The Denver Nuggets have gone all-in on their core.
As NBA Media Day tipped off the 2021-22 NBA season Monday, the Denver Nuggets made headlines by locking up Michael Porter Jr. with a contract extension.
Not simply a contract extension, either. The Nuggets and MPJ agreed to a max that could be worth up to $207 million over the next five years. Denver now has locked up both Jamal Murray and MPJ for the foreseeable future.
The expectation is that they’ll sign Nikola Jokic to a historic supermax extension too next offseason. Essentially, the Nuggets have decided to go all-in on the trio of Jokic, Murray, and MPJ. The big question, of course, is whether or not that’s enough to win an NBA Championship?
Can the Denver Nuggets win a championship?
It’s a difficult question to answer. On the surface, you’d hope that the answer to that is yes. Though, it’s almost unfortunate Murray was injured last season. An argument could be made that last year was the year for this team to win it.
LeBron James was not a factor, the Brooklyn Nets were injured, and the Phoenix Suns, who are not nearly as talented as the Nuggets, had the Milwaukee Bucks on the ropes in the NBA Finals.
Heading into this season, the competition for a team such as the Nuggets could be viewed as overwhelming. The Los Angeles Lakers will be better, as with the Suns. The Utah Jazz improved their supporting cast this offseason as well.
Out in the Eastern Conference, the Nets look to be healthy and the Bucks are going to be as confident as ever as the defending NBA champions.
While the Nuggets are still one of the most talented rosters in the league, they have to overcome the absence of Murray to start the season and will need MPJ to take another step in his game to be on the same level as some of the other talented big 3’s in the league.
Nevertheless, that’s what this team’s front office is betting on – the continued internal development of its core players. And that’s something they should believe in. It’s gotten them this far, and who’s to say that it won’t help them win an NBA Championship in the not-so-distant future?
The Nuggets are all-in and whether you agree with their decisions or not, they have championship aspirations on their mind.