Sunset: Denver's Dusk Preludes A Fascinating Nightfall
On the end of a difficult season and a potential offseason of big change
Game 7’s are rarely worth talking about.
You can’t take anything forward because that’s it. That’s all, folks. That’s the end. The next time the Nuggets play, they’ll look different. Even if they were to bring back the exact same roster, which I’m confident they won’t, they won’t be the same.
Each season is a microcosm, and the last game of your season often feels like a microcosm of that entire six-to-eight months of basketball.
The same is true of Denver in Game 7. Aaron Gordon battled. Murray was inconsistent. MPJ was limited. Jokic didn’t have enough help… despite the fact that, honestly, his teammates carried him more in their 14 playoff games this year than they had in other seasons.1 The bench was a disaster. OKC has more depth, more intensity, more energy.
That’s it. It’s over. This season is done. So what was this season?
A season where they won over 50 games for the third-straight season. Where they finished top five in offense again. Where they landed a top-four seed in the brutal Western Conference despite injuries to Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon for long stretches.
A season where they advanced to the second round for the sixth time in seven seasons. A season where Jokic had what might have been the greatest individual offensive season in NBA history.
A season where they lost to the Wizards… twice. Where they finished with 15 home losses in the regular season, as many as they had in the past two seasons combined. Where their local icon coach was fired with two weeks left in the season, along with the GM “architect” of the championship team.
Where the season was beset with internal strife and internal political discord. Where the roster around Jokic has never looked worse, while the chest of assets to improve in the future also has never looked worse. Where they lost Game 7 by 40.
It was the not-best-but-pretty-good-sometimes-of-times, it was the worst of times.
Nuggets fans won’t remember this season fondly, but they’ll remember moments. The Jokic 60-20-10 game. The 35-22-17 game. Aaron Gordon’s Miracle At The Wall. Aaron Gordon’s Game 1 buzzer-beater. The Game 7 win vs. the Clippers.
But everyone, and I mean everyone, is ready to turn the page.
A REMINDER OF BETTER TIMES
On the night of the 2023 championship, the word being thrown around by a lot of fans was “dynasty.” The Nuggets had their core four locked up long-term. The young kids, Christian Bruan and Peyton Watson, were sure to develop into great role players. The coach was a city icon, and the front office had put the pieces around the Best Player In The World to win a title.
The sky was the limit.
That night, I urged fans just to celebrate this one. You never know what’s going to happen in the future. Don’t get so focused on future success that you miss out on what’s happening now, because nothing will ever be like winning that first title.
I bring this up not because “I told you so” but because, Lord knows, I’ve been wrong about so many things about the Nuggets over the years. I bring it up as a reminder that the night of the 2023 title happened. They won a title. The Denver Nuggets, these Denver Nuggets, won a title. So many franchises have never done that.
This league has seen eleven NBA champions in 25 years. This league is not made for the have-nots. Even in this era of parity, the Celtics, Lakers, and Warriors each have a title.
We’re programmed as humans to want more in a quest for survival. But we owe it to ourselves to let the good times be enough. Yes, Joker is good enough to deserve as many titles as Shaq or Duncan. But having one still puts him and the franchise on a different level, and that shouldn’t be forgotten.
WHEN LIFE IS HARD, YOU HAVE TO CHANGE
What’s next?
I want to say “change.”
But change is hard.
The most consistent refrain I’ve seen from Nuggets fans is a need to move on from MPJ.
This is so much more complicated than “player played bad, trade now.”
MPJ’s net rating differentials next to Jokic were extreme this season and in the playoffs; you needed his spacing. So if you trade him, you’re going to have to find comparable shooting and Mike’s a consistent 40%-plus shooter.
At the same time, his value is compromised. He’s a player with three back surgeries coming off a season with a hamstring injury midseason and then the shoulder sprain in the playoffs (which was a freak injury).
If Mike was an elite two-way player, just a great defender who shoots 40 percent or better every year, then the injury stuff might be manageable.
You’re offering a player with a scary surgery history who is a minus defender without a live-dribble scoring game.
He has $79 million remaining on his deal over the next two seasons.
That player is very valuable to the Denver Nuggets, which is why they’ve won with him and produced the aforementioned net ratings with him.
That player is not very valuable in an open market with the new CBA restraints. You need a team that needs shooting so badly they are willing to give up assets for that player.
It’s not impossible; it only takes one team talking themselves into it. But the odds are you’re getting several players who are worse than Porter back. Is more worse guys better?
The next idea is Murray. That one’s no spring picnic, either.
You need a team willing to take on his remaining four years which tops out at $57 million.
You need a team that needs a playoff riser who is consistent not from game to game, but season to season at 21 points, 6 assists per game.
You need a team that has assets to spare for that player.
You need a team that can cover for him defensively. You can’t pair him with another poor defensive guard.
Murray has played 78 percent of all regular season games since his ACL surgery. That’s a good number, but you had better be able to live with that remaining 22 percent.
Murray has never played next to another pick and roll big. He might be better. He might be worse. What does Murray look like outside the only system he’s ever played in in the NBA?
Murray is an emotional leader for Denver, and someone who has been there for big games and moments. That doesn’t just disappear because he was bad in last year’s playoffs with a bad calf and in Game 7 (when he was great in Game 3, especially).
No one is going to want to trade AG, not after his most “Mr. Nugget” spring ever. AG’s also going to be 30 and had to deal with a laundry list of injuries this spring.
No one is going to want to trade Christian Braun after his breakout season as a starter, but if you’re talking about “best value assets to move,” CB is No.1 by and large.
Christian Braun is extension eligible. If they wanted to use that in a trade situation, they’re likely looking at a sign-and-trade that might be impacted by a poison pill provision which would make it difficult.
CB’s eligible for potentially a $30 million extension. It’s not reasonable to expect him to take a discount; his career is just getting started.
Plus, no one’s going to want to trade him because he’s been awesome.
So it’s difficult to trade Porter and Murray, and no one’s going to want to trade AG or Braun.
The hope is that the front office, whoever is in charge, will be able to find a “Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso” type sweetheart deal for MPJ. I don’t find that likely, but it’s possible.
Peyton Watson might have an admirer willing to give up a late pick or an asset for him. Strawther is less likely. Zeke Nnaji needs a pick attached to move him. Same for Dario Saric. Russell Westbook has a player option; I don’t know where the team and org is on his return but Aaron Gordon sure made it seem like they would welcome him back, regardless of reports of drama.
These are all decisions for the next head of the org to make. Which brings us to…
THE HEAD(S) OF THE TABLE
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