It seemed absolutely nuts in the moment when the Nuggets’ brass decided to fire the head coach, Michael Malone, and the GM, Calvin Booth, in one fell swoop with just days remaining in the regular season. It then seemed equally nuts to simply promote from within, only bringing in a former employee, Jon Wallace, to run the front office with freshly promoted Ben Tenzer, and upgrading David Adelman from a lead assistant position to being the head coach.
It reeked of cheap, meddling, and out-of-touch owners, but through 25 games of this regime, the moves have been almost completely justified. The Nuggets are off to the best start in franchise history at 18-6, they’re on the longest road winning streak in franchise history, they’ve got Nikola Jokic leading the MVP race, and they’ve built enough depth to survive injuries to two starters.
The moves even appear to have inspired longtime staples of the team, as Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon have gotten off to the best starts of their careers. Even Gordon’s injury (along with one to Christian Brau) hasn’t put a damper on things, as the team’s newfound depth has been able to hold the fort.
Michael Porter Jr. is playing great in Brooklyn, but Cam Johnson is coming along in Denver, and that trade opened up the financial flexibility to also bring in Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Jonas Valanciunas, who have all been instrumental in their success.
Nuggets’ personnel moves have gone as well as possible
All in all, the offseason moves could not be looking much better so far. The Nuggets have maintained an elite starting lineup, and they’ve added a quality bench. They can play in a variety of different ways, and they have depth and versatility that allow them to adapt and adjust to create advantages.
It’s not a coincidence that this team is humming and has the second-best record in a stacked Western Conference. If not for the juggernaut in Oklahoma City, this team would almost certainly be the favorites to win the title, and the way they’ve withstood these early-season injuries is a testament to what they’re capable of at full strength.
The sad part is that without another championship or two in the Jokic era, this is all going to feel like a disappointment and a failure, regardless of the context or any nuance. But the reality of the NBA is that no matter how dominant the Thunder look at the moment, it’s incredibly rare for this type of success to last long.
Eventually, there will be a crack, and when it happens, the Nuggets are poised to pounce, thanks in large part to a tremendous offseason.