Nuggets could make costly mistake with DeMar DeRozan decision

The Denver Nuggets are in hot water this offseason after their decision to trade Peyton Watson away for financial reasons. That was made more confounding by the fact that they basically replaced him with DeMar DeRozan, a six-time All-Star who is already in the twilight of his career and offers a much more questionable fit than the young forward.

By virtue of his stature as a longtime star, many are expecting DeRozan to start games for the Nuggets. However, Denver's coaching staff should prevent that situation at all costs. After all, there are simply not a lot of reasons to justify starting him instead of having him come off the bench as their nominal sixth man.

With Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray already leading the attack in the opening group, there is no real additive value attendant with deploying DeRozan as a starter. As a score-first player himself, the team will only get diminishing returns if he is forced into opening games.

What the Nuggets are lacking right now

The Nuggets do not have a high-octane scorer off the bench, so it is only sensible for them to have DeRozan spearhead the second unit. That way, the team will also be able to hide his lack of defensive acuity and get him to face weaker opposition on that end.

DeRozan remains one of the most efficient scorers in the league despite his lack of a reliable three-point shot. This past season, he averaged 18.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 49.7 percent from the field. Those are still impressive numbers that will only look more sterling if showcased off the bench.

At this point in his career, DeRozan's fit on a winning team, much less a title aspirant, is only going to become trickier. But as a part of the Nuggets roster, if his role gets streamlined off the bench, he should be able to enjoy a few more productive years as a pro.