Nuggets HC David Adelman makes his stance on Jamal Murray crystal clear

There has been a lot of buzz this offseason around the new additions to the Nuggets (Tim Hardaway Jr., Jonas Valanciunas, Cam Johnson, and Bruce Brown) and the players eligible for extensions (Nikola Jokic, Christian Braun, and Peyton Watson), but one of the biggest X-Factors on the squad, Jamal Murray, has been almost completely flying under the radar.

Everyone takes somewhat of a “wait and see” approach with Jamal as he’s been prone to slow starts in the past, and has generally played his way into shape once the season started. But this season, it sounds like things are finally different, and the Nuggets’ head coach, David Adelman, had nothing but praise for Murray at media day on Monday.

Adelman talked about how Murray “had an amazing summer” and stated that he looks great and appears to be in a great place mentally. Perhaps even more impressive and meaningful, Adelman talked at length about how Murray is taking more of a leadership role, how he has been vocal with the young guys, and how he took the lead on getting the team together during the offseason.

Nuggets need the best version of Murray this season

This sounds like a new version of Murray, one that we haven’t seen in the past. Perhaps part of this has to do with Michael Malone’s exit, perhaps it’s the new max extension, perhaps it’s just a level of maturity and Jamal realizing what the potential is for himself and this team, or perhaps it’s none of those things.

Whatever it is, Murray seems more locked in than ever, and these reports from the summer are incredibly exciting. Jamal has notoriously never been an All-Star, and he’s always in and out of the lineup, rarely bringing his A-game on a nightly basis.

But now, the Nuggets have a deep team, Murray is healthy and in great shape, he has no contract to worry about, and he’s right in the prime of his career. Things couldn’t be set up more perfectly for Jamal, and it sounds like he grasps that and has dedicated himself to becoming a leader for this team and helping them get back to the promised land.

As good and deep as the team is, they need Murray to be a true co-star to Jokic and to be available and consistent. Without that, they are just another good team, but with Murray playing like a star, this may be the best team in the league. A lot is hanging on his performance this season, and based on media day, it sounds like we’re in for a treat.