The Denver Nuggets woke up and realized that they have Nikola Jokić on their team. The two seasons that came after winning the 2023 title didn't go in the Nuggets' favor, and it came to a head at the end of the 2024-25 regular season when Josh Kroenke fired Michael Malone and Calvin Booth. Since that moment, everything changed.
Denver was ousted in the second round of the playoffs yet again, but it was encouraging to know the Nuggets took the Thunder, the eventual champion, to seven games. One of the team's first moves of the offseason was naming Ben Tenzer, who served as interim GM, the executive vice president of basketball operations and hiring Jon Wallace as the executive vice president of player personnal.
What did they do?
Maximize the roster around Jokić. They shed Michael Porter Jr.'s contract by acquiring Cam Johnson, reunited with Bruce Brown, signed Tim Hardaway Jr., acquired Jonas Valančiūnas, and even signed Christian Braun to a five-year rookie extension.
Nuggets are legitimate contenders with Nikola Jokić again
On the latest episode of "The Athletic NBA Daily" podcast, Sam Amick discussed Jokić and Denver. When asked how happy Jokić is after the offseason that the Nuggets had, Amick said, "I think he's in a good place." He pointed out that the past couple of seasons were "problematic" for Denver regarding Jokić for two reasons — dysfunction and no depth.
The dysfunction was solved by moving on from Malone and Booth, as harsh as it was. Amick referred to Tenzer as "collaborative" and he noted that Wallace has history with the Nuggets. Wallace spent a few seasons in Denver before he left for Minnesota with Tim Connelly in 2022.
David Adelman wasn't a newcomer, either. He joined the Nuggets before the 2017-18 season, so by the time he was named head coach, Adelman had spent years working with Jokić.
After a period of uncertainty about whether Denver would win another title with Jokić, or if the superstar would push to leave Denver, those questions have subsided, even though he declined signing an extension over the summer.
It's not that Jokić was seriously pondering leaving the Nuggets, but as everyone knows, the easiest (but also the hardest) way to keep a superstar happy is by winning. Denver wasn't bad the past couple of years, but there was a lot more going on behind the scenes than most people realized. For an easygoing guy who doesn't like conflict, the current environment is far better suited to Jokić.
There are times when fans should despise their favorite team doing whatever it takes to keep their star player happy, but when it comes to Jokić, Nuggets fans feel the exact opposite.