This offseason, the most notable move the Denver Nuggets made was signing veteran forward DeMar DeRozan to a one-year deal. DeRozan was previously with the Sacramento Kings, where he led the team in scoring.
Now with Denver, DeRozan hopes to be part of a team that makes it far in the postseason and can contend for a championship. In the preseason, he spent each game coming off the bench, as the front office and coaching staff remain confident in the group they have now.
At the forefront of this year's Nuggets team are still guard Jamal Murray and center Nikola Jokic. While DeMar DeRozan has been coming off the bench for Denver, he has had the chance to appear on the court with Murray and Jokic.
After their last preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers, he was asked what it's like to play with the former champions.
"They're champions, so going out there making plays with them is easy," DeRozan said. He also mentioned that playing with them is everything he expected because of their high IQ and creativity on the court.
Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic have been one of the long-standing NBA duos now, and this is a season where they could look to get back to contending for a championship. Jokic has been consistently playing at an MVP level for several seasons.
Murray is a dynamic guard who feeds off the success of Jokic, but he can also create for himself. He's had consistency issues, but there's no doubt he has the ability to be one of the top guards in the NBA.
For DeMar DeRozan, his role in Denver will be more limited than it was in Sacramento. Hearing that it's easy to play alongside the Nuggets' premier duo has to be encouraging to fans as well as the front office and coaching staff.
There will be times, especially in the postseason, when DeRozan will need to be on the court alongside them. DeMar DeRozan has been known to be an efficient scorer throughout his career, and that scoring ability will have to show up in Denver.
The Nuggets as a whole are a team that's led by veterans, as they have multiple players who were part of the 2023 championship roster. For them to get back to that status, they'll need consistency from those veterans who are expected to be leaders this season.