Three-time NBA All-Star Shares Harsh Reality for Nikola Jokic, Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are facing some harsh reality right now.

Apr 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) controls the ball against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during the second half in game three of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Denver Nuggets have lost big pieces in the 2023 and 2024 offseasons. First, Bruce Brown left the NBA Champions for the Indiana Pacers, and now Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left the Nuggets for the Orlando Magic.

As Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray prepare for the new season, former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas has concerns about team that won the 2023 NBA Championship.

"If I'm the coach, I'm a little concerned because, as the champs two years ago, we didn’t get better last year, right?" Gilbert Arenas said on his show Gil's Arena. "And then we lost some key pieces that helped us. Yeah, we brought in some new pieces, but I don’t think they’re valuable enough."

"When we bring in Westbrook, who is he passing to? Where are my shooters, right? A team like this needs shooters. You're relying on Jokic to be Jokic, but you don’t need defenders sitting in the lane saying, 'All right, shoot the ball over there.'" 

“We didn’t get better last year… We lost some key pieces that helped us… If they did play Philly in the Finals… Denver’s not gonna win that series with [Joel] Embiid averaging 40, & now you have Paul George.”

— Gilbert Arenas 👀

(via @GilsArenaShow)pic.twitter.com/UOpcPz713c

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 14, 2024

Kentavious Caldwell Pope was a very important piece for the Nuggets as a 3-and-D guy. He shot over 41 percent from three in his two years in Denver and always defended one of the opposing team's best players.

"Meanwhile, there are teams out there that got better. So they probably say, 'Oh yeah, we’re still top three in the West,' but are we better than some of those teams in the East at this moment? So if you’re the coach over there, you’re really concerned. We didn’t get enough pieces."

Denver is still going to be a top team in the Western Conference, but their path to a championship is much harder without Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The team is putting a lot of trust in young players Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, and Julian Strawther. They also added veterans like Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric who will be relied on.

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