2015-16 NBA Season Preview: Denver Nuggets

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Denver Nuggets

2014-15

Offseason Roundup

• Re-signed Danilo Gallinari to 2-year, $34M extension
• Re-signed Wilson Chandler (4/$46M)
• Re-signed Jameer Nelson (3/$13.5M)
• Re-signed Will Barton (3/$10M)
• Re-signed Darrell Arthur (2/$5.8M)

Projected Starting 5

• PG Emmanuel Mudiay
• SG Randy Foye
• SF Danilo Gallinari
• PF Kenneth Faried
• C Jusuf Nurkic

MVP

With Ty Lawson out of the picture, some will point to Kenneth Faried as Denver's de-facto franchise player, or even Emmanuel Mudiay as the face of the future. But make no mistake: for the time being, this is Danilo Gallinari's team.

After returning in January from yet another knee injury and subsequent surgery, Gallinari finally began to resemble the complete player that helped the Nuggets win 57 games two years prior. "The Rooster" finished the season on an encouraging run that saw him post averages of 20.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.2 steals on a 48-41-88 shooting line over his final 13 games, which included two 40-plus-point performances.

Gallinari followed that up by being one of the showstoppers at this summer's EuroBasket tournament. He appears to be entering the 2015-16 season in the best offensive groove of his career, with the Nuggets likely set to turn to him as their No. 1 option.

Wilson Chandler, who - like Gallinari - is coming off of signing a sizable extension this summer, could also be a dark-horse candidate for team MVP.

Breakout Player

The obvious choice is Mudiay, whose primary role on a bad team looking for options makes him a definite Rookie of the Year candidate, but don't sleep on Jusuf Nurkic.

The 21-year-old center enjoyed a quietly impressive rookie season last year, and the Nuggets' defense was more than five points stingier per 100 possessions with Nurkic on the court as opposed to on the bench. If his minutes creep up and his role expands as expected, he could establish himself as one of the league's promising young centers.

We also just don't want to get on Papa Nurkic's bad side.

Season Expectations

Though it could be fun to watch Gallo going to work, Faried crashing the glass, and the growth of the Mudiay-Nurkic combo, the overall results won't be enjoyable for Nuggets fans - at least not until the draft lottery.

A 52-loss team lost its best player, got younger, and is transitioning to a new coach (Mike Malone) in the ever-punishing Western Conference.

With another top-tier pick (the Nuggets will get the better selection between their pick and the Knicks') on the way next summer, Denver could be in the early stages of an exciting rebuild, but will continue to take its lumps along the way. It's tough to see this team avoiding a 55-plus-loss season and a bottom-five finish overall.