OKLAHOMA CITY — The Denver Nuggets didn’t fail this season — their front office did.
To twist the knife further, it ran directly against now-fired head coach Michael Malone’s well-known reluctance to play young players.
The major injuries to Porter and Gordon that they both played through was a sign of how desperate things were on the backside of the Nuggets roster.
Jokic, always diplomatic, gave the reality without even trying to: “We cannot ask for somebody who didn’t play maybe 20-30 games to jump in and like, be good,” Jokic said.
Peyton, was in the rotation, but he had some good minutes too.” Translation: Malone didn’t play the young guys enough during the season.
Oklahoma City — The Denver Nuggets’ front office failed this season, not the team itself.
That may not appear on a chilly scoreboard that displays “second round exit” next to the defending champions for the second year in a row, or after taking a 125-93 beating at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7. However, it becomes evident when you zoom out, take emotion out of the picture, and examine what this roster accomplished in spite of the choices that limited them: the players made the most of a lemon that the front office handed them months ago.
The Timberwolves’ victory over the Nuggets in the second round last spring marked the beginning of it. The problems were evident once the roster was made public. the shallowness. the excessive dependence on a strong starting five. Shallow shooting. a small number of defenders on the team. inadequate ballhandling. disregarding the middle and rear ends of the rotation, which results in a narrow margin of error.
The Nuggets were humiliated once more by one of the worst blowouts in the team’s history. Denver lost more home games than they won. Additionally, they blew a lead in Game 7. The issues at hand, which went beyond the result, were also roughly the same.
This summer, the answer is to cut costs. Be “flexible,” however you define that.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was allowed to depart for Orlando after they refused to make him a competitive offer. It was done in an attempt to avoid the new second apron, which would allow the Nuggets to change certain players on their roster whenever they desired. Denver never had the resources to finish a trade, though, due to the other actions of now-fired general manager Calvin Booth. Instead, they transferred Reggie Jackson while dumping his salary.
Dario Saric’s signing to the taxpayer mid-level exception was the result of that flexibility. He stunk and didn’t play in the postseason, not even in the few lopsided losses like Sunday’s, so I can’t blame you if you don’t recognize his name. The icing on the cake was a cruel injury, but in keeping with a recurring trend, they selected another rookie, DaRon Holmes, who tore his Achilles.
Since Booth took over in the summer of 2022, Denver has routinely selected undeveloped, unready prospects, even if Holmes is not an exception. It is difficult to understand how this man devoted his entire life to the sport when the strategy was so out of step with their championship timeline. To make matters worse, it went against the well-known hesitancy of now-fired head coach Michael Malone to use young players.
And by sitting out the last two trade deadlines when the team was pleading for veteran assistance, Booth continued to reinforce his philosophy because he felt it was the right one. Over the past 15 months, all of the NBA’s remaining teams—OKC, Indiana, Minnesota, and New York—have made significant moves. They were able to save money.
Let us not fool ourselves. Game 7, as well as Games 4 and 5, did not end this season. Both in February and last summer, it was lost.
Michael Porter Jr., Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray, and Nikola Jokic? accomplished under those conditions is truly amazing. In the 142 minutes they played together in the series against OKC, that group was still a crazy plus-34, even without their best shooting guard of the previous two seasons. They drove this incredible Thunder team, which had been built for years, to the limit.
Following Game 7, Gordon remarked, “Confidence doesn’t waver; a couple of plays here or there could have changed this series.”.
The remainder of the roster was a patch job, but the Nuggets’ core group was almost flawlessly put together. Porter and Gordon both played through serious injuries, which demonstrated how desperate the Nuggets’ back end was. Russell Westbrook, the former MVP of Denver, led the team with a minus-34 record, while the Thunder had a bench that turned the series around.
Westbrook’s time in Denver has gone exactly as planned thus far. Missed open shots, wild turnovers, and drama in the locker room during the pivotal moment of the season. He has been the same player ever since he left the Thunder. Denver was doomed by the other options, though. After spending the final month of the season injured, Julian Strawther suddenly became a prominent figure on the whiteboard. Peyton Watson, who was always a project, has yet to show that he is a viable playoff contributor. Hunter Tyson and Jalen Pickett, on the other hand, are unable to even play unless one team is ahead by 30.
And that’s not even taking into consideration Malone’s late-season dismissal, which was the only action taken by ownership and screamed panic.
On the eve of the playoffs, during the greatest season ever, owner Josh Kroenke actually told the team, “Play hard and have fun.”. “.”.
The Nuggets played hard, too. They organized. They triumphed over the Clippers in a difficult playoff series. Against this formidable powerhouse, they advanced to Game 7. That is pride rather than failure.
Always tactful, Jokic delivered the facts without even attempting to.
Jokic remarked, “We can’t expect someone who hasn’t played maybe 20-30 games to just jump in and be good.”. Julian, however, took the initiative. He was satisfactory. Although he was in the rotation, Peyton also had some productive minutes. “.”.
Translation: During the season, Malone did not play enough young players. The group was ill-prepared. As a result, the core was left to make the most of what they had.
Jokic remarked, “It appears that the teams with longer rotations—longer benches—are the ones that are winning.”.
You don’t need to speak Serbian well to understand what that means. The Nuggets aren’t picking the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday because of their invisible bench. And the players are not at fault for that. The people who created this roster are responsible for that.
Which leads us to Kroenke once more.
Following the Game 7 defeat, he told ESPN, “This is the most proud I’ve been outside of the championship because these guys have really rallied.”.
Proud? Proud of what you made this roster go through? That would be like chopping off someone’s leg and then applauding them while they run a marathon, which they ran bravely for twenty-five miles before passing out.
Everyone in Denver should be proud of Josh because the Nuggets were a very resilient team. However, Kroenke’s choices are what forced them to be resilient in the first place. Two cost-cutting measures were appointing Booth as a leader after dismissing the esteemed Tim Connelly and observing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk. The fact that Kroenke let Booth and Malone’s relationship deteriorate so much and that he was distracted when the Nuggets were falling apart also comes back to haunt him.
Following the dismissals last month, Kroenke stated, “I’m very protective of that culture at this point, which is why I say that I failed both Cal and Mo as a leader, because I let certain things slip to a place that they never should have been.”. “Last week, we came to a decision that I had previously wavered on twice, and I needed to improve myself for the group by checking some personal feelings and showing respect for both of them. “”.
This group was deserving of support. Rather, it has hope—and “enjoy yourself.”. “”.
Now that Joker’s prime is running out, it is imperative that the most significant decision of the offseason be made. The Nuggets need to make the right choice in hiring the general manager. since this team isn’t flawed. It’s exhausted, bruised, and understaffed. The reason the car is running on fumes isn’t because the engine failed, but rather because someone neglected to fill up the tires and refuel it.
The Nuggets showed that they had a strong core for the second consecutive season, led by the generational Jokic, the fiery Murray, Gordon, the brave MPJ, and Braun’s leap.
Their window is closed without any real assistance, a strategy, or depth; the only way it can reopen is if the right general manager is hired, someone who can travel to Denver and give Jokic a better hand.
Really, this season wasn’t a bust. We had some of the greatest franchise moments thanks to the Nuggets. We had incredible moments from their players.
However, because the choices that ultimately led to their demise were made behind closed doors rather than in a meeting, the conclusion was bitter and predictable.
The most crucial choice of the offseason is now to choose the right general manager. Because Jokic is requesting a fair fight, not miracles. Give him more than just hope; give him teammates. Give him a bench instead of just faith.
Denver is a basketball town now because of him. It’s time for those in charge to demonstrate how urgent they are to solidify his legacy.
Or “I mean, we didn’t (win a championship),” as Jokic stated. Then, of course, we cannot. I don’t believe in those “ifs,” because if we could, we would win. I believe we won’t be able to win a championship this year because we had the chance and didn’t win. “.”.
