Nuggets Face Tough Decisions As Roster Becomes More Expensive
Cost-cutting could become the focus of the Nuggets‘ offseason plans, with possibly more than one “starter-level player” being moved in an effort to trim salary, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post.
Denver already has $213.8MM committed to 10 players for next season, which exceeds both the projected luxury tax level and the first apron while being in sight of the $222MM second apron. Durando expects ownership to view the second apron as a hard cap while possibly having designs on escaping the tax.
Jonas Valanciunas, who has a $2MM guarantee on his $10MM salary for next season, is almost certain to be gone, according to Durando. He could be traded to a team willing to accept the $2MM in dead money, but a second-round pick would have to be attached and the Nuggets only have three available. Other options are to waive him and keep the $2MM on next season’s cap sheet or to use the stretch provision over the next three years.
Durando also expects Denver to exercise its $2.41MM option on Jalen Pickett – whose contract is roughly $40K cheaper than the projected cap hit for a veteran’s minimum salary – and to hang on to the 26th pick in the draft, which fills another roster spot for about $3.1MM.
The choices get tougher with restricted free agents Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones, Durando adds. Jones fell just short of starter criteria this season, so his qualifying offer will be $2.65MM rather than $5.9MM. Watson’s is $6.5MM, but his offers in free agency will be far above that number. Durando suggests the Nuggets might want to discourage prospective suitors by expressing their intentions to match any offers for both players, but they’ll need to clear out a significant amount of salary before that becomes realistic.
Trading Christian Braun may be impossible since his five-year extension is just beginning, but Durando suggests there might be takers for Zeke Nnaji, who’s down to two years left on his contract and will make $7.5MM next season. Durando also theorizes that Denver could get involved as a facilitator in a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade as a way to get rid of an unwanted contract.
To move significant money, the Nuggets would have to part with Jamal Murray ($50.1MM next season), Aaron Gordon ($32MM) or Cameron Johnson ($23.1MM). Durando points to Johnson as the easiest to move because he has an expiring contract, but even erasing his entire salary without taking anything back would still leave them several million above the tax line once they fill out the roster.
The only realistic path toward getting out of the tax is to unload Johnson and another valuable player, whether that means sacrificing Watson in free agency or considering a move to send out Murray or Gordon. Regardless of the path, Durando views it as a potential step back for an organization that wants to keep contending for titles while Nikola Jokic is still in his prime.
Nigerian National Team Hires David Fizdale As New Coach
Former NBA coach David Fizdale, who is currently an analyst for NBA TV, is the new head coach of Nigeria’s men’s national team, he tells Marc J. Spears of ESPN Andscape.
The 51-year-old will be looking to lead the Nigerians to the 2028 Olympic games in Fizdale’s hometown of Los Angeles.
“It will be fun and exciting calling timeouts and drawing plays up again as a head coach,” Fizdale told ESPN Andscape in a phone interview. “It will be good to get back in that mindset of preparation and motivation. That is going to be fun and exciting as well. But the biggest fact is the nostalgia and what is driving me to get to L.A. What is driving me the most is helping Nigeria not only qualify and medal, but to do that in front of my family. That would be the most special thing.”
Fizdale spent several years as an assistant in Miami prior to landing his first head coaching job with Memphis. He also had a stint as head coach of New York. Overall, Fizdale compiled a 71-134 (.346 win percentage) regular season record across parts of four seasons with the Grizzlies and Knicks from 2016-19. His most recent coaching job came as the top assistant in Phoenix from 2023-25.
According to Fizdale, current Knicks head coach Mike Brown — who previously led Nigeria’s national team — helped convince him to take the job. Nigeria will play in the African qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA World Cup in early July, Spears notes.
If the Nigerian national team is able to qualify for the 2027 World Cup or 2028 Olympics, the roster could be loaded with NBA talent. A source tells Spears that Desmond Bane, OG Anunoby, Onyeka Okongwu, Gabe Vincent, Mark Williams, Zeke Nnaji, Precious Achiuwa, Josh Okogie, Adem Bona and Isaac Okoro are among the candidates to potentially suit up for those events.
Nuggets Notes: Offseason, Watson, Johnson, Valanciunas
With $203MM+ committed to eight players for the 2026/27 season and multiple key contributors, including Peyton Watson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Spencer Jones, and Bruce Brown facing free agency, the Nuggets will have a hard time keeping their current roster intact let alone upgrading it, as Jason Quick and Sam Amick write for The Athletic.
Examining some of the difficult roster decisions facing Denver this offseason, Quick and Amick wonder if players like Aaron Gordon, Cameron Johnson, and/or Julian Strawther could end up on the trade block. While Christian Braun and Zeke Nnaji are also potential trade candidates, Nnaji has been a negative trade asset essentially since signing a four-year rookie scale extension back in the fall of 2023, and Braun’s own five-year, $125MM rookie scale extension, which will go into effect later this year, will limit his appeal on the trade market, according to The Athletic’s duo.
If the Nuggets stick with their current core, they’ll be leaning heavily on two players entering their age-31 seasons (Nikola Jokic and Gordon) and one who will turn 30 during the ’26/27 season (Jamal Murray). However, EVP of player personnel Jon Wallace tells The Athletic that Denver doesn’t have any concerns about the ages of its top players.
[RELATED: Nikola Jokic: ‘I Still Want To Be A Nugget Forever’]
“We’re mature, but we are not old,” Wallace said. “You look at OKC and the San Antonios and yes, they are here, they have arrived, and they have a lot of good, young talent. But I think we have a good mixture of both maturity and some youth.”
Here’s more on the Nuggets:
- While there are a few teams with cap room expected to be among Watson’s suitors this summer, re-signing the restricted free agent wing is considered the Nuggets’ top offseason priority, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
- Johnson, who has been traded from Phoenix to Brooklyn to Denver in recent years, acknowledged after Thursday’s season-ending loss that he understands the “business side” of basketball, but added that he hopes to get another chance to make a run with this team next season, per Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette. “For me personally, there’s a lot left to be done with this group, but it’s not always in my hands,” Johnson said.
- Nuggets reserve center Jonas Valanciunas is technically under contract for next season, but his $10MM salary is only partially guaranteed for $2MM, so he’s a strong candidate to be waived. If so, it sounds like a return overseas is very much in play after it didn’t happen a year ago. According to Jonas Lekšas of Krepsinis.net (Twitter link), Zalgiris Kaunas – the EuroLeague’s only current team based in Valanciunas’ home country of Lithuania – is prepared to offer a guaranteed two-year deal that would start at two million Euros (hat tip to Stefan Acevski of Eurohoops). The big man reportedly sought a move to the Greek club Panathinaikos last summer, but the Nuggets were unwilling to negotiate a buyout at that time.
- Within his preview of the Nuggets’ offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks suggests the team needs to add a reserve point guard and a reserve big man who can protect the rim. Replacements for Hardaway and Brown will also be necessary if they don’t want to return on team-friendly contracts, Marks notes.
Injuries Pile Up For Nuggets In Win Over Golden State
The Nuggets pulled away from Golden State for their sixth straight victory on Sunday, but the team’s corps of forwards was depleted by the end of the game, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post.
Coach David Adelman was expecting to have his full rotation available, but Aaron Gordon felt tightness in his left calf when he woke up Sunday morning. Gordon returned to action earlier this month after missing 17 games with a strained right hamstring, so the team is being careful in hopes of keeping him healthy for the playoffs. He was held out as a precaution, and Peyton Watson took his place in the starting lineup.
However, Watson just returned last Sunday after missing six weeks with a hamstring injury and has been restricted to about 20 minutes per game. He picked up four fouls against Golden State in the first half, further limiting his availability.
Spencer Jones began feeling tightness in his right hamstring after the first quarter and wasn’t able to return. Jones has been seeing time at backup center lately, so that forced Adelman into another lineup adjustment.
Early in the third quarter, Cameron Johnson walked to the locker room while grabbing the right side of his torso. He was diagnosed with back spasms and was listed as questionable to return. Zeke Nnaji took his place at power forward, but had an awkward landing after being hit in the face by Kristaps Porzingis. He went to the locker room with a left hip impingement and was using crutches when he left the arena, according to Benedetto.
“It’s just been so funny this year has been like that,” Adelman said. “It’s never a guard and a forward, or a guard and a center. It’s like, it’s just the whole (position) group goes out.”
The injuries created an opportunity for Jonas Valanciunas, who had been benched for the previous five games. He played just five minutes, but could see an increased role while the rest of the roster heals up.
There was no clarity after the game on how serious all the injuries are, and Denver has two days off before playing in Utah on Wednesday. Adelman said Johnson could have tried to return to the game, but the Nuggets were far enough ahead that there was no need to take the risk.
“Players after those things always tell you they’re gonna be fine. But they’ll get a better look at them tomorrow,” Adelman told reporters. “I didn’t get any information (on) if there’s any MRIs or X-rays or anything.”
Northwest Notes: Henderson, Krejci, Nuggets, Murray
According to Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter, third-year guard Scoot Henderson is expected to make his return “very, very soon,” Joe Freeman reports for The Oregonian (Twitter link).
Henderson has missed the entire season to this point with a left hamstring tear, but was recently said to be in the final stages of recovery. While Splitter and the team’s ownership have been wary of putting an exact timeline on when he could make his debut, it sounds like it should happen sooner rather than later.
The third overall pick in the 2023 draft, Henderson holds career averages of 13.3 points and 5.2 assists on 34.0% shooting from three in 27.5 minutes per game. Turnovers have been an issue for him early in his career, though he lowered his giveaways from 3.4 per game as a rookie to 2.7 in his second season.
The Blazers currently hold the ninth seed in the West despite Jrue Holiday only playing 21 of the team’s 49 games. Henderson’s return could help stabilize the point guard rotation while giving Portland more data on the third-year guard, who will be extension-eligible this summer.
We have more from around the Northwest:
- Splitter said that he talked to newly-acquired guard Vit Krejci today, Freeman writes (via Twitter). Splitter suggested that – given the current makeup of the Trail Blazers’ roster – Krejci will be a very welcome presence in the rotation. “He’s excited about coming here,” Splitter said. “Great shooter. A guy that doesn’t need many inches to shoot the basketball. And I think we are thirsty for a shooter like him … he’s a player that’s going to help us a lot.” Krejci is a career 40.5% shooter from three and is averaging a career-high 9.0 points per game this season. Portland currently ranks last in the NBA in three-point percentage, hitting just 33.6% as a team.
- The Nuggets aren’t expected to move veterans like Jonas Valanciunas or Cameron Johnson at the trade deadline, writes Bennett Durando of the Denver Post, who says he would be “shocked” by such a move. Peyton Watson is also presumed to be off-limits, despite the Nuggets’ expected difficulty in retaining him this summer in free agency. Instead, Durando reiterates that Denver’s priorities will likely be getting under the luxury tax and converting two-way forward Spencer Jones into a standard deal. Zeke Nnaji is the player the Nuggets would most like to move, but his guaranteed multiyear salary will make that difficult.
- Nuggets guard Jamal Murray was named to his first All-Star game on Sunday, ending his run as one of the league’s most decorated players without an All-Star appearance. Several around the league felt it was long overdue, Durando writes. “When I saw (the announcement), so many things went through my mind,” coach David Adelman said. “Multiple 50-point games. Multiple 50-point games in the playoffs… Triple-double in the Finals. NBA champion. Most wins in the West over the last 10 years.” Ahead of the team’s matchup with their Western Conference rivals in Oklahoma City, Thunder coach Mark Daignault echoed Adelman’s sentiment. “First of all, congrats to Jamal Murray,” Daigneault said, unprompted. “It’s remarkable he’s never been an All-Star. He’s an All-Star-level player. And very deserving this season.” Murray is the first Nugget All-Star outside of Nikola Jokic since Carmelo Anthony, Durando notes.
Nuggets Notes: Watson, Jones, Trade Market, Booth
Fourth-year forward Peyton Watson has generated “significant” interest on the trade market ahead of his restricted free agency this summer, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. However, according to Scotto, the Nuggets have rebuffed those inquiries on Watson and hope to re-sign him to a new contract during the offseason.
Watson has taken on a larger role this season due to a series of injuries affecting key Denver players and has responded admirably. Since entering the starting lineup on a full-time basis two months ago, the 23-year-old has averaged 16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 32.6 minutes per game with a shooting line of .523/.434/.741. He was named the NBA’s Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Monday.
Re-signing him won’t be simple, however. The Nuggets already have over $201MM in guaranteed money on their books for 2026/27, including nearly $186MM for their top five highest-paid players (Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Cameron Johnson, and Christian Braun). Given Watson’s rising value, re-signing him could push Denver into second-apron territory if the team isn’t able to shed salary elsewhere.
Here’s more on the Nuggets:
- Echoing reporting from Marc Stein, Scotto cites league sources who say two-way standout Spencer Jones will eventually be promoted from his two-way contract to the Nuggets’ standard roster. Like Watson, Jones has made the most of an increased role due to Denver’s injuries. The 24-year-old wing has averaged 8.0 PPG and 3.9 RPG on .503/.381/.622 shooting while playing solid defense in 25 games as a starter.
- While it may not be an overly eventful trade deadline for the Nuggets, they’re expected to monitor both the trade and buyout markets in case an opportunity to add a veteran point guard pops up, league sources tell Scotto. The team is currently operating slightly over the luxury tax line and will want to keep a roster spot for Jones’ promotion, which could complicate those efforts to add backcourt help.
- While former Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth made his share of missteps during his time on the job, he was a “legit” talent evaluator, argues Troy Renck of The Denver Post (subscription required). Renck contends that former head coach Michael Malone seemed intent on proving to Booth that young players like Watson, Jalen Pickett, and Zeke Nnaji weren’t good enough, whereas head coach David Adelman has gotten the most out of them, especially since Jokic went down with a knee injury.
Northwest Notes: Topic, Blazers, Nnaji, Wolves, Harkless
Misko Raznatovic, the agent for Thunder guard Nikola Topic, shared an update on his client, telling the Serbian-based outlet Arena Sport TV that Topic has successfully completed chemotherapy to treat his testicular cancer, per Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman.
“The chemotherapy was successfully completed, and he is now returning to the training process, although he was active during the therapy as well,” Raznatovic said. “It’s hard to pinpoint a timeline, but I sincerely hope he gets minutes this year, not only in the G League but on the NBA floor as well, if everything goes the way it is right now.”
Word broke in October that Topic, a 2024 lottery pick who missed his entire rookie season due to an ACL injury, had been diagnosed with testicular cancer and was undergoing treatment. As Raznatovic acknowledges, there’s still no timeline for the 20-year-old to make his NBA debut, but this is a major positive development.
We have more from around the Northwest:
- The Trail Blazers intend to present a proposal to the Oregon state legislature next month to have all state income taxes from players and team employees (for both the Blazers and visiting teams) redirected from Oregon’s general fund to a $600MM renovation project for the Moda Center, reports Bill Oram of The Oregonian (subscription required). One source who spoke to Oram about the proposal suggested it would help “guarantee the Blazers’ future” in Portland.
- Nuggets forward/center Zeke Nnaji hasn’t developed like the team hoped since signing a four-year, $32MM contract extension in October 2023, but with centers Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas sidelined, Nnaji has been giving the team solid minutes at the five, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Nnaji, who has five steals and six blocked shots in his past three games, is playing “amazing” defense, according to teammate Jamal Murray — head coach David Adelman didn’t disagree. “I don’t remember him moving this well,” Adelman said after Wednesday’s win over Boston. “…He guarded everybody in this game, because we were switching. Just cool to see him have some success. Obviously, he hasn’t been in the rotation.”
- The streaking Timberwolves have won four games in a row and now hold a top-four spot in the Western Conference. In a pair of stories for The Athletic, Jon Krawczynski examines the impact of center Rudy Gobert, writing that the big man is playing as well as he ever played in Minnesota, and notes that Anthony Edwards reached the 10,000-point mark on Thursday. Edwards was the third-youngest player in NBA history to reach that plateau, behind only LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
- Two-way player Elijah Harkless has appeared in just seven games for the Jazz so far this season and hasn’t seen any NBA action since November 18, but he has been thriving in the G League. Harkless was named the NBAGL’s Player of the Month for December after he averaged 28.3 points and 5.2 assists per game, per the league (Twitter link).
Nuggets Notes: Depth, Jokic, Braun, Gordon, Murray, Holmes
With Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon back in action on Sunday in Brooklyn following extended injury absences, the Nuggets submitted a disappointing effort that head coach David Adelman referred to as “embarrassing” and “unprofessional,” resulting in a 12-point loss to the Nets.
A day later, all five of Denver’s regular starters were inactive on Monday in Philadelphia for the second game of a back-to-back, as Adelman deployed a starting lineup of Peyton Watson, Jalen Pickett, Bruce Brown, Spencer Jones, and DaRon Holmes, with Zeke Nnaji, Hunter Tyson, Julian Strawther, and Curtis Jones coming off the bench. The team’s effort represented a 180 after Sunday’s dud, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic, as Denver pulled off a shocking 125-124 upset in overtime.
Pickett, who had played double-digit minutes just 12 times this season entering Monday’s game, led the way by scoring a career-high 29 points on 11-of-20 shooting in 42 minutes. Nnaji (21 points, eight rebounds) and Tyson (14 points) also had their best games of the season. Those performances from reserves represent a very encouraging sign for a team that Adelman says is in “survival mode” with star center Nikola Jokic out, according to Jones.
“The thing is that we don’t want to take too much of a fall in the standings,” general manager Jon Wallace told The Athletic prior to Monday’s victory. “I think we did a good job of giving ourselves a cushion at the beginning of the season, knowing that the unexpected can happen. But, at the same time, we have to face the reality that we might take a slight fall. But I think we have enough guys and enough leaders in that locker room to hold the line, until we get back to full strength.”
Here’s more on the Nuggets:
- The Nuggets are feeling good about Jokic’s recovery from a hyperextended knee and are hopeful that he’ll be back in action by the All-Star break at the latest, team sources tell Jones.
- Braun and Gordon were on “pretty strict” minutes limits when they returned on Sunday, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Braun played 24 minutes in his first game back from a sprained ankle, while Gordon came off the bench and logged 21 minutes after being out since November 21 with a strained hamstring. Restrictions will likely remain in place for a few games as Braun and Gordon work their way back to full strength.
- Jamal Murray missed a game for just the second time this season on Monday, with an injury designation of a left ankle sprain. He has been playing through “mild pain” in that ankle in recent weeks, according to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “He’s played limitless minutes. … It’s not just the minutes guys play. It’s what they’re doing in those minutes,” Adelman said. “The responsibility has been crazy. His ankle flared up. Even (Sunday), I thought he fought through it. The fourth quarter, I kept thinking I was gonna get him out, and we kept kind of staying in the game. So if anybody needed (a game off), it was him. Not to mention all the other small injuries for that guy. He’s beat up.”
- After making just two garbage-time appearances in Denver’s first 31 games of the season, Holmes has appeared in each of the past five, making three starts and averaging 18.0 minutes per night. Holmes, a first-round pick in 2024 who missed his entire rookie season due to an Achilles tear, spoke to Spencer Davies of RG.org about finally getting an opportunity to play NBA minutes.
Northwest Notes: Murray, Nuggets Injuries, Wallace, Clingan
Jamal Murray, who has had his share of major injuries, is currently the only member of the Nuggets‘ usual starting five available to play.
“It sucks. It just adds a whole dynamic to the game, with so many guys out,” Murray told Bennett Durando of the Denver Post. “You’ve just gotta focus on just bringing energy, playing hard, controlling what you can control, playing together, talking, being a leader. Playing aggressive, playing confident, trying to share that confidence. All those little things kind of go into, obviously, what a team is.”
Murray is certain to draw more scrutiny from opposing defenses until Nikola Jokic and other regulars return to action.
“He’s gonna have attention beyond attention all over the floor,” coach David Adelman said. “He’s gonna get doubled and blitzed in pick-and-rolls and all those things. So we have to do things for Jamal. We have to screen to get him open. We have to do unselfish things for him, and on the flip side of that, he’s got to keep making the right play, which he has. … When there’s two on you, and there’s an open man, you throw it to your teammate.”
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- With Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas inactive, the Cavaliers out-rebounded the Nuggets 62-45 on Friday. DaRon Holmes II started in the middle with Zeke Nnaji backing him up as Denver lost by five. “Obviously, we’re at a disadvantage at certain positions. But I’ll take this kind of effort every night,” Adelman said, per Durando.
- Thunder third-year guard Cason Wallace suffered a right knee contusion against the Warriors on Friday and did not return, Thunder sideline reporter Nick Gallo tweets. Wallace, who averaged 26.1 minutes per game last month, played just 14 minutes. The Thunder exercised their option on his fourth-year contract in October — he’ll be extension-eligible beginning in July.
- Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan has become a double-double machine, averaging 10.8 points and 10.5 rebounds in his second NBA season. He had a double-double on Friday for the sixth time in eight games, recording 11 points and 15 rebounds in a win over New Orleans. “He’s just growing as a basketball player, growing as a big,” interim coach Tiago Splitter told Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. “He’s getting used to playing high minutes and being effective.”
- Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report examines the five biggest questions surrounding the Trail Blazers this year, including how soon new owner Tom Dundon will make his presence felt and when the team will officially make a decision on head coach Chauncey Billups‘ future.
Nuggets Notes: Watson, Nnaji, Johnson, Barea, Depth
After not reaching an agreement this offseason on a rookie scale extension with the Nuggets, Peyton Watson got off to a quiet start, averaging 6.4 points per game on .441/.263/.720 shooting through 13 games. But with Christian Braun (left ankle sprain) and Aaron Gordon (hamstring injury management) both inactive on Wednesday, Watson took advantage of his increased offensive responsibilities and had a career night, with 32 points on 13-of-19 shooting, as Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes (subscription required).
“I knew there was gonna be a need for me to kind of increase my offensive load a little bit. I didn’t have any idea that I was gonna have 30,” said Watson, who had never scored more than 24 points in a game in his first three-plus NBA seasons.
Even when he’s not scoring, Watson plays a regular rotation role for Denver because of his defense. He leads the team in blocks per game (1.1) and ranks third behind Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in steals per game (1.1). On Wednesday though, the Pelicans dared him to shoot and he responded by making a career-high five three-pointers on nine attempts.
“I went to him,” teammate Bruce Brown said. “I was like, ‘Look, they’re gonna give you 10 (attempts). I know you’re gonna hit four or five of them. So keep shooting.’ That’s what he did.”
Brown added that “this should be a big year” for Watson, pointing out that he’s playing smarter and more aggressively than in the past.
“You can tell he’s been in the league for multiple years,” Brown said.
We have more on the Nuggets:
- Little-used forward Zeke Nnaji, who had played just 20 total minutes in six appearances entering Wednesday’s game, started in Gordon’s place and then was part of the closing lineup after Jokic fouled out. Nnaji scored just two points and was a -18 in nearly 27 minutes of action, but the Nuggets viewed him as their best bet for slowing down Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, who shot 2-of-7 from the floor when defended by Nanji, per NBA.com. “Coach (David Adelman) said Zion was probable, and if he plays, I’m gonna start, and if he doesn’t, he’ll go with someone else — but stay ready,” Nnaji told Durando. “So he gave me the heads-up, and I was able to prepare. … It’s just a mentality of matching his physicality. He’s a physical driver. He wants to get downhill to that left hand. It’s knowing what he likes to do, what he’s trying to get to and being ready for the challenge. Try to show your hands. Stay clean. Alter his shots.”
- After making just 8-of-38 three-pointers to open the season, Nuggets offseason addition Cameron Johnson has knocked down 6-of-10 in his past two games. According to Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Johnson’s new coaches and teammates were never worried about his ability to break out of that early slump. “Everyone has been saying, ‘What is going on with Cam?'” Adelman said after Johnson hit five three-pointers against Chicago on Monday. “Well, it’s going to happen. Cam is going to make shots. That is the bottom line. That is why we’ve been patient with this. That was really good to see.”
- In an interesting story for The Denver Post, Durando details how former NBA guard J.J. Barea got his start as a coach and how the Nuggets assistant reunited with Adelman in Denver after first working together in Minnesota over a decade ago. “He was really good just talking with players, having that relationship with me,” Barea said. “He’s no bull-(crap). He’ll tell you how it is. He’ll tell you straight up to your face. And his dad (Rick Adelman) is similar. I was always a fan of his dad, the way they did things. … I was like, these are two good people to know and learn from more about the NBA.”
- One reason the Nuggets are off to an impressive 11-3 start is their improved depth, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “We have different type of players, and they’re gluing into our system really good,” Jokic said. “Different positions, different personnel, different types of players, and everything is working out for us, defensively first and then offensively. Everybody’s buying in.”
Rory Maher contributed to this post.