Remember when the Denver Nuggets were counted out, even though they have a certain player named Nikola Jokic on the roster? Remember when nobody thought they'd make another championship run? You should remember, because it was only a few months ago.
It's true that the Nuggets entered the offseason with quite the to-do list, but look at what has happened in the past eight days alone. The new front office duo of Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer (who served as the interim GM after Calvin Booth was fired) has proven that you can turn a non-ideal situation into an ideal one overnight. Literally.
What Denver has done is proof that it's possible to find ways to outsmart the collective bargaining agreement. The Nuggets entered the offseason needing to trade either Michael Porter Jr. or Jamal Murray for financial flexibility, and they managed to turn MPJ into Cam Johnson. It took a first-round pick, but Denver knew it wasn't going to offload Porter's contract without attaching an asset to it. It's a major win that the Nuggets were able to get Johnson out of it.
Denver's biggest trade of the offseason wouldn't have happened if Josh Kroenke hadn't fired Booth. For the past couple of years, the Nuggets had been stuck, but it was mainly due to their own making. Moving on from Booth and Michael Malone with three regular-season games remaining was a major risk (particularly for Malone due to the timing), but both moves paid off.
Nuggets' risk led to calculated front office moves
The front office's magic didn't end with the Porter trade. Shortly after, Denver agreed to sign Bruce Brown to a one-year, veteran's minimum deal, quite the steal. The Nuggets also agreed to a one-year deal with Tim Hardaway Jr., adding another shooter to the bench. The most impressive move of the summer thus far was swapping Dario Saric for Jonas Valanciunas; however, it remains unclear whether he'll play for the Nuggets or pursue a buyout to return to Europe.
The Nuggets have had an A+ offseason, arguably the best in the league. That grade would be different if Booth were still around. The Kroenke family isn't exactly beloved by the fan base, but everyone should agree that the risk they took in April was a smart move, even though it didn't seem that way at the time.
Taking risks is part of the game. Sometimes, they work in your favor, while other times, they actively work against you (ask the Suns). Denver made an unpredictable move, and look at how things have turned out. The new regime did Jokic a favor by restructuring the roster, putting the Nuggets in a position to end their two-year streak of coming up short in the semifinals. The goal is to win more titles with Jokic, and for the first time in a couple of years, the front office seems serious about doing that.