While the 2025 NBA offseason saw flashier headlines elsewhere, the Denver Nuggets quietly made significant changes that caught the eye of one of basketball’s toughest critics.

After trading away Michael Porter Jr.—a pivotal part of their 2023 championship core and one of the franchise’s most polarizing young scorers—Denver retooled, acquiring versatile swingman Cam Johnson, steady defender Bruce Brown, and elite rebounder Jonas Valanciunas.

This package comes at the cost of both Porter and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick, a hefty price that signaled a break from sentimentality to address immediate depth needs.

For a team that stumbled in the last postseason due to a thin bench, this reload was less about grabbing stars and more about restoring the balance that once made their supporting cast formidable. As Barkley put it, “If the 2025 NBA Playoffs proved anything, it’s that the Nuggets could be the best team in the Western Conference if they had depth, and now they have it.” 

Barkley’s Approval and the Jokic Equation

Charles Barkley, never shy with his takes, placed the Nuggets alongside the Houston Rockets as the teams with the strongest summer moves.

“They’ve got the best player in the world. They just needed some more depth... So that’s all you can say until they start playing,” Barkley told The Denver Post. His logic is clear: as long as Nikola Jokic remains at his transcendent peak, the Nuggets simply cannot afford to let his prime be wasted for lack of support.

This refrain echoes Barkley’s season-long commentary urging the Denver front office to maximize Jokic’s window. The loss of role players in prior years had left the two-time MVP carrying unsustainable minutes and workload. The new acquisitions address this vulnerability directly, providing both relief and insurance without disrupting the team’s identity.

Looking Ahead: Western Conference Stakes

Barkley’s confidence is more than a hot take—it’s an acknowledgment that the modern NBA demands continual adaptation, especially for contenders. The Nuggets’ moves may not match the blockbuster optics of superstar signings elsewhere, but they represent a pivot to correcting last season’s failures.

With Cam Johnson’s shooting, Brown’s defensive versatility, and Valanciunas’s presence in the paint, Denver now boasts a deeper, more dynamic rotation to take on West heavyweights like OKC and the reloaded Rockets.

The ultimate verdict will play out across 82 games, but Barkley’s backing has reframed the conversation: these Nuggets, reshaped but refocused, may yet prove themselves the true threat in the race for Western Conference supremacy.