New Faces in the Mile High City: Nuggets Add Alpha Diallo and Marvin Bagley III to the Frontcourt
Denver kept things quiet this offseason compared to some of the chaos happening around the rest of the league, but don't sleep on what the Nuggets just did — they added two forwards who bring completely different but equally compelling stories to the roster: Alpha Diallo and Marvin Bagley III. One is a hometown homecoming five years in the making. The other is a former No. 2 overall pick looking to lock down a real role after nearly a decade bouncing around the league. Let's break down exactly who these guys are and why Denver wanted them.
First Up: Alpha Diallo Is Coming Home
This is the signing with the best backstory of the bunch, hands down. Alpha Diallo was born in New York City, but he actually grew up in Denver, Colorado after moving there with his mother, attending West High School before finishing his prep career at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire. So when the Nuggets officially announced they'd signed him to a one-year deal on August 4, this wasn't just any free agency add — it's a literal homecoming.
The Long Road to the NBA
Diallo's path here has been anything but a straight line. He played four years at Providence College, where he earned two-time All-Big East honors, but went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft. Instead of waiting around for a call that wasn't coming, he took his game overseas, starting at Lavrio in Greece before landing with AS Monaco in the EuroLeague in 2021 — and that's where he spent the last five seasons turning himself into one of the most feared defenders on the continent.
The résumé he built in Europe is genuinely stacked:
EuroLeague Best Defender (2026)
EuroLeague steals leader (2026)
Three-time LNB Pro A domestic champion
French Cup winner
French League Cup winner
French Supercup winner
Two-time All-LNB Pro A First/Second Team selection
In his final EuroLeague season with Monaco, Diallo averaged 11.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.4 steals across 42 games, numbers that reflect a complete two-way player entering his NBA debut. And yes — his debut. At 29 years old, Diallo will officially become an NBA rookie this season, signing a one-year, guaranteed deal worth around $1.4 million, which lands him at the rookie minimum.
What He Brings to Denver
Diallo is walking in with a reputation as one of the best perimeter defenders outside the NBA, and that's exactly the kind of wing tenacity Denver's been looking to add to its bench rotation. It's a low-risk, high-reward flier for a Nuggets team that knows exactly what it's getting in terms of effort and defensive IQ, even if NBA-level offensive production remains the big question mark.
Second: Marvin Bagley III Brings Experience Up Front
If Diallo is the boom-or-bust wildcard, Marvin Bagley III is the steady, been-there-done-that piece. The Nuggets signed the former No. 2 overall pick (drafted one spot ahead of Luka Doncic back in 2018) to a one-year deal worth roughly $3.5 million, and he's stepping in as Denver's primary backup big man behind, well, one of the greatest centers ever to play the position in Nikola Jokic.
Eight Years, Five Teams, One Steady Skill Set
Bagley's career hasn't gone the way anyone probably projected when Sacramento took him second overall out of Duke in 2018. He's now entering his ninth NBA season and has played for the Kings, Pistons, Wizards, Grizzlies and most recently the Mavericks, who acquired him at last season's trade deadline as part of the blockbuster Anthony Davis deal. Last season, split between Washington and Dallas, he appeared in 60 games and averaged 10.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 20 minutes a night — solid, reliable frontcourt production off the bench.
Denver needed exactly this kind of depth after parting ways with Jonas Valanciunas, whose $10 million salary almost certainly wasn't going to be guaranteed for this season anyway. With Zeke Nnaji and DaRon Holmes providing inconsistent minutes last year, Bagley gives Denver a proven scorer who can operate effectively around the basket and give Jokic legitimate rest without the offense completely stalling out.
Why He Picked Denver
According to reports, Bagley had a "handful" of offers on the table in free agency and chose the Nuggets, likely drawn to the opportunity to play meaningful minutes on a legitimate contender built around Jokic's generational passing. It's the kind of role that lets a player like Bagley showcase his most useful skills — finishing around the rim and providing frontcourt energy — without asking him to do more than he's capable of.
The Big Picture for Denver's Offseason
Neither of these moves is going to make national headlines the way LeBron-to-Philly did, but that's kind of the point. The Nuggets have a championship-caliber core already in place, and what they needed this summer wasn't a splashy blockbuster — it was smart, affordable depth. Diallo gives them defensive versatility and a wildcard scoring option with something to prove. Bagley gives them a steady, low-maintenance backup big who can spell Jokic without a major drop-off.
Denver still has other business to wrap up, including ongoing negotiations with restricted free agents Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones, plus an unsigned second-round pick in Trevon Brazile. But with Diallo and Bagley now locked in, the frontcourt picture behind Jokic looks a whole lot more settled heading into training camp — and for a team with real title aspirations, that kind of quiet, sensible roster-building might matter more than any flashy headline.