Denver Nuggets Without 2025 NBA Draft Pick After Playoff Exit

The Denver Nuggets were eliminated from the 2025 NBA Playoffs on Sunday afternoon with a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Denver's season comes to an end after a pair of hard-fought seven-game series, as Nikola Jokic and company were edged out by OKC after defeating the LA Clippers in seven games.

While the Nuggets still won 50 games and reached the second round of the postseason, the team's weaknesses were glaring, as Denver's lack of depth hurt the team down the stretch. Even with Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon dealing with injuries, the two were forced to play, despite being limited by their ailments, as a result of the team's thin roster.

The Nuggets' starting lineup of Porter, Gordon, Jokic, Jamal Murray and Christian Braun gave the team solid minutes throughout the postseason, but Denver received almost no help from its bench.

In Game 7, Russell Westbrook played 22 minutes, more than any player other than the Nuggets' five starters. In his time on the floor, Westbrook was a -34, shooting 2-of-7 from the field and turning the ball over four times.

Aside from Westbrook and the team's starting lineup, Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther were the only other Nuggets' players to notch more than 15 minutes on the court. This isn't unusual in the postseason, as most team's shorten their rotation, but Watson and Strawther haven't proven to be reliable options in the postseason, especially not in a crucial Game 7 situation.

Despite the best efforts of Jokic, Gordon and the rest of Denver's roster, the team just wasn't deep enough to overcome the Thunder.

So how do the Nuggets add the depth that most championship contenders, including the 2022-23 iteration of Denver's roster, have?

One way, typically the most effective, is through the draft.

Of course, teams can utilize free agency and trades to acquire role players, but the draft is an easy, cost-efficient method to add depth to a team's roster. The Thunder, for instance, got big contributions throughout their most recent series from Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins, who were all selected in the past three years.

The Nuggets, however, don't have the draft to turn to this offseason and will have to add depth another way or try to trade back into this year's class. Denver could look to move future draft picks or current rostered players in hopes of being able to select a prospect in next month's draft.

To go along with Denver's young players who saw time on the court during this year's playoffs, DaRon Holmes II is set to return after suffering an injury than forced the former first round pick to miss all of the 2024-25 season.

If not, the Nuggets will have to hope that Strawther, Watson, Jalen Pickett and Hunter Tyson develop into solid rotation players who can give the team valuable minutes on the biggest stage.

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