Nuggets' New Season: DeRozan's Role and Adelman's Challenge
The clock is ticking in Denver. In one month, the Nuggets walk into Oklahoma City to open the 2026-27 season against the Thunder, with Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set to share the floor in what already feels like a measuring-stick night.
Training camp is a week away. The preseason tips off in two. The questions, though, are already loud.
DeRozan, the sixth man?
DeMar DeRozan is not a bench player. At least, he hasn’t been for 16 years.
The Nuggets are asking him to become one.
After losing Tim Hardaway Jr. and Peyton Watson this offseason, Denver needed a stabilizing force for a thin second unit. They responded by landing a six-time All-Star, a 37-year-old wing with a résumé that will draw Hall of Fame discussion and a midrange game that still bends defenses.
On paper, it’s a smart fix. DeRozan can handle the ball, organize an offense, and still go get a bucket when a possession dies. That’s exactly what this bench lacked. Without him, the second unit looked fragile, light on creation, and dangerously dependent on starters staggering heavy minutes.
But this isn’t Chicago or San Antonio. In Denver, DeRozan is unlikely to have the ball every trip or close every game. He hasn’t come off the bench since his rookie season in 2009-10. Now the Nuggets are preparing him for a sixth-man role, asking a proud veteran to anchor lineups that don’t feature Jokic, to drive offense while the franchise player rests.
The fit on the floor should work. DeRozan’s game has aged well; he’s been reliable for 16 straight years. The real drama sits in the adjustment. Can a player who has spent his career as a primary option embrace the job of super-sub, accept fewer minutes, and still deliver the same edge?
Denver needs that answer to be yes. There’s no safety net behind him.
Lonnie Walker IV and the last seat on the bus
At the other end of the roster, Lonnie Walker IV is fighting just to stay in the league.
This is his second NBA comeback attempt after a stint in the EuroLeague, and it comes with no guarantees. The Nuggets brought him in on a non-guaranteed one-year deal, giving themselves until opening night to decide whether he’s worth the final roster spot after spending last season with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Walker is 27. He’s athletic, explosive, and clearly an NBA-caliber guard. The numbers from his last league stop back that up: with the Philadelphia 76ers at the end of the 2024-25 season, he averaged 12.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists over 20 games. That’s not empty scoring; it’s rotation-level production.
The dilemma for Denver is strategic. There’s an internal expectation that the Nuggets might prefer to keep that final roster slot open, preserving flexibility for trades or buyout additions later in the year. But their current backcourt depth behind the starters is hardly bulletproof.
Walker offers something they don’t have much of: a guard who can create his own shot and handle the ball, with the upside to outplay both Tyus Jones and Julian Strawther, the projected backup backcourt. If he shows in camp that he can defend within the scheme and hit enough shots to space the floor, it becomes harder to justify leaving that spot empty in the name of optionality.
This is a straight audition. For Walker, it might be his last real one in the NBA.
Adelman under the spotlight
The biggest pressure point in Denver, though, doesn’t sit at the end of the bench. It sits in the first chair.
David Adelman enters his second full season as Nuggets head coach with a résumé that looks fine in the regular season and thin when it matters most. He took over three games before their 2025 playoff run. That year ended in a second-round exit. Last season ended even worse: a first-round collapse that stunned a franchise built around a two-time MVP in his prime.
The numbers tell the story of an unbalanced team. Denver finished last season with the league’s top offense and the 21st-ranked defense. That kind of split might entertain from October to April, but it doesn’t win four playoff rounds. Adelman has to fix that gap.
Help has arrived on the bench in the form of new top assistant Dave Joerger, a coach known for building tough, disciplined defenses. The expectation is clear: tighten the screws without dulling the attack. With Jokic and Jamal Murray orchestrating, the offense will be there. What the Nuggets need is a defensive identity that survives the grind of a seven-game series.
This is where Adelman’s tenure gets defined. He has the star power. He has continuity. He now has an experienced defensive mind beside him. The excuses are running out.
For all Jokic’s brilliance and Murray’s shot-making, the ceiling of this team comes back to the man drawing up the coverages and setting the rotations. So far, Adelman hasn’t shown he can steer this group all the way through June.
One month from now, the Nuggets walk into Oklahoma City with new faces, old expectations, and a head coach on the clock. How long can a contender live on potential before the window starts to close?
