What they did: The Nuggets boosted their depth by trading for Arron Afflalo and rookie Ty Lawson, and also re-signed reserve forward Chris Andersen. They let shooting guard Dahntay Jones go, and could wind up losing backup point guard Anthony Carter and forward Linas Kleiza, too. Contender or pretender? Pretender. The Nugs earned a spot in the West finals last year, and it's difficult to imagine them doing much better than that this year. They had decent luck with health and great years from Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, who will be 33 in September and has got to begin slowing down eventually. The Nuggets will be returning pretty much the same group as last year while the teams around them have added big-time pieces.