If ever we had a roll-it-back team, it's this Denver squad. Coming into the playoffs, they were widely regarded as the best team and they very nearly advanced.
My sense is that they got caught off-guard by a young hungry Wolves team that they could have beaten and likely would beat if they played the series over.
However, it does seem like the gap between them and the other Western Conference contenders is smaller than was generally believed and some of those teams are likely to improve more next season.
Tinkering Around the Edges
In my opinion, Denver's starting 5 + Cristian Braun is the most coherently constructed rotation in the league. The problems are lack of depth and a lack of top end talent other than Jokic.
I was messing around with the trade machine, without much success, so this might not be easy for Denver. Somehow, though, they need to replace Reggie Jackson with a better backup point guard who fits well with Jokic. Ideally, it would be someone who could also share the backcourt with Murray. Then they need to hope the young guys develop.
Big Swing
I'm hearing people talk about trading MPJ or KCP. The problem I see is that those guys are probably more valuable to Denver, because of their fit around Jokic, than they would be to anyone else. Short of somehow turning them into KD (salaries match, btw), I don't see what would move the needle.
Would this be a title favorite?
C: Jokic
F: Gordon
F: Durant
G: Braun
G: Murray
I'd say so.
How do you think Denver should approach this offseason?