After making the conference finals, the Denver Nuggets have a large number of decisions to make regarding their roster. They have six players on guaranteed contracts, one on a player option and two non-guarantees.

Fortunately for the Nuggets, the core of their team is under contract. Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Will Barton and Michael Porter Jr. all have deals for at least two more years in place. These five players take up just under $100 million in the salary cap for the 2020-21 season.

Despite finishing so high in the standings, the Nuggets have the 22nd pick in the draft where they might find a gem. They found Jokic in the second round at pick 41 of the 2014 Draft so they can spot talent.

The Nuggets looked a little fragile throughout the season, despite their high seeding throughout. Then, during the NBA restart, they were vulnerable. They lost five out of their eight games, having to go to overtime for two of their wins.

Then came the playoffs. They went down 3-1 in the first round against the Utah Jazz. Donovan Mitchell and Murray had a duel for the ages, with the Nuggets coming out on top by winning the last three games.

Then they went down 3-1 in the conference semi-finals against the LA Clippers before winning the last three games in that series as well. Unfortunately, when they went 3-1 down against the Los Angeles Lakers they were not able to come back against the eventual champions.

Despite not making the finals, the Nuggets were not far away. This means that they should not do anything too drastic to their roster, relying on natural progression and personal growth to take the next step. With that in mind, here are five roster moves they need to make.

5. Re-sign Torrey Craig

Every team has a glue guy. For the Denver Nuggets, it’s Torry Craig. He is not the player who is going to beat you offensively very often. He averaged 5.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in just 18.5 minutes per game this past season.

Now in his third NBA season, Craig has developed into an incredible defensive role player. He is a true success story of hard work. The Nuggets found him in Australia playing in the NBL. He was offered a summer league spot and worked his way onto the regular-season roster.

He only played 58 games last season. Despite such low averages, Craig started 27 of them thanks to Gary Harris’ injury issues. He is very well known for his defense and for good reason.

Craig will turn 30 just before the next NBA season so it is very unlikely that he is going to give you a massive leap in numbers. That is not his role on the team. Denver already has plenty of scoring power throughout the rest of the roster.

Craig is a restricted free agent this season. Other teams have the opportunity to offer him a better deal which the Nuggets will either match or not. It is likely that the Nuggets will match it considering how close they were to the Finals this season.