The Denver Nuggets have a tough summer coming up of important offseason decisions, and one of their former legends is expecting the worse. Dan Issel spent his entire NBA career both playing for and coaching the Nuggets. A conversation with the Run it Back podcast saw Issel claiming that Denver’s owner Stan Kroenke is too cheap to keep improving the team and will stop investing money after paying a few stars.
Issel shared the following thoughts about what he expects from the Nuggets’ future:
“Stan Kroenke is the most frugal billionaire since Warren Buffett. So I don’t think he’s gonna fire. A coach that has a lot of time left on his contract. I don’t think there’s a whole lot they can do. They’re not going to trade Joker.
Jamal (Murray) had a rough series against Minnesota, but he was an All-Star this year. Cam Johnson is a nice piece. I don’t know what you would get in return for him. And you know, of course, Christian Braun has $100 million left on his contract. So, I don’t know if you can make a lot of moves… I don’t think.”
Issel doesn’t expect Denver to make any big changes this offseason. A major trade is needed with Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Cameron Johnson as the most realistic names who can get moved. Murray clearly has the most value, but he’s also the second most important player on the team.
Denver Nuggets Will Likely Lose Peyton Watson
One of the biggest conversations about the upcoming offseason for Denver will focus on free agent Peyton Watson. Reports indicate the Nuggets will try to make trades to free up enough cap space to sign Watson, but it remains an unlikely scenario.
Denver will struggle to trade Johnson or Christian Braun as the most expendable pieces on the roster. Even if the Nuggets find a team to take one of them without receiving much salary back, other teams will dictate the market for Watson.
The Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers have the most cap space to offer Watson. All three teams are reportedly interested in Watson to warrant paying him big money. Denver may be unable to keep Watson, unless they can trade someone and other teams fail to offer him massive contracts.
Nikola Jokic Does Give Denver A Fail Safe
Nikola Jokic made it clear that he wants to spend his entire career with the Nuggets after the recent elimination. Denver doesn’t have to worry about Jokic demanding a trade any time soon, like the Milwaukee Bucks are currently experiencing with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
However, Jokic also talked about how the team was not good enough to contend for a title, as dictated by this season’s results. The Nuggets will try to improve the roster to field a contender behind a generational center, but it’s a tough task.
Denver will either have to trade Murray after his long stint with the franchise or hope the role players get them enough value back. Issel claims that he doesn’t expect the Nuggets to make any moves and will stand pat due to Kroenke’s ownership style.
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