Nikola Jokic makes direct appeal to Nuggets front office for roster overhaul: "We definitely need it"

Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets bounced out of the NBA playoffs after losing Game 7 against the OKC Thunder on Sunday. The loss ended a gallant stand for the Nuggets, which saw them play through a short rotation and numerous injuries throughout the series.

After the game, Jokic made a plea for the Nuggets to address their lack of depth, saying that the team needed more players to compete with other deep squads still in play for the title this year.

"We definitely need it. It seems like the teams that have longer rotations, longer bench, are the ones who are winning. Indiana. OKC. Minnesota,” Jokic said.

In Game 7, Jokic put up 20 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in 37 minutes, but the Nuggets were blown out by the Thunder, which had four players scoring in double digits in the do-or-die game.

Jokic played 40 or more minutes for five of the seven games in the series as the Nuggets struggled to find their offensive rhythm whenever he was on the bench. The team also played no backup center in their rotation throughout the series, using mainly Aaron Gordon on non-Jokic minutes.

Aside from their starters, the Nuggets only fielded Russell Westbrook, Peyton Watson, and Julian Strawther off their bench for most of the series.

The Nuggets finished the regular season as the fourth seed, surviving the fifth-seeded LA Clippers in the first round before providing a valiant stand against the top-seeded Thunder.

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Nikola Jokic does not think the Nuggets would win with the current roster

With such a short rotation, the Nuggets struggled to find offense on numerous occasions during the series. For Nikola Jokic, challenging for an NBA title would be hard with such a roster.

"We didn't, so obviously, we can't. If we could, we would win it... We didn't win it, so I think we can't," he said when asked if the team could win a title with the current roster composition.

The Nuggets won a title in 2023, led by Jokic, Jamal Murray, and a squad players such as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown, and Jeff Green, among others.

The team is expected to continue contending as long as Nikola Jokic is playing, but some roster changes may come during the offseason.