Are the Denver Nuggets just one Game 7 away from being an NBA champion once again? Perhaps. If the young, talented and deep Oklahoma City Thunder wins it all, it’s highly possible Denver could be the team that gave them the biggest fight.
Or, are the Nuggets a mess? No coach. No GM. No bench. Are they old and tired? Were the 32 points that separated the Thunder and Nuggets in the only game of the series that ultimately mattered a reflection of just how far Denver has fallen two seasons after winning it all?
Does Josh Kroenke need to tinker or make a splash? Given the current roster (and contracts) what can he really do?
Now that it’s all over, these are the questions that can officially be asked. The answers are not easy or simple.
The good news: Nikola Jokic is still the best player on the world.
The bad news: Unless he gets help, he’ll be run into the ground. Furthermore, if the pieces around him don’t improve, the Thunder just wrote the blue print on stopping the Nuggets – beat the hell out of the three-time MVP and swarm him bodies of all sizes. From there, take your chances with the “other guys” beating you.
The good news: Jamal Murray can still play.
The bad news: Given Murray’s health – as a general rule of thumb – we may have seen the best he’s ever going to be. Like Jokic, he needs help too. If the Nuggets are wise, they’ll get him help in terms of personnel; they’ll also make sure he spends the entire offseason with the best strength and conditioning coaches and nutritionists that money can buy. The only way Murray lives up to his new, likely untradeable, contract, is if he’s better. And to do that, he’s got to be healthier than he’s historically been.
The good news: There’s an attractive job opening in Denver. Because the Nuggets possess the league’s best player, there should be no shortage of sharp, basketball minds who’d like to take a crack at getting the Joker another ring.
The bad news: Well, there’s a reason there’s a vacancy near the top of Denver’s org chart. Former GM Calvin Booth left arguably one of the more challenging retooling (rebuilding?) opportunities the NBA has ever seen. There are contracts that will be difficult to move (see Murray and Michael Porter Jr.), contracts that are simply head-scratching (see Zeke Nnaji and Dario Saric), a bench that’s still largely unproven (perhaps it’s more appropriate to blame former head coach Michael Malone, who still might be right in his assessment of the Nuggets young talent, or lack thereof) and very little draft capital to work with.
The good news: The core of Jokic, Murray and Aaron Gordon (throw in Christian Braun, who proved he’s a bona fide NBA starter this season) is one that any head coach would want to coach.
The bad news: David Adelman coached admirably in his odd opportunity. Yet, it’s probably most accurate to call his performance “inconclusive.” At times, he was great. At others, he made mistakes – totally understandable considering his 17 game stint as interim head coach. Ultimately, he’ll be a head coach in the NBA one day. Should he hold that job in Denver, in the midst of Jokic’s prime? It might have been an easier decision if Adelman flamed out in grand fashion. He certainly did not. Obviously and conversely, if he took the Nuggets to the NBA Finals, that’s an easy call, too. Unfortunately the Nuggets are stuck in the middle.
The good news: Josh Kroenke has the best player in the league and a challenging situation around him – but he’s also got a lot of money. One trip into the NBA’s pricey second apron might allow the Nuggets new GM to rapidly clean up a great deal of the mess Booth left behind and still compete for a title while Jokic is in his prime.
The bad news: Historically speaking, Kroenke-owned teams rarely wade into such spend-heavy waters.
It might be the most critical offseason in Nuggets history. There’s no shame in being one of the best teams in the Western Conference; plenty of cities would be thrilled to start from such a position of power. On the flip side, the title window for Nikola Jokic is closing – perhaps slowly , or maybe quickly, but closing nonetheless.
A year from now, what will the Denver Nuggets look like?
What now?
The good and bad news entering the most critical offseason in Nuggets history Mile High Sports.
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