Report: Nuggets front office and Mike Malone do not see eye to eye on direction of Franchise

[tremonthustler1]

Definitely an unconventional choice that they’re going with a pseudo youth movement while having Jokic in his prime

Get it that with the second apron & repeater tax rules that rookie contracts are more valuable than ever but last 2 offseasons they’ve lost KCP, Brown & Uncle Jeff for nothing. Gotta maximize this window while it lasts because who knows how long it’ll be before Denver gets another superstar level player

the whole point of drafting, especially when you spend so much is to replenish the talent you're losing. Whether Malone likes it or not, he has to utilize those guys. If he thinks the talent coming in sucks, that's a Booth problem. They weren't gonna keep KCP because in short, they gave MPJ max money and Kroenke cares about the Rams and SoFi more than the Nuggets.


Assuming they were gonna let KCP walk anyway, who were these minimum guys they passed up on?

 

[SchoolboyC]

the whole point of drafting, especially when you spend so much is to replenish the talent you're losing. Whether Malone likes it or not, he has to utilize those guys. If he thinks the talent coming in sucks, that's a Booth problem. They weren't gonna keep KCP because in short, they gave MPJ max money and Kroenke cares about the Rams and SoFi more than the Nuggets.


Assuming they were gonna let KCP walk anyway, who were these minimum guys they passed up on?

I agree that in this situation he has to try to develop the young guys

I’m not arguing there was a vet minimum savior they passed on, I’m just saying that they’ve lost quality role players for nothing directly and it’s put them in a worse position

 

[aceboon]

they're basically going through the same shyt the Warriors did after the 2022 title

 

[DoubleJ13]

The old 2 timelines method

 

[tremonthustler1]

Eagles and Patriots used to follow this method. Not overpay role players or aging players. The issue with Denver is their draft picks have not shown they can perform as starters or play with more minutes. Last year they got rid of Bruce cause they said Peyton Watson was more athletic and ready. Watson did nothing. Now you got Christian Braun who I dont think is ready to start.

they got rid of Bruce because he got paid way more than Denver could offer. Braun was an upperclassman who helped them win in year 1. If he can't take the next step that's a problem. Strawther did 3 years at Gonzaga. He should be able to play backup minutes. Tyson was a senior. Trey Alexander, PJ Hall, Holmes (even though he got hurt), Pickett. The only project out of the entire group was Watson. If upperclassmen can't come in and be plug and play, then it proves why GM's hate drafting them. Malone has to meet them halfway, especially when two of his three max guys can't stay healthy, so the opportunity is there. He just thinks all his youngins ain't shyt.

 

[tremonthustler1]

The old 2 timelines method

not nearly the same thing. Denver has been trading picks to get guys that help them now. The bulk of their young guys are upperclassman in the late first/2nd round. They didn't pass up a 4th max guy to keep these other players. The only argument is really that Kroenke shoulda went full Ishbia and lived in the 2nd apron forever and scooped up every washed minimum guy to join DeAndre Jordan. Booth's doing the right thing. Malone just doesn't wanna deal with the pains of developing guys even though that's always part of the process for any team.

 

[jwinfield]

Westbrook already in mid season form. Destroying the franchise from within

There was an article talking about this clash last season, I think during the playoffs.

 

[ISO]

Mike Malone been tight since Bruce Brown left.

Nuggets really relying on Braun and Peyton Watson.

 

[The God Poster]

Not to dump on the Lakers (even though I don't mind lol), but every Owner is most likely terrified to be in the Laker's situation right now

Having a hall of fame player in his final years who is still a Top 20-ish level player, who is essentially holding their team's hostage by wanting talent around them, which makes the team expensive. And since that player is past their prime, the highest level they can achieve is a 2nd round exit at best. Jokic's game ages really well as he doesn't use his athleticism anyway. He can realistically be at this level for 8-10 more years. Nuggets front office see that and rather just blow it up or do an extreme retool and save money instead. Alot of NBA owners don't see a team being title contenders year in year out as a positive like NBA fans do

He can’t & wont be at this level for 10 more years

 

[Boonapalist]

Oh I thought Denver was supposed to be a dynasty after that chip

 

[Thavoiceofthevoiceless]

I feel like this story is not new and been out there for months

 

[Regular_P]

That Michael Porter Jr. contract killed their financial flexibility. It was a terrible deal from the moment it was signed and that was Connelly, not Booth. It goes through 2027 and Gordon/Murray will both be free agents next summer.

With the new cap rules, it's basically impossible for Denver to dump his contract too.

 

[Thavoiceofthevoiceless]

That Michael Porter Jr. contract killed their financial flexibility. It was a terrible deal from the moment it was signed and that was Connelly, not Booth. It goes through 2027 and Gordon/Murray will both be free agents next summer.

With the new cap rules, it's basically impossible for Denver to dump his contract too.

The new cap rules killed their financial flexiblity more than anything as lot of these contenders out here would definitely made moves differently if they knew what was coming in the pipeline. A perfect example of that is Milwaukee.


They got a ring out of it and he did help have major contributions during that Miami series, so it was arguably money well spent. The problem for them is that helped trigger making it fully guaranteed, which doesn't happen that often with players.

A lot of these teams are fukked and Denver is unfortunately one of them.

 

[42 Monks]

They got a ring out of it and he did help have major contributions during that Miami series, so it was arguably money well spent.

That 2022-2023 championship arguably hurt them because that's what made it fully guranteed.

considering anyone valid for that denver/miami finals matchup was goofy as hell tbh

pay porter if you have to, but he should've been on the block as soon as the ink dried

 

[Thavoiceofthevoiceless]

considering anyone valid for that denver/miami finals matchup was goofy as hell tbh

pay porter if you have to, but he should've been on the block as soon as the ink dried

How were they going to do that when he injured his back right after the ink dried and depending on who you ask, was injured when he signed it