DeMar DeRozan
DeRozan is the Nuggets' first scorer off the bench for 2026-27, after a one-year, $3.9 million deal, and the coach says he will settle the exact rotation by feel in preseason.
Role
Coach David Adelman said at training camp (Denver Post's Bennett Durando, via Yahoo and SI, early October) that the starting five stays the same as last year: Murray, Braun, Cameron Johnson, Gordon and Jokic. DeRozan comes off the bench and is described as first off it. I found no reported minutes or usage figures for him, so I am not stating any. Adelman's comments leave open which rotations pair him with which starters. Reports list Tyus Jones, Julian Strawther, Lonnie Walker IV and Spencer Jones among the other depth wings and guards, but I read no current rotation tracker. The wire note says he rests for Wednesday's preseason game against the Clippers. He has no injury designation, and I found no report of a back-to-back rest plan.
He is a six-time All-Star who has been an entrenched starter for most of his career, now paired with Jokic as a bench scorer. He can play several forward and wing spots and create for others. Outlets cited him averaging 18.4 points, 4.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds for Sacramento last season. He accepted the bench role and the minimum deal, which points to a settled role with no friction.
He is 37 and was bought out by the Kings. The starting five stayed intact, so his role depends on bench rotations that Adelman is still testing. Denver's most-used lineup last season, with Braun in it, started 23 games together and went 18-5, so the incumbents have a strong case to keep their spots. Our own card shows only 2 games last season, so it says little about his current workload. It also differs from the outside reports of his Sacramento production, and I could not reconcile the two.
Where analysts split
Whether he starts or comes off the bench is mostly settled: the coach confirmed the bench. Preseason projections in August had him starting at shooting guard over Christian Braun, and the coach's October announcement overrode that. The open question is whether Adelman's preseason experiments bring DeRozan into the starting five. Adelman mentioned Cameron Johnson as the alternative, since Johnson was strong with the second unit last year. I found no sign of that change, and it has not been confirmed.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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