The Nuggets have a 1.5% chance at the No. 1 overall pick heading into the May 20th draft lottery, and GM Tim Connelly signaled his belief in building through the draft in an interview with Aaron J. Lopez of NBA.com. He also touched on his plans to talk about an extension with Thad Foucher client Kenneth Faried later in the offseason, and he had plenty more to say about the team after an injury-racked 2013/14. We’ll hit the highlights here:
On Brian Shaw‘s first year as an NBA head coach:
“He was the best. At times, it was difficult on our end [in the front office]. I can’t imagine what Brian was going through as a rookie head coach. He faced 10 years of issues in one year. At every turn, he handled the situation correctly. He’s been great and we’re fortunate to have him.”
On Faried:
“I tell guys all the time, ‘We want to pay you. Give us a reason to pay you.’ Certainly Kenneth’s energy and toughness is something our team feeds off of. It embodies who we’re trying to be. We’re in a great spot. He has another year on his rookie scale contract. We’ll try to come to some agreement this offseason. Hopefully we do. If not, he’s still on our team and we have restricted [free agency] rights the following year. It’s certainly a good spot to be in. We have to be an organization — and we have been — that will reward good play. And Kenneth’s played well — really well.”
On whether he would view missing the playoffs next year as a failure:
“That’s 100% accurate, especially considering where this organization has been for the last decade. [Team president] Josh [Kroenke] didn’t instill faith in myself and Brian to rebuild this team. This team’s ready to win. We have to ensure that’s going to happen next year. The health’s already on its way. Now we have to be creative and add a little more to the mix.”