Report: Nuggets Front Office is a Joke, Faried Not Well Liked

As Nuggets fans, we’re all keenly aware of the struggles the team has faced on the court so far this season. Even with a win over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road last night, the team still sits at a disappointing 3-7, and the performances posted in some of those losses are among the most frustrating in recent memory. That said, the season is still young and there’s a chance the team can get back on track in time to make a postseason run. But the likelihood of that happening seems pretty slim on the heels of news that allegedly the Nuggets front office is a joke.

In a scathing report by ESPN.com’s Kevin Arnovitz that was released yesterday, a series of embarrassing blunders and anecdotes about poor decision making at the highest levels of the organization paint the team’s front office of President Josh Kroenke and General Manager Tim Connelly as, at best, being in over their heads. Much of Arnovitz’s report focuses on Kenneth Faried‘s contract extension this offseason:

"“The mess in question refers to the odd sequence of events during the finalization of Faried’s four-year, $50 million extension completed in early October, a deal that was initially leaked by Denver, according to several sources, at five years and $60 million, only the terms of that deal didn’t conform to the current collective bargaining agreement, which stipulates a team’s “designated player” for a five-year extension must receive the maximum money. Connelly and Ben Tenzer, the Nuggets’ young director of team operations and de facto salary-cap guy, jumped the gun while the rest of the NBA, including the league office, scratched their heads at the report.In the final analysis, the whoops factor of the episode exceeded any substantive damage, of which there was none. The parties completed the deal, and the Nuggets had protected their asset. Around the league, though, there was a collective WTF?! More than one source close to the league’s infrastructure has confirmed Faried wasn’t the only proposed transaction by Denver that violated CBA 101 basics. One rival team executive said the Nuggets called to propose a trade that was obviously unkosher under league rules, something that rarely, if ever, happens because no general manager wants to betray ignorance of such a rudimentary part of the gig. Most have the good sense to call the league to fact-check potential acquisitions.”"

That’s certainly not encouraging for Nuggets fans. At minimum, you’d like to think the suits running the team have a firm grasp on the basics of things like the collective bargaining agreement, contract structures, and the like. This sort of thing is even more unsettling for a team like Denver that seemingly is filled with players that may be attractive to other teams in trade situations as the season progresses, whether those teams are looking to add talent or to absorb the relatively small, short-term contracts of many players on the Nuggets’ roster.

Oh, and Arnovitz has plenty to say about the roster, too:

"“But even a healthy version of the Nuggets looks like a menagerie of mismatched parts, and that’s true whether one wants to install a color-by-numbers offense or run the floor with abandon. There are redundancies all over the roster, as the Nuggets are committed to more than $70 million over the next two seasons to McGee, Faried, Gallinari and Hickson in the frontcourt and still have Chandler and Timofey Mozgov on the books. The deals the Nuggets haven’t made to correct this might be more fruitless than any they have.This isn’t just an issue of overlapping skill sets. There’s no perceptible pecking order here, not one guy whose production and presence stands decidedly above the others. Unless there’s a coyote in a spur-adorned jersey running around the building or Larry Brown has caught lightning in a bottle in suburban Detroit, this dynamic tends to create internal conflict, with each player feeling as if he’s the guy.”"

And, as if to add insult to injury, Arnovitz seemingly uncovered the fact that Faried isn’t as beloved as fans have been led to believe. Arnovitz writes that, “Faried [is] a fan favorite in  Denver, but multiple sources with knowledge of the Nuggets’ thinking maintain the team ‘isn’t crazy about him,’ particularly [head coach Brian] Shaw. But with Faried’s boffo showing last summer with Team USA and a loyal following in Denver, the media-conscious Nuggets caved, adding yet another imperfect 4-man to their lot.”

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The article is a tough read for Nuggets fans, but you should definitely take the time to digest the whole thing. The bottom-line is, even if everything in Arnovitz’s article is true, the Nuggets wouldn’t be the first team in professional sports to be a bit of a rudderless ship thanks to front office guys having big-time responsibilities thrust upon them before they were ready. And with the Nuggets playing so poorly, it was only a matter of time before the national media started nosing around and finding cracks in the dam at which to pick. I have to admit, it’s not reassuring to read quotes from other league execs basically calling Denver’s GM a dolt, especially because it’s likely Connelly will need to work some magic in the trade market, whether it be to bring in a player to help the Nuggets make a late playoff push or to start dismantling this current roster to rebuild for the future.

But there’s one thing about which I’m certain: A lot of this noise can be eliminated if the Nuggets perform better on the court. Shaw and his players have the opportunity to control the narrative around this year’s team by playing well and producing wins. Everyone likes to dissect what caused a disaster, but the lookie-loos are likely to satisfy their appetite for ugliness elsewhere if Denver can play up to the potential they seemed to posses at the start of this season.

With any luck, the Nuggets — even with their “Island of Misfit Toys” roster — will find a rotation that works, focus on what they can control on the court, and let the front office mess sort itself out behind closed doors. Either way, it adds a little more drama to what promises to be an interesting season, one way or another.

Next: LOL: Cavs Fan Flirts with Kenneth Faried from the Stands