A couple of things I think you’re misinformed on: - In no scenario did they think that trading Reggie Jackson would free up enough cap space to keep KCP. They knew they weren’t going to be able to match an offer from another team without going into the second apron and that was something they weren’t willing to do. - Braun’s defense is not a significant downgrade from KCP. KCP got torched by Anthony Edwards in that series. Braun was far more effective at slowing him down. -MPJ did not “contribute at a high-level” the year they won the championship. He struggled shooting the entire playoffs and never really found his rhythm. - I am surprised that you did not discuss the implications of the new CBA and the implications of entering the second apron on roster building. It will affect a lot teams in the near future. The whole video sounded like “Gee idk why the nuggets can’t keep every good player who’s ever played on their team. They are just fumbling Jokic’s prime and I don’t know why they would do that???”
As a Nuggets fan, you are 100% right. People seem to be making these videos without really understanding the whole scenario and situation the Nuggets are in.
I hope that MPJ take a pay cut next contract as he realizes he didn’t live up to the current one. I still like him with the nuggets but the overpay is a dagger in the nuggets side.
@@euro51116 huh??? If blocks is defense for then u dunno ball Jokic for his body and size he is damm good defender when he has to He switches screens good hes fast handed averaged 1 steal per game the last 2 season he does a lot on the defensive side He not a dpoy candidate but saying he doesn play defense is horrendous take If ur logic is He has to carry the offense and the defense u insane bro that denver team is top 10 in defense and offense thanks to jokic yes AG and kcp covered them defensive gaps but most gaps was murray and mpj fault
I really like the addition of Dario Saric because Denver likes to use Jokic as an offensive hub for handoffs a lot. But the bench unit obviously didn’t have a center. Saric is a great passer who can be the offensive hub for the bench which is what the bench kinda needs.
@@ollytropics1735 I doubt it’s small ball as much as can you keep the pace up. He seemed gassed by January honestly. By that point he wasn’t affecting the offense well and his defensive weaknesses just made it that much worse.
The reason the Nuggets will still be good is because they have Nikola Jokic the best player in the world and one of the most adaptable offensive players in history. To me the Nuggets still have a good floor and a high ceiling but that ceiling depends on a lot on the younger players to make significant contributions. I think what will also be critical to them is how the salary cap rises because it’s clear to me ownership doesn’t want to over spend and get into the second apron. It shows how in this modern NBA it’s hard to build dynasty’s and win championships consistently. Shows how impressive the Bulls two separate three peats are. You need talent but also a good beat of luck to win a championship.
Nugs didnt fumble anything. The rules forced bruce brown to leave and that rule will hit other teams as well. Fact is they simply werent allowed to match indianias offer. I think theyve done as well as they could the past 4-5 years. Please tell us what other moves they could have made?
@@OliviaKenoyer-qm3oz Yes, that is the curse of a small market team. To keep talent on a small market, you have to pay that player near the max or else MPJ would have walked for nothing. Big market teams are better at attracting free agents and they don't need to overpay players to keep them. Funny enough, MPJ's max deal was given to him by Tim Connelly who left the Nuggets to join the Timberwolves. Now, was it really necessary to give MPJ the max given his injury history? I personally don't think so. Yet, the form GM still gave him the money to reward him. Or would they have given MPJ the max if they knew the CBA was coming? Probably not. And now teams have to dance around this ridiculous CBA rule that's basically prevented a team from repeating. NBA doesn't want dynasty. It wants a new team to win every year. So far, it has been the case. Every single former champion hasn't made it past the 2nd round after winning a title the previous year since 2019. Nuggets almost did it if only they didn't choke away the 20 points lead at home in Game 7.
MPJ has always been wildly overrated. He can only be reliable 3 option when playing against weaklings like Lakers. I feel his time in Denver will be over after this season
Losing Bruce Brown and KCP in consecutive offseasons is devastating. No clue how Denver let this happen when they were genuinely on the verge of a dynasty.
I’m going to laugh so hard when the Nuggets win the Western Conference this postseason. I love how quickly the narrative has changed because they barely lost to the Wolves with a hobbled Murray & severely underperforming KCP & MPJ. Keep doubting, you’ll all be reminded soon enough.
Watch Christian Braun have a breakout season. Nuggets signing undrafted players Trey Alexander and PJ Hall is looking like it could help them with depth if they play like they are in the summer league in the regular season. It is the summer league and Hunter Tyson had a good game so it's unknown right now if they will translate into the NBA.
The nuggets won 48 games with Jokic, Gordon, Will Barton, Jeff Green, Monte Morris as starters and Facu Compazzo, Austin Rivers, and JaMychal Green off the bench. This version of the nuggets is exponentially better. 54-56 wins this year
@@Dillarune Is it? The Suns had a much more cohesive roster, the Warriors were 3 years younger with Klay, the Grizzlies were a very good team, and the east had 4 solid teams instead of just 1.
They don't really have a lot of options due to that MPJ max. The major keys to their success next season is their young core (Braun, Watson, Strawther) stepping up and Malone trusting these dudes. Mike gassed out the starters last playoffs because he's too into vets.
Y’all forgetting that every championship team has to adjust to players leaving or getting older … it’s happened plenty of times before … and we got big Jok don’t forget
@@urbaindelva7869 lol we have a whole team .. they just don’t have nba accolades so it plays tricks with your mind… and we gotta chip on us next year we remember loosing in game 7
@aaporter1028 Boston doesn't care about paying a half billion a year for their team, Minnesota's contracts are set up to avoid the 2nd apron, the nuggets literally are literally crippled by the MPJ contract and Brunson did take the below market contract so I'm not entertaining hypotheticals
He gassed so hard during game 7 IN DENVER You cant be a top level athlete and have your hands on your knees after every play in the 2nd half Hard watch
I’m a lifelong Nuggets fan and I think it’s even worse than it looks on paper. We didn’t even offer KCP a contract, the front office is full of it. We just let him walk for nothing. At best, we are a sixth seed now. His shooting and point of attack defense is a much bigger loss than he is letting on. Russ may be an upgrade on Reggie Jackson but he is no Bruce Brown. The front office really dropped the ball man.
@@MrShuggadaddyThe year after losing their 6th man and then trading Reggie Jackson and adding nothing really other than Russ. They drafted a backup center with promise and he tore his achilles. It's not looking great.
@@jasonbenedetti5499 i agree we are worse but my point still stands, having Jokic in his prime is guaranteed 6th seed or better. You remember 2022? That roster was way worse than this years, and we were still the 6th seed. We won’t drop below 4
@@MrShuggadaddy A lot of other teams got significantly better. The Kings made the playoffs in 23 as a 3rd Seed with 48 wins. They only won 2 less games this season and they dropped to 9. It won't take much in the West to drop to 5 or 6 next season. Especially with the Grizzlies coming back healthy.
Correction: a team loses 2 key defensive role players since their title run while the Western conference around them is only getting stronger and it puts their future into question
MPJ playing at a half competent level more likely turns around that Minnesota series than “Bruce brown” who got an offer they quite literally couldn’t come close to matching. Their future being in question because they let two role players go is just silly. The whole concept of “role player” means that it’s replaceable if you draft and develop well-this season will tell us a lot about Denver to that end
If Bruce Brown and KCP are the difference between being a legit contender and being cOoKeD iN tHiS lEaGuE then they should’ve gotten max deals. The whole idea behind role players is while they are necessary, they are also replaceable.
@@listo393 The point is they have declined. Maybe not by much, but the problem is all the other top teams of the west have gotten better. The gap they had over the rest of the west is gone, rn i'd take the field over Denver unless MPJ takes less money AND gets more consistent. That, and boston can shoot the lights out and guard everyone except jokic, who has been proven to not be able to carry the team alone if no one else is scoring
As a Nuggs fan I 1 million% get why people are concerned about the KCP loss and DaRon Holmes' injury was devasting, but some dudes are overreacting acting like we're wasting Jokic's prime. How good we are does hinge a lot on the young guys like Braun, Watson, and Strawther, but I got faith in all of them to take a leap. We still got Jokic OFC and he's arguably the best player in the world along with Murray, AG, and MPJ. Denver is still going to be a top 4 seed in the West and they're still a threat to win it all, just comes down to the young guys and health OFC.
There depth is better, what are you talking about? Starters: Jokic, Murray, AG, MPJ, Braun. Bench: Russ, Sarge, Julian, P Watt. This could overall be bad but i don't see this not being a better team. Losing KCP ofc is bad but replacing him with depth and Braun i think will overall good good this season.
@@Nba_nut I am looking forward to this and i really hope this works well. My Lakers destroyed Russ, Denver has a full team and i think people do not understand. 4 mil from a guy you hope gives you 10 points 5 assists and 7 rebounds
The Nuggets will be a good team with Jokić, Murray, Gordon, and MPJ, but they are not title contenders anymore for the time being. As you said, the departure of KCP (and with him, his 3pt shooting and defense) and their lack of depth are huge question marks for them. Russ is a good addition to the bench, but he adds absolutely nothing to their shooting and he's 35 now. Their other addition was Dario Šarić, who is also decent, but doesn't give them much else.
As long as they have Jokic, the Nuggets should be considered title contenders. They still have one of the best starting lineups in the league, KCP was great but also probably the one starter in the nuggets starting lineup that was somewhat replaceable.
I love this take the Nuggets are a 1st round / 2nd round at best team lol. KCP was so valuable in terms of spacing and defense. People are just getting caught up in the hype but if you watch the games and looked at the stats westbrook was such a liability for the clippers in the playoffs...
westbrook has very little to do with making the team better, he's just an energy/hustle guy, but the nugget's main 4 guys are still only 2nd to the Celtics, and there's only 3 teams in the west that have any chance to beat them in a series
Russ's offense was flat out terrible in the playoffs but if you look at his defense and his on/off numbers in the playoffs they were actually incredible. He was extremely impactful during the regular season as well. Just because he isnt a shooter doesnt mean he's a liability
Losing Da'Ron Holmes is a big blow. Still when Russ is on court w Joker, Gordon & MPJ, good luck getting a rebound. Don't discount D.Saric & J.Strawther. they'll give Denver some pretty good depth. I still think they're clearly better than Dal & LAL
In my opinion, the 3 young core of Braun, PWat, and Strawther need to vastly improve in their 3PA and 3PFG%. They need to improve, greatly, so that if any of their Big 4 of Jokic, Jamal, Gordon, or MPJ has an off night, they will have other sources where to get points from.
He should have requested that they acquire some better talent kind of like how Lebron does, or some of the other all-stars/superstars. But he doesn't seem that interested. He's a 3 time NBA MVP, and he has a lot of cachet. As a result, it is what it is, they won't win.
@@Zemlja_je_ravna Those 3 max players were good enough to win the title one year ago. They are good enough and have proven to be good enough, so idk how they/ve gone from good enough to not good enough in 12 months. It sounds a bit reactionary to me. Murray being healthy is a massive factor that wasn't the case in these playoffs. If he's fit and healthy we've seen what he can do in the playoffs on multiple occassions and that Jokic/Murray duo is legitimity the best the league. So I don't see how they aren't good enough.
@@Colorado218 No they are not. Season when they had to prove that they are good enough, they have proven that they are not. All that championship proved is that Jokic played like a God and carried them to that title, yet other players get credit that they don't deserve. A season where Jokic does not play on a God level they lose because others are not GOOD ENOUGH.
Russ is a big upgrade from Reggie, but they got hurt losing Pope, I’d like to see Braun start and replace Brauns bench play with an older scoring shooting guard that has a good jumper to come off the bench with russ
I don’t think a lot of people understand this, the Nuggets got undeniably worse this season while teams like the Mavs, OKC, Twolves, Kings all got better. Nobody thinks this is a bum team they are just outclassed in the West now. It doesn’t make sense how a ton of people think the Nuggets are just going to ride through the west when they couldn’t even do that last year. I also think we’ve seen Jokics peak whereas someone like Luka and SGA are just entering their primes. I also think they have the worst bench out of all contenders (Russ doesn’t add much for me his bad efficiency and mediocre defense makes me have doubts he’ll be good on the Nuggets).
The key to the Nuggets going back on top will still be with Murray and MPJ. Having the best player in the world can only take you so far in this age of overwhelming talent and parity.
They're starting 5 is almost definitely a little worse, but the team could be better overall, but they are counting on their young guys significantly improving. That and Russ and Saric being able to give the bench some sort of offensive identity.
The core group is the same and we've seen what they can do. Braun is a great defender, if he raises his shooting % a bit higher he'll be an excelent substitute to KCP. I don't like Russ but i know what he can do if he feels good in a team. P-Wat will be more mature, Strawther, Tyson, Hall and Cancar can all contribute. And Saric is a good addition. If everybody stays healthy, i predict an easier year than the last one top3 in the league.
I've got denver finishing anywhere between the 4th seed and the 6th seed this upcoming season. It is all dependent on how Braun and Strawther develop and the SG position. KCP is a great 3 and D player. KCP’s defence needs to be replicated. I don;'t think Braun is at that point yet. Also im not high on the westbrook signing. At least reggie jackson could shoot 3's from time to time. There bench is very weak, we also dont know when Holmes is coming back from injury. Very important upcoming season for the nuggets as Murray is in a contract year and Gordon has a player option after this season which he will likely opt out. This could be the last iteration we see of this squad.
the era of Superteams or teams winning championships in a row or 3 peat is over for a while. There is a clear emphasis on developing young talent or your draft picks with the apron rules. No more of the veterans coming on the cheap to a bonafide contender at a discount. Denver will be fine contending with the other teams in the west, their starters are still all under 30 except Westbrook if he starts. Bruce Brown and KCP got deals that Denver could not match or would have forced roster moves shortening even more the bench on top of luxury tax. Coach Malone will have to dig deeper coaching wise playing more his bench. It was crazy in round 2 that their starters were exhausted by round 2 playing over 40 mins a game, which is impossible with the current pace of game which is too fast...
Bro is a small market in a loaded ass western conference full of rich dynasties like LAL GSW SAN HOU SAC OKC Isnot that easy and even harder this times when the league has a bunch of penalties and rules to make the free agency hard asf
Nuggets are losing valuable pieces and the ones that were supposed to "step up" to replace them didn't really do well in enough in those shoes. Now Saric is a great fit systematically as he can fit into similar role as Jokic for the non Jokic minutes but in game 7 versus Timberwolves Jokic played 47 minutes. DJ and Nnaji were unplayable. Not even for 5 minutes when it was 20+ lead for Nuggets. Westbrook is not replacing KCP, he is a sidegrade from Reggie Jackson. And Christian Braun is now with a lot of pressure on his back to prove himself and fill KCP's shoes. Honestly I would just try to trade Nnaji and Picket and some picks to try to get some veteran center. But not like Saric someone big like Brook Lopez. Looking at it now, yes there were injuries since that playoff run Nuggets did in 2020. and they won their first ever championship, but honestly Jokic's prime years are going to waste. And its the fault of everyone except Jokic from the owner to the office and even coach Malone and some of the teammates... Kinda sad really. Lets hope it doesnt remain like this and I get proven wrong in the coming season(s).
The west has caught up to the nuggets since their title run but here are what I am saying - They need to trade MPJ, he is amazing but his contract isn't what a contender wants - Jokic is the 2nd best player (behind Luka imo) in the world so they are a contender by default - Jamal Murray needs to stay healthy - They will get worse due to the lack of depth, KCP is a hole that russ or braun is not replacing - IMO the nuggets are a 1st or 2nd round exit I feel teams like the Mavs, Thunder, Timberwolves and mb the grizzlies have caught up to them - Despite that however, they are still contenders and they can win the title and it wouldn't shock me in the slightest
Saric didn’t play last season because kuminga took a leap and they liked TJD. The Nuggets had a 20 pt lead in game 7. And that was Minnesotas Super Bowl. And Malones rotations were more to blame than anything for that L. Also Saric is 29 years old… you’re acting like he’s 34-35. Christian averaged 7 ppg on 47% shooting and 38 from 3 on 3 attempts. KCP was 10 ppg on 40% from 3 and the field. He’s going to do fine. His per 36 numbers were actually better than KCP.
How could anyone who has seen Westbrook play over the past few years and in these past playoffs think this is a good move for Denver? His on court play is toxic. Realistically he needs to be out of the league but his name keeps him latching onto teams.
You all reading too much into Nuggets all the people that watched nuggets know inconsistencies that killed them. They were banking on MPJ and Gordon to step up but that didn't really happened. I think what they did in this off season with Westbrook and Saric will be nice to see. I think Jokic will get Westbrook to 20ppg and Saric has protentional to be better we saw him hustling for Croatia. Westbrook is hungry for that ring and I know under Jokic he will be motivated. As far as KCP you can only do so much with a player that shoots bricks majority of the season so they loose bit on defense there thats about it but I think offensively that go much better.
They need to trade MPJ imo. Get off his contract and maybe get a few role players in exchange. It's tough bc they're a 2nd apron team but I feel like that's step one.
the dude is washed at this point tbh. everywhere KD Harden and Westbrook have gone the teams didnt win anything, except the 73 win warriors that never needed KD anyway
How many time has we falsely believe in westbrook? Westbrook didn't work in Houston, didn't work in lakers, didn't work in clippers... why? because he can't shoot and is just inefficient in general... why do we still think he will do well in Denver? Russ did fine leading the role players in Thunder... but guess what? when CP3 was traded to the Thunder and replace westbrook, CP3 actually lead the Thunder into a higher standing than westbrook did.. and CP3 lead the Thunder to game 7 against the much better Harden Westbrook Rocket, better than westbrook ever did when he was in thunder post KD.
It's all about health. If guys are healthy & rested, mostly Jamal n Joker n Strawther, this team could win the West. They'll have plenty of shooting with Strawther, Alexander, Saric, Cancar. + Braun n Watson improvements. Westbrook could be great fit. Come on man, this team could be scary good.
Does it matter where Denver finishes in the standings? Suppose they were a 5th seed and played Memphis in the first round? Or Dallas? They have Aaron Gordon the best Luka guard in the NBA. Basically, last year Malone didn't trust his bench, so he played the starters into the ground. They were exhausted and injured going into the playoffs. They looked sluggish against the Lakers, then staggered into the Timberwolves series and dropped 2 games before they rallied and won 3. Then they just ran into a total wall in game 6 and lost by 45. Game 7 they led by 20 in the 3rd quarter, only to run completely out of gas and dropped down 27 points in the last 18 minutes. Russ is going to play 22 minutes off the bench. He's not going to be 2016 Russ. He just needs to run the 2nd team and fast break with Jokic. The addition of Saric is important because they haven't had any help for Jokic in years. They just need to NOT play Jokic 79 games and 34 mpg so he's fresh going into the playoffs. That was the biggest difference between their title run and last year. In 2023 they rested the starters the last month and they went 16-4 a comparable run to the Celtics this year. This year they tried to get the 1 seed and won 57 games but were exhausted and Jamal Murray was injured and played terribly. The whole team was flat . They will have better role players in Peyton Watson, Saric, Russ, and Julian Strawther for the regular season but they will go with their top 7-8 in the playoffs - starters + Russ, Watson maybe Saric a little. It will all depend on whether they keep the starters rested and healthy for the playoffs.
Beginning at 2:11, he covers how the perspective shifted because of the post-championship showing! That may help you not feel like this is a jarring difference in tone, picking up from that timestamp.
MPJ wave goodbye, for that kind of money he plays horrible, 33.3 mil!!! Wave him off and get something better for same amout of money or 2 solid players. Cancar is nowhere to be found since he was signed, bro is literaly whole NBA career in injuries for 2.2 mil a year! Tyson, Watson, Strawther, Pickett, Nnaji give them last chance to prove themselfs by giving them more minutes during regular season to prove ther worth and what they r bringing to the table. Who fails, goodbye in next transfer window for 2-3 solid players. Btw for 33.3 mil they give to MPJ, they could easy get Bogdan Bogdanovic for 20mil (18mil in ATL) and Robert Covington for 13mil (11mil in 76ers) or D. Mitchell for 33,3 mil. There are many options for better bench imo.
I’m a fan of Denver and people saying they were going to be a dynasty are delusional all their players besides jokic are insanely inconsistent they probably won’t win another championship other teams are going to surpass them and they have no cap space to get much better. Murray is probably the most inconsistent player I’ve ever seen and people saying he’d be an all star this year clearly have never seen him during the regular season
As a Nuggets fan, I’d still pick us to beat most every team in the West (and Boston). However, we would lose to the Mavs, TWolves, and Thunder. Makes me sad because for some reason, every player who wins with us decides to leave for a slightly bigger bag. Loyalty is truly dead.
What is there to talk about? Jokic never had an all-star level player to play with. And it's getting worse every year now. They lost Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, KCP... and added Saric and Westbrook. And Murray (finally) got exposed as a freeloader that he always was, and is useless at this point. Cheap Ownership, Incompetent Front office (ridden with nepotism) and the moron GM hired only to be the puppet of the Owners so they can sell the franchise high. Jokic NEVER had an all-star level player to play with. And - in nuggets - he never will. And that's the whole story about Denver Nuggets. Cheap, flyover city and franchise that never achieved anything until they got lucky in that draft years ago... And probably won't achieve anything ever again. Jokic should (he probably won't) DEMAND A TRADE and get out of there. It's pathetic and sad. The whole thing. Eh.
Not kidding, I feel the nuggets will finish 6th-7th next year. They are in huge trouble. Calvin booth sat on his hands and did nothing. They see screwed. Joker might leave if they don’t smarten up. He will retire at 34-36. So they don’t have long
They should just sign Brown, and KCP long term, fok CBA, trade Zeke and 1st, 3 seconds for Mann, sign Andre Drummond as free agent and take two more, fok the punishment, fok the picks, take that 3peat and pay the bill with the smile, what's the point being a billionaire. This will be the story of ruining the greatness,.
They need to trade mpj for 2-3 high end role players. Like Bruce brown, KCP oh wait. They had both those guys… haha good job Calvin booth. You absolutely suck at your job
A couple things. Why is everyone always so quick with trying to annoint a player or team to a certain level of greatness? Milwaukee won their title before Denver and everyone said the same thing about Giannis and the Bucks. How many can they win? Are we seeing the height of Giannis? Will he be a top 10 player of all time? Stop the hype cycle. Most of these players were able to propel their team to a single title and that may be all they get. For Jokic to be a top 10 player of all time, let alone a top center of all time, he's gonna have to pass Shaq, Wilt, Hakeem and Kareem. Say what you want but I don't see him surpassing any of those guys ever. I don't care how many triple doubles he gets
No matter what.. Jokic will win MVP because voters are D**k riding hard for Jokic lol "Jokic plays the game right. He doesn't need the ball!" I can't imagine the gagging they'll do for Jokic, who'll have to have the ball more. Unlike other MVP candidates like Luka, who's done more with less talent but doesn't receive the benefit of the doubt like Jokic gets every year
Jokic wins numbers. He doesn’t need a narrative. Hard to deny him the MVP when that’s the case. Someone else is just gonna have to play better than him 🤷♂️
@rob.j.g lmfao! Jokic has won based on narratives alone 😂 "He's winning with no help! He's better because the *advance stats* say he is! His on/off stats are better than anyone else!" Players like Giannis, Luka, and Embiid have a better case winning MVP, but narratives are what helped Jokic win his MVPs 🤷♂️ try again 😂
@rob.j.g Advanced stats is a narrative because that's the only argument they use to justify Jokic to win MVP lol Please tell me who else in the past 2 decades they use advanced stats as an argument? I'll wait...
Good intro. Good questions too. Denver Nuggets, right now, are not a true contender. Nuggets Owners (Kroenkes), GM (Booth), Front office (bunch of incompetent nepotism hires) - simply destroyed Jokic's chances to win another chip, and betrayed the Nuggets fans. Few weeks ago: Josh Kroenke: "when you have the best player on the planet, you have to go for it" Booth: "I'm the steward of Jokic's prime". End result: Nuggets lose KCP, reggie and bring in Saric and maybe-westbrook (before that - they lost BB and Jeff G, and didn't replace them at all). That's "going for it", that's "stewarding Jokic's prime". Kroenke and Booth flat-out LIED. They even got caught lying about offering KCP an extension. Nuggets never had a decent backup center, a decent backup handler/creator, and a backup 3&D wing (BB was a brief exception). Never. Nuggets NEVER had even a mediocre 2nd unit. Never had a real "all-star" next to Jokic either. Last season - roster was much worse than when they won the championship, this season the roster is even worse than that. Now - here's the piece for you guys to talk about: The reason for this debacle is that Kroenkes are preparing to sell Nuggets and are in the talks about it for about 12 months now (last 4 months talks are "productive"). Kroenkes priority is cost control, limiting liabilities and obligations, and giving the next owners "space" under the aprons. Last two seasons look pretty on the books - full arena, revenue almost doubled, brand expansion... And Kroenkes know this is the moment to sell. Prettying the bottom line and offloading Nuggets for a huge profit. And that's the whole story. That's it. BTW - don't ask me how I know this - as these talks are held in strict confidence since they started. But it's true. I hope that Jokic's mgmt team (Raznjatovic) and Jokic himself are aware of it - I know messages were passed to them. And I hope that they trust it - and will f*k Kroenkes in their greedy a**es. By simply demanding a TRADE. Let's see how their "bottom line" is gonna look then.
A couple of things I think you’re misinformed on:
- In no scenario did they think that trading Reggie Jackson would free up enough cap space to keep KCP. They knew they weren’t going to be able to match an offer from another team without going into the second apron and that was something they weren’t willing to do.
- Braun’s defense is not a significant downgrade from KCP. KCP got torched by Anthony Edwards in that series. Braun was far more effective at slowing him down.
-MPJ did not “contribute at a high-level” the year they won the championship. He struggled shooting the entire playoffs and never really found his rhythm.
- I am surprised that you did not discuss the implications of the new CBA and the implications of entering the second apron on roster building. It will affect a lot teams in the near future. The whole video sounded like “Gee idk why the nuggets can’t keep every good player who’s ever played on their team. They are just fumbling Jokic’s prime and I don’t know why they would do that???”
Yeah this dude is getting his info from Reddit comments lol
As a Nuggets fan, you are 100% right. People seem to be making these videos without really understanding the whole scenario and situation the Nuggets are in.
Cope @@adamjoo5373
They need to get off that MPJ contract if possible. Its such a handcuff for their ability to make moves
It's hard but it's gotta be done, love MPJ btw
Bogdanović and Hunter would be elite and maybe is possible, MPJ and Bogdanović is overkill tho
@@user-ke6ck6jp3empj needs to take that next step he has the space too average 20+ and 40% from 3
I hope that MPJ take a pay cut next contract as he realizes he didn’t live up to the current one. I still like him with the nuggets but the overpay is a dagger in the nuggets side.
👍
KCP was nonexistent in the wolves series lol
Jokic can only do so much. The inconsistency of Jamal Murray and Michael porter jr will be the nuggets downfall
Murray and MPJ play no defense...Jokic carries them on offense
Murray took last season off Jokic can't carry the load himself.
@@mydog337 Jokic doesnt play any defense either
@@euro51116 huh??? If blocks is defense for then u dunno ball
Jokic for his body and size he is damm good defender when he has to
He switches screens good hes fast handed averaged 1 steal per game the last 2 season he does a lot on the defensive side
He not a dpoy candidate but saying he doesn play defense is horrendous take
If ur logic is He has to carry the offense and the defense u insane bro that denver team is top 10 in defense and offense thanks to jokic yes AG and kcp covered them defensive gaps but most gaps was murray and mpj fault
@@Manolo8988yeah. Wasn’t he tied for 7th in steals during the regular season? He plays defense. But yeah, as you said, not a DPOY candidate
I really like the addition of Dario Saric because Denver likes to use Jokic as an offensive hub for handoffs a lot. But the bench unit obviously didn’t have a center. Saric is a great passer who can be the offensive hub for the bench which is what the bench kinda needs.
Your going have to pace him a lot. Warriors got a lot for the first few months, but by the end he had played himself out of rotation.
@@AAblade7that's because kerr really wanted small ball and he played cone like defense
@@ollytropics1735 I doubt it’s small ball as much as can you keep the pace up. He seemed gassed by January honestly. By that point he wasn’t affecting the offense well and his defensive weaknesses just made it that much worse.
@@AAblade7 nahh kerr hayes size
The reason the Nuggets will still be good is because they have Nikola Jokic the best player in the world and one of the most adaptable offensive players in history. To me the Nuggets still have a good floor and a high ceiling but that ceiling depends on a lot on the younger players to make significant contributions. I think what will also be critical to them is how the salary cap rises because it’s clear to me ownership doesn’t want to over spend and get into the second apron. It shows how in this modern NBA it’s hard to build dynasty’s and win championships consistently. Shows how impressive the Bulls two separate three peats are. You need talent but also a good beat of luck to win a championship.
Lmao 😂
@@jasondh4777 Top level discussion
@@EasyMoney_SniperR he’s a bronsexual’ probably . They are in capable of any critical thinking or forming an Ooi on of their own .
@@EasyMoney_SniperR definitely the the type of discourse I except on this website
He’s not the best player in the world stop it
Nugs didnt fumble anything. The rules forced bruce brown to leave and that rule will hit other teams as well. Fact is they simply werent allowed to match indianias offer. I think theyve done as well as they could the past 4-5 years. Please tell us what other moves they could have made?
Yh lowkey the nba was designed to foolishly cripple good teams
To play devils advocate, you could say the MPJ deal handicapped them moving forward
@@OliviaKenoyer-qm3oz
Yes, that is the curse of a small market team. To keep talent on a small market, you have to pay that player near the max or else MPJ would have walked for nothing. Big market teams are better at attracting free agents and they don't need to overpay players to keep them. Funny enough, MPJ's max deal was given to him by Tim Connelly who left the Nuggets to join the Timberwolves. Now, was it really necessary to give MPJ the max given his injury history? I personally don't think so. Yet, the form GM still gave him the money to reward him. Or would they have given MPJ the max if they knew the CBA was coming? Probably not. And now teams have to dance around this ridiculous CBA rule that's basically prevented a team from repeating. NBA doesn't want dynasty. It wants a new team to win every year. So far, it has been the case. Every single former champion hasn't made it past the 2nd round after winning a title the previous year since 2019. Nuggets almost did it if only they didn't choke away the 20 points lead at home in Game 7.
@@OliviaKenoyer-qm3ozyes it did, he’s not worth that when he can barely create his own shot and has bad handles lol
MPJ has always been wildly overrated. He can only be reliable 3 option when playing against weaklings like Lakers. I feel his time in Denver will be over after this season
Losing Bruce Brown and KCP in consecutive offseasons is devastating. No clue how Denver let this happen when they were genuinely on the verge of a dynasty.
good point. Jeff Green contributed as well. They lost some quality pieces that's for sure.
Its the rules not the front office to be honest the mpj contract is like handcuffs
it didn't help matters mpj forgot how to shoot in the minnesota series
Just tell him theyre playing the lakers for 4 consecutive series and he'll shoot 100%
Jokic shooting like 24% from three is obviously a outliner and I don’t expect him to shoot like ass forever
I’m going to laugh so hard when the Nuggets win the Western Conference this postseason.
I love how quickly the narrative has changed because they barely lost to the Wolves with a hobbled Murray & severely underperforming KCP & MPJ.
Keep doubting, you’ll all be reminded soon enough.
Let them keep talking we all know how Denver responds to criticism and after a tough L this season they’re gonna come back even stronger
The team is worse buddy, you being delusional don't change this
Were you laughing this past postseason?
He’s got a good reason to doubt lol. I love the Nuggets but we’ve seen what happens when Jokic has inconsistent help.
Watch Christian Braun have a breakout season. Nuggets signing undrafted players Trey Alexander and PJ Hall is looking like it could help them with depth if they play like they are in the summer league in the regular season. It is the summer league and Hunter Tyson had a good game so it's unknown right now if they will translate into the NBA.
The nuggets won 48 games with Jokic, Gordon, Will Barton, Jeff Green, Monte Morris as starters and Facu Compazzo, Austin Rivers, and JaMychal Green off the bench.
This version of the nuggets is exponentially better. 54-56 wins this year
fair but the competitions are also quite a bit tougher now isnt it
@@Dillarune Is it? The Suns had a much more cohesive roster, the Warriors were 3 years younger with Klay, the Grizzlies were a very good team, and the east had 4 solid teams instead of just 1.
@@GTNover Clippers too and Kings only got Derozan and still no depth and defense. Nuggets are still a top 4 team in the West
@@GTNoverwdym the East only has one good team? The Celtics Bucks Knicks and 76ers are all serious contenders lol
Honestly seeding really doesn’t matter too much. Just get into the playoffs healthy and anything can happen!
Management got complacent after winning the Title (they lost Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, and KCP, and they traded Reggie Jackson for almost nothing).
They don't really have a lot of options due to that MPJ max. The major keys to their success next season is their young core (Braun, Watson, Strawther) stepping up and Malone trusting these dudes. Mike gassed out the starters last playoffs because he's too into vets.
Y’all forgetting that every championship team has to adjust to players leaving or getting older … it’s happened plenty of times before … and we got big Jok don’t forget
Is that enough anymore?
@@urbaindelva7869 lol we have a whole team .. they just don’t have nba accolades so it plays tricks with your mind… and we gotta chip on us next year we remember loosing in game 7
How many championship teams have a bad contract on the books that limits what they can do?
@@Mr_Sarcastic215 Boston,Den,Minny,New York if JB didn’t take a pay cut
@aaporter1028 Boston doesn't care about paying a half billion a year for their team, Minnesota's contracts are set up to avoid the 2nd apron, the nuggets literally are literally crippled by the MPJ contract and Brunson did take the below market contract so I'm not entertaining hypotheticals
Murray is not even close to an all star....he needs so much rest...poor guy is always tired
Too fragile
He gassed so hard during game 7 IN DENVER
You cant be a top level athlete and have your hands on your knees after every play in the 2nd half
Hard watch
Nuggets fans at the beginning of last season were calling it Project Dynasty. We got the youth and now we added two veterans.
I’m a lifelong Nuggets fan and I think it’s even worse than it looks on paper. We didn’t even offer KCP a contract, the front office is full of it. We just let him walk for nothing. At best, we are a sixth seed now. His shooting and point of attack defense is a much bigger loss than he is letting on. Russ may be an upgrade on Reggie Jackson but he is no Bruce Brown. The front office really dropped the ball man.
Just overreacting. KCP's shooting was bad last season.
Naw bruh we are not gonna be the 6th seed. We lost our 5th best player and have the 3x MVP still in his prime. This is an overreaction
@@MrShuggadaddyThe year after losing their 6th man and then trading Reggie Jackson and adding nothing really other than Russ. They drafted a backup center with promise and he tore his achilles. It's not looking great.
@@jasonbenedetti5499 i agree we are worse but my point still stands, having Jokic in his prime is guaranteed 6th seed or better. You remember 2022? That roster was way worse than this years, and we were still the 6th seed. We won’t drop below 4
@@MrShuggadaddy A lot of other teams got significantly better. The Kings made the playoffs in 23 as a 3rd Seed with 48 wins. They only won 2 less games this season and they dropped to 9. It won't take much in the West to drop to 5 or 6 next season. Especially with the Grizzlies coming back healthy.
A team lets one role player walk and suddenly its not a contender anymore
Correction: a team loses 2 key defensive role players since their title run while the Western conference around them is only getting stronger and it puts their future into question
Theyve lost more than one key championship role player, and 2 of their 3 best players are inconsistent. Theyre close to being cooked in this league rn
MPJ playing at a half competent level more likely turns around that Minnesota series than “Bruce brown” who got an offer they quite literally couldn’t come close to matching.
Their future being in question because they let two role players go is just silly. The whole concept of “role player” means that it’s replaceable if you draft and develop well-this season will tell us a lot about Denver to that end
If Bruce Brown and KCP are the difference between being a legit contender and being cOoKeD iN tHiS lEaGuE then they should’ve gotten max deals. The whole idea behind role players is while they are necessary, they are also replaceable.
@@listo393 The point is they have declined. Maybe not by much, but the problem is all the other top teams of the west have gotten better. The gap they had over the rest of the west is gone, rn i'd take the field over Denver unless MPJ takes less money AND gets more consistent.
That, and boston can shoot the lights out and guard everyone except jokic, who has been proven to not be able to carry the team alone if no one else is scoring
As a Nuggs fan I 1 million% get why people are concerned about the KCP loss and DaRon Holmes' injury was devasting, but some dudes are overreacting acting like we're wasting Jokic's prime. How good we are does hinge a lot on the young guys like Braun, Watson, and Strawther, but I got faith in all of them to take a leap. We still got Jokic OFC and he's arguably the best player in the world along with Murray, AG, and MPJ. Denver is still going to be a top 4 seed in the West and they're still a threat to win it all, just comes down to the young guys and health OFC.
The MPJ contract killed their flexibility after the introduction of the 2nd apron.
There depth is better, what are you talking about? Starters: Jokic, Murray, AG, MPJ, Braun. Bench: Russ, Sarge, Julian, P Watt. This could overall be bad but i don't see this not being a better team. Losing KCP ofc is bad but replacing him with depth and Braun i think will overall good good this season.
Agreed
@@Nba_nut I am looking forward to this and i really hope this works well. My Lakers destroyed Russ, Denver has a full team and i think people do not understand. 4 mil from a guy you hope gives you 10 points 5 assists and 7 rebounds
The Nuggets will be a good team with Jokić, Murray, Gordon, and MPJ, but they are not title contenders anymore for the time being. As you said, the departure of KCP (and with him, his 3pt shooting and defense) and their lack of depth are huge question marks for them. Russ is a good addition to the bench, but he adds absolutely nothing to their shooting and he's 35 now. Their other addition was Dario Šarić, who is also decent, but doesn't give them much else.
As long as they have Jokic, the Nuggets should be considered title contenders. They still have one of the best starting lineups in the league, KCP was great but also probably the one starter in the nuggets starting lineup that was somewhat replaceable.
I couldnt disagree more
I love this take the Nuggets are a 1st round / 2nd round at best team lol. KCP was so valuable in terms of spacing and defense. People are just getting caught up in the hype but if you watch the games and looked at the stats westbrook was such a liability for the clippers in the playoffs...
westbrook always does ass in the playoffs
westbrook has very little to do with making the team better, he's just an energy/hustle guy, but the nugget's main 4 guys are still only 2nd to the Celtics, and there's only 3 teams in the west that have any chance to beat them in a series
Westbrook ain't gon see much mins come playoff time😅
@@vulcanraven9701 2023 playoffs?
Russ's offense was flat out terrible in the playoffs but if you look at his defense and his on/off numbers in the playoffs they were actually incredible. He was extremely impactful during the regular season as well. Just because he isnt a shooter doesnt mean he's a liability
Losing Da'Ron Holmes is a big blow. Still when Russ is on court w Joker, Gordon & MPJ, good luck getting a rebound. Don't discount D.Saric & J.Strawther. they'll give Denver some pretty good depth. I still think they're clearly better than Dal & LAL
Nah, Nuggets to the moon #WestbrookFC #aura
In my opinion, the 3 young core of Braun, PWat, and Strawther need to vastly improve in their 3PA and 3PFG%. They need to improve, greatly, so that if any of their Big 4 of Jokic, Jamal, Gordon, or MPJ has an off night, they will have other sources where to get points from.
Jokic definitely has the power to make some changes himself, but i actually think he doesnt give a fck at all.
He should have requested that they acquire some better talent kind of like how Lebron does, or some of the other all-stars/superstars. But he doesn't seem that interested. He's a 3 time NBA MVP, and he has a lot of cachet. As a result, it is what it is, they won't win.
I think that a lot of that isn't only their fault, the new rules make repeating much much harder.
They can't win because they have 3 max players that are not good enough.
@@Zemlja_je_ravna Those 3 max players were good enough to win the title one year ago. They are good enough and have proven to be good enough, so idk how they/ve gone from good enough to not good enough in 12 months. It sounds a bit reactionary to me. Murray being healthy is a massive factor that wasn't the case in these playoffs. If he's fit and healthy we've seen what he can do in the playoffs on multiple occassions and that Jokic/Murray duo is legitimity the best the league. So I don't see how they aren't good enough.
@@Colorado218 No they are not. Season when they had to prove that they are good enough, they have proven that they are not. All that championship proved is that Jokic played like a God and carried them to that title, yet other players get credit that they don't deserve. A season where Jokic does not play on a God level they lose because others are not GOOD ENOUGH.
@@Zemlja_je_ravnamurray game winners ?
@@Nba_nut 40% fg. Carried by Jokic
Russ is a big upgrade from Reggie, but they got hurt losing Pope, I’d like to see Braun start and replace Brauns bench play with an older scoring shooting guard that has a good jumper to come off the bench with russ
I don’t think a lot of people understand this, the Nuggets got undeniably worse this season while teams like the Mavs, OKC, Twolves, Kings all got better. Nobody thinks this is a bum team they are just outclassed in the West now. It doesn’t make sense how a ton of people think the Nuggets are just going to ride through the west when they couldn’t even do that last year. I also think we’ve seen Jokics peak whereas someone like Luka and SGA are just entering their primes. I also think they have the worst bench out of all contenders (Russ doesn’t add much for me his bad efficiency and mediocre defense makes me have doubts he’ll be good on the Nuggets).
The key to the Nuggets going back on top will still be with Murray and MPJ. Having the best player in the world can only take you so far in this age of overwhelming talent and parity.
They're starting 5 is almost definitely a little worse, but the team could be better overall, but they are counting on their young guys significantly improving. That and Russ and Saric being able to give the bench some sort of offensive identity.
I feel like suns are gonna be up there too, monte and grayson from bench gonna do wonders for them
The core group is the same and we've seen what they can do.
Braun is a great defender, if he raises his shooting % a bit higher
he'll be an excelent substitute to KCP.
I don't like Russ but i know what he can do if he feels good in a team.
P-Wat will be more mature, Strawther, Tyson, Hall and Cancar can all contribute.
And Saric is a good addition.
If everybody stays healthy, i predict an easier year than the last one
top3 in the league.
I've got denver finishing anywhere between the 4th seed and the 6th seed this upcoming season. It is all dependent on how Braun and Strawther develop and the SG position. KCP is a great 3 and D player. KCP’s defence needs to be replicated. I don;'t think Braun is at that point yet. Also im not high on the westbrook signing. At least reggie jackson could shoot 3's from time to time. There bench is very weak, we also dont know when Holmes is coming back from injury. Very important upcoming season for the nuggets as Murray is in a contract year and Gordon has a player option after this season which he will likely opt out. This could be the last iteration we see of this squad.
the era of Superteams or teams winning championships in a row or 3 peat is over for a while. There is a clear emphasis on developing young talent or your draft picks with the apron rules. No more of the veterans coming on the cheap to a bonafide contender at a discount. Denver will be fine contending with the other teams in the west, their starters are still all under 30 except Westbrook if he starts.
Bruce Brown and KCP got deals that Denver could not match or would have forced roster moves shortening even more the bench on top of luxury tax. Coach Malone will have to dig deeper coaching wise playing more his bench. It was crazy in round 2 that their starters were exhausted by round 2 playing over 40 mins a game, which is impossible with the current pace of game which is too fast...
I’m just gonna say they don’t have no dawgs on this team. Just an MVP and a whole bunch of light skins
The Nuggets' front office doesn't even try. The Nuggets' owner is cheap as hell and won't even spend enough to keep a championship team together.
Bro is a small market in a loaded ass western conference full of rich dynasties like LAL GSW SAN HOU SAC OKC
Isnot that easy and even harder this times when the league has a bunch of penalties and rules to make the free agency hard asf
I think we will be either 3 to 6 seed, if we lucky 2 seed.
Nuggets are losing valuable pieces and the ones that were supposed to "step up" to replace them didn't really do well in enough in those shoes. Now Saric is a great fit systematically as he can fit into similar role as Jokic for the non Jokic minutes but in game 7 versus Timberwolves Jokic played 47 minutes. DJ and Nnaji were unplayable. Not even for 5 minutes when it was 20+ lead for Nuggets.
Westbrook is not replacing KCP, he is a sidegrade from Reggie Jackson. And Christian Braun is now with a lot of pressure on his back to prove himself and fill KCP's shoes.
Honestly I would just try to trade Nnaji and Picket and some picks to try to get some veteran center. But not like Saric someone big like Brook Lopez.
Looking at it now, yes there were injuries since that playoff run Nuggets did in 2020. and they won their first ever championship, but honestly Jokic's prime years are going to waste. And its the fault of everyone except Jokic from the owner to the office and even coach Malone and some of the teammates... Kinda sad really. Lets hope it doesnt remain like this and I get proven wrong in the coming season(s).
I remember asking for a video on the Nuggets a few months ago. This video and the other Denver video are polar opposites.
The west has caught up to the nuggets since their title run but here are what I am saying
- They need to trade MPJ, he is amazing but his contract isn't what a contender wants
- Jokic is the 2nd best player (behind Luka imo) in the world so they are a contender by default
- Jamal Murray needs to stay healthy
- They will get worse due to the lack of depth, KCP is a hole that russ or braun is not replacing
- IMO the nuggets are a 1st or 2nd round exit I feel teams like the Mavs, Thunder, Timberwolves and mb the grizzlies have caught up to them
- Despite that however, they are still contenders and they can win the title and it wouldn't shock me in the slightest
Saric didn’t play last season because kuminga took a leap and they liked TJD.
The Nuggets had a 20 pt lead in game 7. And that was Minnesotas Super Bowl. And Malones rotations were more to blame than anything for that L. Also Saric is 29 years old… you’re acting like he’s 34-35.
Christian averaged 7 ppg on 47% shooting and 38 from 3 on 3 attempts. KCP was 10 ppg on 40% from 3 and the field. He’s going to do fine. His per 36 numbers were actually better than KCP.
How could anyone who has seen Westbrook play over the past few years and in these past playoffs think this is a good move for Denver? His on court play is toxic. Realistically he needs to be out of the league but his name keeps him latching onto teams.
Thing is, I don't know that Russ can be a great defender and he obviously can't shoot
You all reading too much into Nuggets all the people that watched nuggets know inconsistencies that killed them. They were banking on MPJ and Gordon to step up but that didn't really happened. I think what they did in this off season with Westbrook and Saric will be nice to see. I think Jokic will get Westbrook to 20ppg and Saric has protentional to be better we saw him hustling for Croatia. Westbrook is hungry for that ring and I know under Jokic he will be motivated. As far as KCP you can only do so much with a player that shoots bricks majority of the season so they loose bit on defense there thats about it but I think offensively that go much better.
They need to trade MPJ imo. Get off his contract and maybe get a few role players in exchange. It's tough bc they're a 2nd apron team but I feel like that's step one.
Just get Westbrook a ring at least😢
the dude is washed at this point tbh. everywhere KD Harden and Westbrook have gone the teams didnt win anything, except the 73 win warriors that never needed KD anyway
@@vulcanraven9701 so I still want him to get a ring I feel sad for him
@@pablo7889 fair enough. He's the least unlikeable of that OKC trio imo
@@vulcanraven9701 for me I hate Kevin Durant and jame harden way more their more selfish
I do think picking up russ is an absolute homerun
People overrating the hell out of kcp my god. Star in his role but spurs dynasty teams always swapped role players
How many time has we falsely believe in westbrook? Westbrook didn't work in Houston, didn't work in lakers, didn't work in clippers... why? because he can't shoot and is just inefficient in general... why do we still think he will do well in Denver?
Russ did fine leading the role players in Thunder... but guess what? when CP3 was traded to the Thunder and replace westbrook, CP3 actually lead the Thunder into a higher standing than westbrook did.. and CP3 lead the Thunder to game 7 against the much better Harden Westbrook Rocket, better than westbrook ever did when he was in thunder post KD.
The Championship Curse. Happened with my GSW, then the Nuggets and expecting it with the Celtics. CBA doesn’t want repeaters!
Its over for Jokic if he stays with DN its just bad mismanagement of his carrier ... Biggest problem is MPJ max contract that killing this team..
excellent point.
Every west team is grinning ear to ear rn. Denver is officially out of contention now. No serious team signs Westbrick
It's all about health. If guys are healthy & rested, mostly Jamal n Joker n Strawther, this team could win the West. They'll have plenty of shooting with Strawther, Alexander, Saric, Cancar. + Braun n Watson improvements. Westbrook could be great fit. Come on man, this team could be scary good.
If you keep taking players from the Clippers, you might just become the Clippers
I think the Nuggs will be a top 3 seed for sure.
Does it matter where Denver finishes in the standings? Suppose they were a 5th seed and played Memphis in the first round? Or Dallas? They have Aaron Gordon the best Luka guard in the NBA. Basically, last year Malone didn't trust his bench, so he played the starters into the ground. They were exhausted and injured going into the playoffs. They looked sluggish against the Lakers, then staggered into the Timberwolves series and dropped 2 games before they rallied and won 3. Then they just ran into a total wall in game 6 and lost by 45. Game 7 they led by 20 in the 3rd quarter, only to run completely out of gas and dropped down 27 points in the last 18 minutes. Russ is going to play 22 minutes off the bench. He's not going to be 2016 Russ. He just needs to run the 2nd team and fast break with Jokic. The addition of Saric is important because they haven't had any help for Jokic in years. They just need to NOT play Jokic 79 games and 34 mpg so he's fresh going into the playoffs. That was the biggest difference between their title run and last year. In 2023 they rested the starters the last month and they went 16-4 a comparable run to the Celtics this year. This year they tried to get the 1 seed and won 57 games but were exhausted and Jamal Murray was injured and played terribly. The whole team was flat . They will have better role players in Peyton Watson, Saric, Russ, and Julian Strawther for the regular season but they will go with their top 7-8 in the playoffs - starters + Russ, Watson maybe Saric a little. It will all depend on whether they keep the starters rested and healthy for the playoffs.
Just a few months ago you made a video that the Nuggets are "the perfect team" and overhyped them to the moon.
Not to hard to change an opinion in a couple of months
Beginning at 2:11, he covers how the perspective shifted because of the post-championship showing! That may help you not feel like this is a jarring difference in tone, picking up from that timestamp.
So someone can't be wrong and change their minds?
A lot has happened in the last few months.
Was this before the Min series? They were looking solid. Tied their reg season franchise record
They got Westbrook?? Y’all done!! 😂😂😩🤦♂️
MPJ wave goodbye, for that kind of money he plays horrible, 33.3 mil!!! Wave him off and get something better for same amout of money or 2 solid players.
Cancar is nowhere to be found since he was signed, bro is literaly whole NBA career in injuries for 2.2 mil a year!
Tyson, Watson, Strawther, Pickett, Nnaji give them last chance to prove themselfs by giving them more minutes during regular season to prove ther worth and what they r bringing to the table. Who fails, goodbye in next transfer window for 2-3 solid players.
Btw for 33.3 mil they give to MPJ, they could easy get Bogdan Bogdanovic for 20mil (18mil in ATL) and Robert Covington for 13mil (11mil in 76ers) or D. Mitchell for 33,3 mil.
There are many options for better bench imo.
It’s been a year since they won blud not a “couple” 💀
Nuggets still have to solve twolves. The rest of the west can be had by them. As much I love okcstill think nuggets size smokes them
I’m a fan of Denver and people saying they were going to be a dynasty are delusional all their players besides jokic are insanely inconsistent they probably won’t win another championship other teams are going to surpass them and they have no cap space to get much better. Murray is probably the most inconsistent player I’ve ever seen and people saying he’d be an all star this year clearly have never seen him during the regular season
As a Nuggets fan, I’d still pick us to beat most every team in the West (and Boston). However, we would lose to the Mavs, TWolves, and Thunder. Makes me sad because for some reason, every player who wins with us decides to leave for a slightly bigger bag. Loyalty is truly dead.
Nuggets chose to dramatically overpay MPJ and Murray who play no defense.....that is on them.
I bet if another employer in your field offered you $5 million more per year, you’d take that job too
We got Westbrook
MPJ tanked
What is there to talk about?
Jokic never had an all-star level player to play with. And it's getting worse every year now.
They lost Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, KCP... and added Saric and Westbrook.
And Murray (finally) got exposed as a freeloader that he always was, and is useless at this point.
Cheap Ownership, Incompetent Front office (ridden with nepotism) and the moron GM hired only to be the puppet of the Owners so they can sell the franchise high.
Jokic NEVER had an all-star level player to play with. And - in nuggets - he never will.
And that's the whole story about Denver Nuggets.
Cheap, flyover city and franchise that never achieved anything until they got lucky in that draft years ago... And probably won't achieve anything ever again.
Jokic should (he probably won't) DEMAND A TRADE and get out of there.
It's pathetic and sad. The whole thing. Eh.
I dont NEED to do shit. Bye
They need better floor spacing
Russ needs to put his knees on the altar to make the chip happen
Not kidding, I feel the nuggets will finish 6th-7th next year. They are in huge trouble. Calvin booth sat on his hands and did nothing. They see screwed. Joker might leave if they don’t smarten up. He will retire at 34-36. So they don’t have long
I want them to give more mins to strawther.
In a world where everyone kept telling me the Clippers were contenders, the Heat were trash and Bronny will win ROTY...yeeeaaah. They'll be fine😅
Dude's nuts
For me, it's simple. If you play Westbrook signifocant minutes you have no chance of winning an NBA championship.
Right cuz if the rest of the kids play significant mins since some of their losings they’ll win a championship
Play in team
They should just sign Brown, and KCP long term, fok CBA, trade Zeke and 1st, 3 seconds for Mann, sign Andre Drummond as free agent and take two more, fok the punishment, fok the picks, take that 3peat and pay the bill with the smile, what's the point being a billionaire. This will be the story of ruining the greatness,.
They need to trade mpj for 2-3 high end role players. Like Bruce brown, KCP oh wait. They had both those guys… haha good job Calvin booth. You absolutely suck at your job
A couple things. Why is everyone always so quick with trying to annoint a player or team to a certain level of greatness? Milwaukee won their title before Denver and everyone said the same thing about Giannis and the Bucks. How many can they win? Are we seeing the height of Giannis? Will he be a top 10 player of all time? Stop the hype cycle. Most of these players were able to propel their team to a single title and that may be all they get.
For Jokic to be a top 10 player of all time, let alone a top center of all time, he's gonna have to pass Shaq, Wilt, Hakeem and Kareem. Say what you want but I don't see him surpassing any of those guys ever. I don't care how many triple doubles he gets
Christian Braun just isn’t a good player you can’t win a championship starting a guy like him
No matter what.. Jokic will win MVP because voters are D**k riding hard for Jokic lol
"Jokic plays the game right. He doesn't need the ball!"
I can't imagine the gagging they'll do for Jokic, who'll have to have the ball more. Unlike other MVP candidates like Luka, who's done more with less talent but doesn't receive the benefit of the doubt like Jokic gets every year
Jokic wins numbers. He doesn’t need a narrative. Hard to deny him the MVP when that’s the case. Someone else is just gonna have to play better than him 🤷♂️
@rob.j.g lmfao! Jokic has won based on narratives alone 😂
"He's winning with no help! He's better because the *advance stats* say he is! His on/off stats are better than anyone else!"
Players like Giannis, Luka, and Embiid have a better case winning MVP, but narratives are what helped Jokic win his MVPs 🤷♂️ try again 😂
@@Frank-hv7xjadvanced stats aren’t a narrative, and he wins all of them. Are you a flat earther? People who are afraid of math often are.
@@Frank-hv7xjand ps, you know who starts a rebuttal with “lmfao!” and ends it with “try again”? People with less than 85 iq.
@rob.j.g Advanced stats is a narrative because that's the only argument they use to justify Jokic to win MVP lol
Please tell me who else in the past 2 decades they use advanced stats as an argument? I'll wait...
Russ washed!!!!! Your biased!
🤡
Nuggs will lose in the first round in this coming season.
Reality is about to smack Calvin booth in the face. They are legit screwed
Good intro. Good questions too.
Denver Nuggets, right now, are not a true contender.
Nuggets Owners (Kroenkes), GM (Booth), Front office (bunch of incompetent nepotism hires) - simply destroyed Jokic's chances to win another chip, and betrayed the Nuggets fans.
Few weeks ago:
Josh Kroenke: "when you have the best player on the planet, you have to go for it"
Booth: "I'm the steward of Jokic's prime".
End result: Nuggets lose KCP, reggie and bring in Saric and maybe-westbrook (before that - they lost BB and Jeff G, and didn't replace them at all). That's "going for it", that's "stewarding Jokic's prime".
Kroenke and Booth flat-out LIED. They even got caught lying about offering KCP an extension.
Nuggets never had a decent backup center, a decent backup handler/creator, and a backup 3&D wing (BB was a brief exception). Never. Nuggets NEVER had even a mediocre 2nd unit. Never had a real "all-star" next to Jokic either.
Last season - roster was much worse than when they won the championship, this season the roster is even worse than that.
Now - here's the piece for you guys to talk about: The reason for this debacle is that Kroenkes are preparing to sell Nuggets and are in the talks about it for about 12 months now (last 4 months talks are "productive"). Kroenkes priority is cost control, limiting liabilities and obligations, and giving the next owners "space" under the aprons. Last two seasons look pretty on the books - full arena, revenue almost doubled, brand expansion... And Kroenkes know this is the moment to sell.
Prettying the bottom line and offloading Nuggets for a huge profit. And that's the whole story.
That's it.
BTW - don't ask me how I know this - as these talks are held in strict confidence since they started. But it's true.
I hope that Jokic's mgmt team (Raznjatovic) and Jokic himself are aware of it - I know messages were passed to them. And I hope that they trust it - and will f*k Kroenkes in their greedy a**es. By simply demanding a TRADE.
Let's see how their "bottom line" is gonna look then.