Echoing Mike Singer’s reporting from earlier this week, Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic confirm that Nikola Jokic remains fully committed to the Nuggets and intends to sign a five-year, super-max extension this offseason.
According to The Athletic’s duo, Jokic’s brothers Strahinja and Nemanja have met with general manager Calvin Booth and assistant GM Tommy Balcetis in the days since Tim Connelly‘s departure to discuss the team’s future, while Booth and head coach Michael Malone have spoken on the phone to Jokic, who is in Serbia. Everyone is in the same page going forward, per Charania and Amick.
As the Nuggets continue to build around Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr., the focus for Booth and the new-look front office this offseason will be to add long, versatile, defensive-minded players, sources tell The Athletic.
The team will be open to surrendering more of its draft assets if that helps open up favorable opportunities to acquire win-now talent, according to Charania and Amick, since the goal is to compete for a championship and make the most of Jokic’s prime years.
Here’s more on the Nuggets:
- The Timberwolves’ willingness to include equity in their offer to Connelly was viewed by the Nuggets as an obstacle they couldn’t overcome, say Charania and Amick. In addition to the Nuggets, the Kroenkes own franchises in other sports – including the NFL’s Rams and the NHL’s Avalanche – and had no interest in setting a new precedent on equity that might affect future negotiations with team executives.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic takes a close look at the Nuggets’ situation going forward, wondering if the team will be open to trading Will Barton and/or Monte Morris this offseason. Hollinger suggests Morris could be more expendable due to Murray’s return and Bones Hyland‘s emergence.
- Within his story, Hollinger notes that Connelly’s salary during his last season in Denver put him in the bottom half of the NBA’s lead basketball executives and suggests that the Nuggets have a history of investing minimally in their basketball operations department and organizational infrastructure.
- Mike Singer of The Denver Post takes a closer look at what Calvin Booth will bring to the Nuggets’ head of basketball operations job, speaking to several people who have worked with him over the years. One source told Singer that Booth is more “structured” than Connelly and predicted he’ll have a lower tolerance for “locker room headaches.”
If Murray is healthy is not a stretch to say they’re the title favorites next year.
If GSW wins the title this year, I don’t see how they’re not favorites assuming everyone comes back and no major offseason injuries.
Murray and Porter don’t make up for the fact the nuggs were almost swept in the first round by the warriors.
I’d say those 2 guys are definitely capable of bridging the gap from #6seed/1st rd losers to top3seed/WC champs… those 2 guys are extremely good, especially offensively
Not what he said….he said title favorites. Warriors are still better.
Murray hasn’t played a full season since 2018-19. Porter can’t stay healthy.
IMO the Nuggets gave up a bit without their leader, the guy that brought them back two years ago in the playoffs.
Monte Morris is a good backup and had a good on-off, but was not what was needed vs GSW… he likes to speed things up, not control pace. Not sure about Hyland. Compazzo was not effective.
#BBBB – bring back Bol Bol
Hell no. He was terrible. Showed flashes for sure. Maybe a better fit on a rebuild.
Will Barton for the 18th pick would be a GREAT deal for the Bulls. We need perimeter shooting and Barton is a 35%. Bulls need to maximize this 18th pick for a player who can help them right now. We aren’t rebuilding, but we aren’t contenders just yet. Will Barton for the 18th pick and Troy Brown + a future 1st round lottery protected pick would be the offer I would make.
Which pair of Nuggets greats would give Jokic the best chance to bring Denver their 1st NBA title & why, Kiki Vandeweghe/Alex English, Jamal Murray/Michael Porter Jr, Tywon Lawson/Carmelo Anthony, David Thompson/Dan Issel or Fat Lever/Michael Adams?..
This one is easy. It’s Kiki and English. English was an underrated and amazing player. Carmello with Jokic would be intriguing but I think I would go with Thompson/Issel for 2nd place.
MPJ & Kiki both strike me as sorta store brand versions of Melo. Which probably sounds bad lol but I actually mean it as high praise. I def see why you’d pick English/Kiki. That would be 1 of the most potent scoring trios ever, right there w/ KD/Russ/Harden. As far as fit & caring about playing defense they’d leave a lot to the imagination tho. English especially was such an iso-heavy guy, it’s hard to see him fitting well with Joker but same could be said of a lot of the guys on this list, including both of his actual current teammates
marcus liberty & laphonso ellis. nostalgia.
Marc Macon & Todd Lichti would dominate the g-league rn zero cap lol
This one’s easy…MPJ and Murray as to why? They both may be coming off major surgeries but the rest are all either long since retired, well past their prime (Anthony) or have only played about 15 pro basketball games over 2 years.(Lawson)
Seriously though if Lawson could’ve dealt with his personal demons he, Anthony and Jokic in their primes would’ve been very intriguing. Especially if I could have Wilson Chandler as well.
Wilson Chandler is literally 1 of my favorite nba players of the last 20yrs fr I nearly put him & Gallo as a duo but went with Adams/Lever instead… totally agree Lawson/Melo/Joker would be a nightmare to defend
Well hey we agree on something! I loved Chandler’s game. He was the epitome of what you looked for in a 3 and D wing.
DavidThompson and DanIssel both had beautiful and successful games and could score going to the rim, which Jokic does not that often. If nothing else I would like to see them. Of course Issel was also a center but that could be worked out. English needed an entry passer, kind of cruised.
I’d probably go with these 2. I love & respect English/Melo/Murray & the rest but David Thompson is the best player on this list imo & he also fits the best alongside Joker imo
In their prime, these two would fit best with Jokic’s game and I have no doubt Dan would be machine at the 4, David is simply the most exciting player the Nuggets will probably ever have. Idealy with the players on this list I’d love to pair David with Fat and Jokic. How much fun would that team be!
Frank Ntilikina? Worth a flyer on a barely above minimum deal? A lot of guards become better shooters as they get older. The Nuggets system could help him..playing with the starters he’d get wide open shots.
Booth has a great opportunity here, but a challenge as well. He inherits a roster with a young team oriented MVP, and other high end talent, but it’s not well constructed to maximize it. He could take the easy road, and just keep his hand on the wheel, make a few tweaks and hope. Or the hard road, and look to reset the roster to better position it for what could be a fairly long championship run. His predecessor took the easy road, and that’s makes the hard road even harder now than it was a couple of years ago. More dangerous too, and potentially thankless. His opportunities to make his mark on this roster won’t come often, and won’t come at all without real downside risks. But the Jokic era likely ends without championships if he isn’t up to taking them. Unfortunately, that’s not (really) important to a lot of FO people. I doubt it was to Connelly. We’ll see here.
Good Post article, reassuring about Booth. It indicated he keeps well prepared and is likely less tolerant of nonproductive behavior. There was an amusing story about him favoring JamalMurray over KrisDunn, except at MIN not DEN.
Booth has work to do— and might be more likely to do it than Connelly!
That wasn’t Booth who favored Dunn. It was the coach, Thibs.
Right, I said Booth favored Murray.
Unless that was made up for when Booth signed on with Denver… I doubt it but I always have to consider the cynical side!
@Luke Adams
Thank you for taking our question Tuesday and responding within the timeframe allotted. The Force is strong w/you, young padawan ➖ as you intuited one of the many correlations that we were alluding to in D-Wade’s ties to Ryan Smith :)…
The most glaring issue in all this is the fact that CBA by-laws prohibit active players from being awarded a deal such as Connelly’s in the first place. We expect the NBA to drive a hard bargain before, after, and during any round of CBA negotiations. But the plutocracy of star talent is doing more damage long-term to players’ rights by refusing to entertain any significant monetary sacrifice or demonstrate a willingness to support all players through an extended labor strike.
We’re eager to speak privately with you regarding the economic implications we see resulting from the short-sided & selfish vices of the league’s star class (and the infrastructure that supports them) and how it impacts the quality of competition going forward.
Thank you for the outstanding effort & contributions of you and your staff – you personally have always done an exemplary job of maintaining your platform.
“Noting Tim Connelly’s Minny promotion and equity shares… It’s altogether very interesting how the CBA in its current incarnation permits a $40MM executive to score an ownership stake, yet players w/ contracts 5X the size and a more vested interest or moreover former/ retired players have to collaborate w/ titans of industry/private equity firms just to even have a chance at fractions of a percent in a franchise. The NBPA leadership continues to suck hindquarters and the avarice of the superstars is costing the entire player pool a golden opportunity to cash in tremendously. What’s your assessment of this disconnect between the gamut of pros and the All-NBAer/All-Star elite, Luke?”
I’d love see the players get some of that ownership equity too. Eventually it’s gonna happen. The NBPA could be doing better but I mean just look at the past 20yrs, the players have made serious advances & those positive steps are gonna allow for more advances (which will eventually include the type things you’re talking about)… I agree tho, it’s way past time that the guys who are doing the lion share of the work, the guys that make all of this possible get a chance to share in the true spoils
I would rather nobody gets equity deals. Ownership is a necessary evil, no need to offer it around and affect lockerrooms or offices.
Maybe A-Rod wants to create a channel to leverage change, but why Connelly?
What has Connelly done to warrant an above average salary? Losing a good exec hurts but there are many other good ones available. No need to sell the farm just to keep one.