From the start of the Nikola Jokic era in Denver, up until the past couple of years, there’s no doubt they’ve had one of the best-running operations in the league. They did a great job of building the roster around Jokic and supporting him with players that helped him flourish and lead the Nuggets to their first championship in 2023.
But since the title, things have obviously gone off the rails a bit. Some of that is due to the salary cap and planning for the future, but almost every move on the margins has been a massive swing and a miss.
That led to a largely dysfunctional roster, short of talent and depth around Jokic, which ultimately led to the shocking move by Nuggets’ ownership to fire GM Calvin Booth (along with head coach Michael Malone) with just three games remaining in the regular season.
Now, as the Nuggets look to the future, they want to keep the good things going with Jokic, Jamal Murray, and others, but they also want to start building back up the supporting cast. Apparently, they are eyeing a Booth replacement that would harken back to the days when the championship foundation was laid out.
Timberwolves assistant GM Matt Lloyd a leading candidate in Denver
Multiple sources have indicated that the Nuggets are interested in Timberwolves’ assistant GM Matt Lloyd. In a new report by Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype, he stated that, “Lloyd has been floated within league circles as a potential candidate to become Denver’s next general manager.”
Lloyd is the right-hand man of Tim Connelly, the current GM of the T-Wolves and the former GM of the Nuggets, who built the championship core before leaving in 2022. Scotto added that, “It’s worth noting that Connelly and Nuggets vice chairman Josh Kroenke remain very close.”
The Wolves offered Connelly a godfather deal to leave Denver, and the Nuggets were never likely to match, but it seems there may be some regret in letting him get away. Now, it appears Kroenke and the owners want to right that wrong and dip back into that bag by hiring the closest thing they can get to Connelly.
Lloyd was a candidate last year for the Hornets job before they hired Jeff Peterson instead, but it has always seemed like just a matter of time until Lloyd gets his chance. Now, that chance may come in Denver, and it would only add fuel to the growing rivalry between the Nuggets and Timberwolves.
The Wolves famously stole Connelly away and immediately started crafting a team to beat the Nuggets. Now, the Nuggets have the chance to pull a reverse Uno card out and steal away a top decision-maker from Minnesota. This is a story to watch closely, especially once these teams get eliminated from the playoffs.