The Denver Nuggets are reportedly making a move to strengthen their roster and specifically their bench, as Shams Charania notes the Nuggets will sign Demar DeRozan to a one-year, $3.9 million deal.
DeRozan is going into his 18th season in the NBA, but is still going strong. Last year he averaged 18.4 points on just 13.1 shots, along with 4.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds. DeRozan has been a starter his whole career, including all 77 games he played last year, but Denver’s starting five of Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Cam Johnson, and Aaron Gordon around Nikola Jokic seems likely to remain the same.
It took Cam Johnson most of last year to acclimate to what it means to play Jokic Ball but he was incredibly strong over the last few weeks and into the playoffs. The Nuggets will want DeRozan ready for the playoffs as well so he’ll play plenty next to Joker so that he too can acclimate to having a center as the hub of the offense, but the Nuggets desperately need an on-ball presence with the bench who can score without Jokic – and with almost 27,000 points in his career DeMar can absolutely score. His True Shooting Percentage of .594 last year showed he can keep his efficiency up as well, something else that will play extremely well in Denver.
Interestingly, it looks like Denver’s core had a lot to do with DeRozan choosing the Nuggets from among his suitors. Chris Haynes says that Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray all talked with DeRozan about joining the team. Having another vet who has been through big moments will be huge.
The Nuggets had room for some shots after moving Peyton Watson and losing Tim Hardaway Jr. to free agency, and DeRozan will get plenty of minutes and scoring opportunities as the Nuggets look to change their playoff fortunes in the 26-27 season. Welcome to Denver, DeMar!
