DENVER – With a blue banner commemorating the team’s 2023 NBA championship hanging behind him at the Denver Nuggets practice facility, head coach Mike Malone described a sense of urgency for the 2024-25 season, a sentiment shared by star guard Jamal Murray during a recent locker room. room talk
“He reminds his teammates, don’t take this for granted,” Malone said during the Nuggets’ media day held Thursday. “He says, ‘We have a championship window, not every team has a championship window. And what do you do? Do you take advantage of it or do you look back in 20 years and regret it?’
Murray, who agreed to a four-year, $208 million max contract extension earlier this month, says the entire team needs to approach this season with the right mindset.
“The young kids, when we get older, they’ll see us [struggle] win in this league and that it’s hard for GMs to create a team like this, that’s this talented and that’s good off the court as well,” Murray said. “So I just said, seize the moment. We’ve been given an opportunity to do great things, let’s make the most of it.”
And one of the reasons the Nuggets are in a hurry is because they are on the cusp of superstar Nikola Jokic, the three-time NBA MVP.
“At best, I think Nikola has a prime 10-year contention window,” Nuggets GM Calvin Booth said. “I think we’re about halfway through it. So, we probably have about five more shots like that and all the shots count. We hit one of them, that’s great. The sooner we hit it, the more conversations we can have on other. things, but it will be incredibly difficult to win another one.”
“I think Nikola Jokic is probably going to be one of the best to ever play the game,” forward Aaron Gordon added. “[I’m] cutting off my tail, taking off my ass to maximize his time in the NBA.”
The Nuggets entered last season as title contenders and reached the second round of the playoffs before blowing a 20-point lead in a Game 7 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“After a season where everybody says you failed, it’s my job to make sure we don’t read all those bulls,” Malone said. “We’re a good team. The last six years, nobody in the West has come close to doing what we’ve done.”
This offseason, the Nuggets lost one of their key players, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who signed with Orlando. His departure came after the team lost forward Bruce Brown, a key cog in its 2023 title run, last offseason.
In a hyper-competitive Western Conference, the Nuggets are hoping some of their young players, including Christian Braun, Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther, can help fill the gap and bolster their depth. They are also counting on new acquisitions, including former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook and backup center Dario Saric, who could help ease Jokic’s minutes.
Westbrook, who signed a two-year deal with the Nuggets in July, said it was an “honor” to play with Jokic. In past experiences, Westbrook said the scouting report on plays against him simply said “good luck” hoping Jokic missed a shot.
“You want to be on a team with someone who is literally unguardable,” Westbrook said of Jokic, “and I’m grateful to be on his team.”
Jokic, who helped lead his Serbian national team to an Olympic bronze medal in the Paris Olympics in August, said he didn’t dwell on the Nuggets’ disappointing postseason finish. When reminded that Tuesday marked his 10th media day, the often humorous Jokic responded, “Every year it’s the same thing. And I don’t know why we do it every year. Every year, it’s the same thing.”
But Jokic said he was excited for Westbrook, noting, “Of course, we didn’t have a good relationship on the court (before). We fought a lot and talked back and forth. But I know who he is a little bit. off the court, so [he’s a] great teammate, vocal leadership, the guy who is willing to listen, the guy who will follow in the gym. So I think he’s a great player for us, and I think he’s going to bring us all good things.”
Although Jokic can sometimes seem disinterested in the game – and more interested in his horses or life at home in Serbia – he explained: “Just because I’m not smiling or laughing or doing anything, doesn’t it mean I’m not excited to see what can we do.”
Malone also discussed the more restrictive collective bargaining agreement and how it redefined team building across the NBA while also addressing speculation that it created friction between him and the Nuggets’ front office.
“I, Calvin, [Nuggets president/governor Josh Kroenke]I think as long as we’re aligned, communicating, collaborating and also challenging each other — like, Calvin and I don’t always have to agree,” Malone said. “If we’re always agreeing, then we’re not really accomplishing. what we have to accomplish. But through those decisions and through those conversations, you come to a greater good. And this is a reality. You look across the NBA landscape, teams are letting great players walk because they don’t want to go anywhere near that really dirty word of “second apron.” “
Malone was referring to changes made to make life more difficult for the league’s highest-spending teams and increase equity around the league. Teams that pass the “first apron” and then the “second apron” of the luxury tax line will face more severe restrictions in how they build their roster. The Nuggets are one of several teams that are hard-nosed on the second apron, meaning they can’t exceed about $189 in team salary.
“And as a coach, I have to educate myself because I’m putting on blinders [and think] “How we win the game tonight,” Malone continued. “But I have to give respect to Calvin, I have to give respect to Josh and understand that it’s more than just tonight. It’s also a much bigger perspective of how we’re going to be set up for success not just tonight and this season but for the road.”
As for the CBA, Booth mentioned trying to win now while developing his young players — a path that hasn’t always worked for some teams, namely the Golden State Warriors.
“I think there’s been a lot of conversations about winning or developing,” Booth said. “I’m a big Jim Collins fan and read [his] book ‘Good To Great.’ What we tried to accomplish is not new. You can earn and develop. Once you have won, you have a duty to develop. Oklahoma City has developed their team enough and now they are trying to win. I think we are obliged, in order to be great, to try to develop.”
The Nuggets can enter contract extension negotiations with Gordon as early as Friday. Gordon is eligible to sign a four-year, $143 million extension, and both he and Booth said they are optimistic about the two sides reaching an agreement.
The Nuggets begin training camp on Friday before heading to Abu Dhabi for a pair of preseason games against the Boston Celtics there on Oct. 4 and Oct. 6.
