The illusion that the Nuggets are a contender won’t survive the playoffs
The Peyton Watson trade hit Nuggets Nation like a gut punch. Social media erupted. Talk radio lit up. The fan base, already frustrated by a summer of inaction, watched the franchise deal its most promising young defender for a pair of distant draft picks and collectively lost its patience. The anger was loud, visible, and nearly universal.
Mike Evans understands the frustration. He just wants people to keep it in perspective.
On a recent edition of “Stokley and Evans, with Mark Schlereth” on 104.3 The Fan, Evans started by gently pushing back on the most extreme reactions.
“You see people talking about ‘This was one of the worst days in Nuggets history.’ I mean whoa, whoa, easy. Back off the hyperbole a little bit,” Evans said.
The Nuggets have had darker days, decades of irrelevance, star departures and seasons that tested the patience of the most loyal fans in Colorado. Trading Watson is painful. It’s not the franchise’s lowest moment.
But what makes the deal so insidious, according to Evans, is that its consequences won’t be immediately visible. In fact, the opposite will happen. The Nuggets are going to look just good enough to make everyone believe.
“They’re gonna be able to sell the illusion at least of competition. They’re gonna be able to sell the illusion of being a contender. Because with this starting five, and with just enough on the bench, they’re gonna win 50 games,” Evans said.
That’s the trap. The regular season is going to feel fine. Nikola Jokic will still be the best player on the floor most nights. Jamal Murray will still create incredible moments. The wins will pile up. The standings will look respectable. And the fan base, starved for hope, will buy in.
Evans walked through exactly how that illusion builds.
“Assuming good health, they’re gonna win 50 games, they’re gonna be one of the top four seeds probably in the west. And throughout the course of this season, as they’re winning 50 games, they’re gonna be doing enough good things, exciting things, that you’re gonna be, as a fan, be able to in your mind create the idea of, ‘Yeah we’re a contender,’ and ‘Why not us?'” he said.
That’s the cruelest part of where the Nuggets currently sit. The regular season will provide just enough evidence to keep the dream alive. A February win streak against middling opponents. A signature Jokic triple-double that reminds everyone why he’s the best in the world. A stretch of games where the bench holds its own and the depth doesn’t look as thin as everyone feared. All of it will feel real in the moment.
But it won’t be real. Not when the playoffs arrive. Not when the rotations shorten and the opponent across the court is Oklahoma City or San Antonio, franchises that spent their summers getting better while Denver spent its summer getting cheaper. The depth will thin. The defense, already gutted by Watson’s departure, will buckle under the pressure of a seven-game series. The age on the roster will surface in ways the regular season never exposes.
The Nuggets will look competitive. They will feel competitive. And then, sometime in April or May, the illusion will shatter, the way it always does for teams that mistake regular-season wins for genuine championship viability.
The Jokic era isn’t over yet. But the ceiling on it may have been quietly sealed this week. And the saddest part is that most of Denver won’t realize it until the moment it becomes impossible to deny.