Preseason NBA Power Rankings: Philadelphia 76ers look like Eastern Elite

13. Denver Nuggets

So far this NBA calendar year, the Denver Nuggets have added arguably the biggest steal in the 2018 NBA Draft, even though he’s more likely than not going to have to redshirt his rookie season due to a back injury and added a former MVP candidate on a veteran minimum deal to serve as their sixth man off the bench.

Simply put, the Nuggs five-years and counting playoff drought is about to be over for the foreseeable future.

With a roster loaded with bloated contracts courtesy of the summer cap hike of 2016, the Nuggets surprisingly found a way to unload a pair of underachievers in Wilson Chandler, Darrell Arthur, and Kenneth Faried to free up money to lock in certified sixth man Will Barton for the foreseeable future.

Those moves took some serious savvy to pull off and the Nuggets are clearly a better team not as a result.

Now free to continue to build around their young core of Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Trey Lyles, and Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets are a team to watch in 2018-2019 and are a sure bet to make it back to the postseason, you can take that one to the bank.