‘Beginning of the end’ for Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets as 0-2 start, claims Lou Williams
Los Angeles Clippers legend, Lou Williams, suspects the downfall of Nikola Jokic's Denver Nuggets after a 0-2 start.
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Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic
Following a tough start to the 2024 season, the Denver Nuggets appear disjointed. Their most recent loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, despite Nikola Jokic‘s stellar outing, places their record at 0-2. The team’s recent negative development brought in concerns from former NBA player Lou Williams.
The Nuggets have yet to win a game this season, making this the worst start the franchise experienced in years. Nikola Jokic poured in 41 points in the last game and 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists triple-double in the home opener, but the team failed to walk behind him.
In response to this, the NBA veteran, Williams, suspects an expiration of the Nugget’s dominance.
I’ll be honest, it feels like the beginning of the end… So you got so many teams changing the course of their organizations and then you look at the Nuggets where it seems like they are kinda stagnating a bit… but when you have a guy like (Nikola) Jokic you always have an opportunity to compete at the highest level.
Lou Williams said via Run It Back
The former Sixth Man of the Year based his projection on the rising competition of the Western Conference teams. Adding to it, the franchise has failed to replace their sharpshooter Kentavious Caldwell Pope this off-season.
Even though Nikola Jokić scored 41 points, the Nuggets are 0-2 after losing to the Clippers ?
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) October 26, 2024
Was @TeamLou23 right about the Nuggets? pic.twitter.com/eLEh20zklE
Pope’s departure sparked a glaring problem for the management, which has failed to make any major improvements to support their star player Jokic.
The decline in Jamal Murray‘s play is also a huge contributing factor to this. On the other hand, the majority of the Western Conference have improved their play. The Nuggets will have a chance to redeem themselves, as they will take on the Toronto Raptors tomorrow.
Denver Nuggets fighting chance slimming down with growing financial pains
The Nuggets front office is tied up right now after they granted an extension to Aaron Gordon. The team signed Gordon to a four-year, $133 million extension which will keep him on their books till the 2028-29 season. This greatly hampers their cap flexibility making external improvements a non-factor this off-season.
As of now, the team’s projected salary is approximately moving over $194 million. The league set the first apron threshold at $178.1 million, which the Nuggets have overly exceeded. This move vastly restricts the organization from making any roster changes shortly.
Denver fans will have to make do with their current roster as no changes will be coming soon. Diving deeper, the Nuggets will be tied from participating in the buyout market and would be barred from accepting sign-and-trade players.
The cap situation traces back to the team’s heavy investment in Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., and Murray in the past few years, with Nikola Jokic being the centerpiece of their strategy.
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Anubhav Bajpeyee
(211 Articles Published)