Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets locker room:

NBA Insider

Jalen Brunson sent the NBA into the offseason with a 45-point masterpiece in Saturday’s Game 5 win over the Spurs to bring the championship to New York for the first time since 1973.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo headlining a list of players potentially on the move this summer, a lot is subject to change in the next couple of months. Antetokounmpo’s future will be the first domino to fall before most teams will talk other trades.

Here’s the top 10 of our power rankings at the start of the offseason:

1. Oklahoma City Thunder

While the bid to be the first team to repeat in nearly a decade ended in the conference finals, Oklahoma City is still the deepest and most versatile roster in the league. The talent is starting to get expensive, but Sam Presti made it sound like running it back is on the table if that’s what’s best for the team. Armed with the 12^th and 17^th picks in this year’s draft and a reserve of future picks, the Thunder have the assets to get even better – whether that’s an effort to move up in the draft or a big swing on another superstar. If the Thunder can find a way to land Michigan big Aday Mara, they’ll have another option to throw at Victor Wembanyama. The most pressing issue is the team options for Isaiah Hartenstein ($28.5 million) and Lu Dort ($17.7 million), while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams are each making more than $40 million starting next season.

2. San Antonio Spurs

Speaking of Wembanyama, San Antonio’s overachieving trip to the Finals provided plenty of experience for the NBA’s best young core. There’s a lot to be learned from the group’s first trip to the Finals. Wembanyama and Stephon Castle need some offensive polish. Dylan Harper needs to grow as a creator. Coach Mitch Johnson could be a little more flexible defensively and get Wembanyama into better spots offensively, but the young group deserves the benefit of the doubt. The Spurs have a couple of no-brainer decisions to make this offseason. Wembanyama’s going to get a big extension, and Julian Champagnie’s team option for $3 million will be picked up expeditiously. Key pieces Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson are eligible for, and should receive, extensions. The toughest decision comes down to De’Aaron Fox. He’s standing in the way of Harper getting even more playing time. Fox’s contract isn’t an issue with a lot of the talent still on rookie contracts, but keeping both lead guards satisfied could be tricky.

3. New York Knicks

Not to rain on the Knicks’ parade before the champions celebrate in the streets of Manhattan on Thursday, but the Thunder and Spurs are in a tier of their own atop the league. The Knicks have a couple of key pieces entering unrestricted free agency. Losing Mitchell Robinson would leave the Knicks thin on the inside, while Landry Shamet provided some valuable shooting in big moments. Jalen Brunson’s team-friendly contract should help the Knicks retain the key reserves. The Knicks have the 24^th and 31^st overall picks to add to the championship roster. Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart can sign extensions this summer. Neither deal should significantly change New York’s outlook.

4. Boston Celtics

The Celtics and Heat are the favorites to swing a deal with Milwaukee to get Antetokounmpo. As impressive as Boston’s regular season was, the first-round loss to Philadelphia should be enough to get Brad Stevens to consider an aggressive move to get Milwaukee’s superstar. The counter is Jayson Tatum just getting up to speed before the playoffs started – less than a year after having his Achilles tendon surgically repaired. Bringing back Neemias Queta, a revelation this season, is an easy choice on a $2.7 million contract. Pairing Tatum and Antetokounmpo would lift Boston back to the top of the Eastern Conference.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves

The teams in the second tier of the Western Conference, topped by the Timberwolves, have some serious decisions to make. After losing three games to the Spurs by 29 or more points in the second round, Minnesota shouldn’t feel like it’s close to contending with the Thunder or Spurs. Shaking things up and acquiring a different second star would likely cost Jaden McDaniels or Rudy Gobert, a move that fundamentally changes the team’s identity. That comes with a significant amount of risk for a team that’s going to be without Donte DiVincenzo for most, if not all, of next season. The Timberwolves have the 28^th and 59^th overall picks this year. Ayo Dosunmu, Mike Conley, Bones Hyland and Kyle Anderson are unrestricted free agents.

6. Denver Nuggets

If the Timberwolves are in a tough spot, Denver’s in an even bigger jam. Shaking things up in a significant fashion means Jamal Murray, coming off his best regular season to date, or Aaron Gordon, a vital part of the team’s culture, will not be back. Mostly running it back means operating in the second apron and paying the luxury tax for a team that failed to get out of the first round against the Timberwolves team. Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones are restricted free agents. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown are unrestricted, while reserve guard Jalen Pickett has a team option worth $2.4 million. Nikola Jokic, the only untouchable, is eligible to sign a massive extension in a few weeks that will keep him in Denver.

7. Detroit Pistons

Despite entering the postseason with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons needed to win three consecutive games to get out of the first round. Then, Detroit blew a 2-0 lead over Cleveland in the second round. Jalen Duren enters restricted free agency after a breakout season and disappointing playoff performance. Kevin Huerter and Tobias Harris are unrestricted free agents, while Daniss Jenkins has a team option worth $4 million that will be picked up. Ausar Thompson and Isaiah Stewart, two key pieces of Detroit’s stingy defense, are extension eligible this summer.

8. Houston Rockets

On paper, the Rockets should be much more dangerous next season. Kevin Durant played in just one of the first-round series games against the Lakers, and Houston desperately missed Fred VanVleet’s ability to run an offense. VanVleet has a player option worth $25 million, while Tari Eason is a restricted free agent. If Durant wants out, he has some leverage, as he enters next season on the final year of his contract, though he does have a player option for the 2027-28 season. Like his twin in Detroit, Amen Thompson is extension eligible. The Rockets don’t have a first-round pick this year.

9. Los Angeles Lakers

The only certainty is Luka Doncic will lead the Lakers into next season. LeBron James, an unrestricted free agent, will have to decide whether he wants to extend his record-breaking career that’s already spanned 23 seasons. Austin Reaves is going to decline his $14.9 million player option and get a much bigger deal in Los Angeles or elsewhere. Deandre Ayton ($8.1 million) and Marcus Smart ($5.4 million) also have player options for the upcoming season, while Rui Hachimura is an unrestricted free agent.

10. Cleveland Cavaliers

The only team that operated in the second apron last season turned the expensive roster into a return to the conference finals for the first time since LeBron James was a Cavalier. Most of the playoff rotation is under contract for next season. The possible exception is James Harden, who has a $42.3 million player option for next season. With 13 players under contract for next season, Cleveland is already $200,000 over the second apron with the 29^th overall pick set to join the squad. Another veteran minimum contract to complete the 15-man roster would put the Cavaliers roughly $5 million over the second apron, meaning Cleveland could keep the core four – Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen – together and duck the second apron with a different move.

What I’m following

• Tiago Splitter is an interim no longer. The man who replaced Chauncey Billups in Portland early last season and led the Trail Blazers to a 42-40 record agreed to become the next coach of the Bulls on Monday morning. He replaces Billy Donovan, who stepped down after last season.
• Alex Sarr survived a scare. Washington’s big man had surgery to repair a fractured right foot suffered in a recent workout, the team announced Monday. The good news is he’s expected to be healthy for the start of the season.
• Potential top pick Darryn Peterson is only meeting with the Wizards ahead of next week’s draft, according to an ESPN report. Washington has the first overall pick followed by Utah and Memphis.

What they’re saying

San Antonio’s Defensive Player of the Year received a lot of criticism for shooting 42.3% from the field, 27.3% from 3-point range and committing a couple of questionable fouls in the Finals.

“This has been a hell of a year in terms of experience. I don’t think we could have learned more and gained more experience in one playoff run and in one season and personally in 18 months,” Wembanyama said. “This is the biggest lesson of my life, the biggest learning moment. I can’t tell you exactly what the lesson is. But we’re learning from that. I’m learning more than any other time in my life.”

Two of San Antonio’s losses came by a single point and the final loss of the season was tied with a little more than a minute left.

“The margin for error is very thin,” Wembanyama said. “Our domination stints are absolute. We absolutely dominated for most of the series, but our errors, our mistakes are punished so hard that we can’t have ups and downs like this so much.”