The Nuggets Won't Let Go

Can Adelman Fix Everything?

Photo by Super Tseng on Unsplash

The biggest tension point for the Denver Nuggets over the next 18 months will be centered around four players who came together and won the first title in NBA history.

In short, all signs point to the idea that it’s time to shake up the roster, move on from various players, and reinvent the team. The team, however, and in particular KSE Vice Chairman Josh Kroenke, seem determined to prove that you can just recapture the magic.

What follows is some Dr. Strange action on trying to see how this is going to go.

But first, the why.

FRIENDS AND COUNTRYMEN

At David Adelman’s press conference on Wednesday¹, Josh Kroenke also spoke and reiterated his messaging that most of their improvement is expected to come internally. He also reaffirmed his commitment to the leaders in the locker room.

From The Post:

“I can say very clearly that this organization does not need a cultural reset.” He focused on the locker room as proof, referring to the leadership-by-committee style that Adelman fostered during a second-round playoff run. The central idea: Adelman has already shown his openness to hearing other voices and collaborating as needed.

“The players are policing that (culture) on a daily basis,” Kroenke continued. “And from what I saw in how the players responded, our culture is still there. We just needed to peel off a few things.”

What the Nuggets are currently pivoting to as an organization is a “them, not us” approach.

As in, “the problem was Booth and Malone, not anyone else.”

It makes sense, given how toxic the situation had become, which I’ve reported on before. In the aftermath of the season, predictably, more rumors and suggestions of Malone’s behavior have started to leak.²

The question is not just whether that’s a fair and accurate assessment of what went “wrong³” for the Nuggets this season, but what the equal and opposite reaction to that is.

If the problem was just Booth v. Malone, then you don’t have to disrupt the roster, and in particular, you don’t have to examine moving on from the core.

Because that looks painful.

Jamal Murray was drafted by the Nuggets. He cried after suffering his ACL tear, worried the team would trade him. He has bled and fought and made shots that define Nuggets playoff excellence.

Michael Porter Jr. has battled through surgeries over and over again. He stuck with the program and learned to play his role through the tough demands of Malone. He’s from Columbia, Missouri, where Josh Kroenke attended undergrad. There’s a special relationship there.

Aaron Gordon is now Jokic’s favorite teammate ever, and one of the most beloved Nuggets ever.

Christian Braun is from Kansas City⁴ and a homegrown talent that ownership believes in.

The only path to reshaping this team in any meaningful way is a trade of one of those players.

Selling high on Braun before his expected $30-million extension would be a terrific example of being bold with the best assets available.

Trading Murray would send the message that good isn’t good enough for the second-best player to Jokic if that player isn’t an All-Star/All-NBA talent.

Trading Gordon would be a great sell-high on a player with a lot of miles on him who already has started to see injury issues with the amount of games and minutes he’s played.

Trading MPJ is toughest; his value for his contract is pretty painful but with an expiration date it’s at least movable, but would require taking back several pieces whose talent is likely worse than the sum of MPJ’s but that you hope helps the whole be better.

What’s clear from JKroenke’s comments is that he believes Denver has what it needs, right now, to win the title again.

REINVENTING THE WHEEL

And effectively, the expectation is for David Adelman, a first-year full-time head coach next season, to draw that out of them by developing the young talent that was not good enough to see the floor in the playoffs for the most part, and reinventing schemes on both sides with the starters.

Adelman might do it. Maybe he gets Peyton Watson to lock in and become the three-level scorer and defensive menace he’s flashed. Maybe he unlocks whatever it is that Zeke Nnaji is supposed to be. Maybe Julian Strawther wins 6th Man of the Year.

Maybe Adelman reinvents an efficient but stale offense, or convinces Jokic to stagger with the second unit to alleviate those issues. Maybe adding a new defensive coordinator solves Denver’s problems at the rim and in the corners.

But that’s a lot to ask.