The Denver Nuggets made a big move this Friday by signing veteran DeMar DeRozan. While DeRozan can still provide some self-creation juice, he isn't a positive defender, which is the Nuggets' biggest need.
BREAKING: Free agent star DeMar DeRozan intends to sign with the Denver Nuggets, league sources tell me. pic.twitter.com/op1sgEjfcj
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) August 21, 2026
The Minnesota Timberwolves exposed the Denver Nuggets' subpar defense in the playoffs. This first-round series will forever be remembered for Jaden McDaniels' famous "They're all bad defenders" quote.
The Timberwolves toppled the Nuggets in Game 6 despite Anthony Edwards, Ayo Dosunmu, and Donte DiVincenzo all being sidelined. Minnesota relentlessly attacked Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and other Nuggets defenders throughout the series. Likewise, the Wolves' speed and athleticism overwhelmed the Nuggets.
Yet, the Timberwolves' top rival hasn't done anything to address this roster flaw, even after signing DeMar, who only offers a positive impact on offense.
Considering the Nuggets accepted a sign-and-trade that netted them just one future pick for arguably their best defender in Peyton Watson (who was missing from the first-round series against the Wolves), their defense got worse, not better. And that's great news for the Timberwolves.
DeMar DeRozan only adds to the Nuggets' defensive woes
DeRozan is still a productive isolation scorer who averaged 18.4 points last season. The Nuggets' offense ranked first in the league last season. Could they use another ball-handler and creator? Sure, but that's the least of their worries with how bad their defense looked in the playoffs. And frankly, DeRozan's lack of 3-point shooting makes him a shaky fit.
Had the Nuggets improved their defense, this signing would've been fine. But a 37-year-old DeMar being their only major addition (sorry, Marvin Bagley III) is a disaster for a team that needed an infusion of defense and athleticism. DeRozan gives the Nuggets another targetable defender. Last season, he ranked in the 2nd percentile for perimeter isolation defense and the 9th percentile for matchup difficulty.
It's safe to say that the Timberwolves will be licking their chops whenever they play the Nuggets.
In the playoffs, we saw that the Nuggets' defense without Watson (and later Gordon) was truly awful. Even in the regular season, this was a clear flaw, as Denver ranked 21st in defensive rating (the worst among playoff teams).
Without Watson, the Nuggets' defense will look like it did in the playoffs. And as a second apron team, they may have to trade Christian Braun or Aaron Gordon, who are two of their best defenders, to free up cap space.
It's abundantly clear that the Nuggets can no longer field a title-level team with a bottom-10 defense. As such, the Nuggets should have come into the offseason with one mission: improve on defense. Somehow they got worse on this end of the floor, though.
Conversely, the Timberwolves fixed their fatal flaw of playmaking by adding LaMelo Ball. After the playoffs, it was clear that the Timberwolves had the upper hand over the Nuggets, and this offseason has widened the gap, even if Denver made a "big move" by signing DeRozan.
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