Mile High Brodie

The Nuggets have acquired Russell Westbrook via trade, and I love this move. At this point in his career, Russ will give you 100% energy during every minute he is on the floor and will serve as a floor general off the bench. The floor general aspect of his game is key as it will allow Jokic to rest even while being on the court when they share the floor. When Jokic is off the floor, the offense can still be run at an efficient level because they now have someone who can initiate the offense and it won't resort to 5 players just taking turns passing the ball and heaving a shot when the shot clock dwindles.

Many people are comparing the Nuggets situation to the Lakers in 2022 when the Lakers had gotten rid of KCP and acquired Russ in the same offseason and using that as a reason to believe the Nuggets will struggle this year which I feel is not very reasonable. Russ is coming off a stint where he came off the bench as a Clipper. Before joining the Lakers, he averaged a triple-double for Washington, was starting alongside Beal, and helped lead them to a postseason birth. Russ will not be relied on as much as the Lakers relied on him. He is at a different stage in his career and he knows that which is why he volunteered to come off the bench for the Clippers. All he has to do is give energy for the 20 minutes he plays help his young teammates get good shots and maybe even mentor some players.

According to Statmuse, the Nuggets' bench was ranked 25th so it certainly can't get worse. If Russ works out, great! If not the Nuggets will be fine but they won't be serious championship contenders. All in all, I love this move and we will see if my optimism is justified. Now the next move for the Nuggets is to find someone who can fill in the role of KCP and they will be right back in championship contention.