Simpson, 23, was waived by Charlotte after the trade deadline this month. Drafted 42nd overall by the Hornets in 2024, he played in 50 games over the last two seasons and started 17 of them, averaging 7.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
The 6-foot-2 guard represents additional ball-handling depth for the Nuggets as they prepare for the last third of the regular season. He won’t be eligible to play in the NBA playoffs on a two-way contract. Denver now has three guards occupying its two-way spots, with Simpson joining rookies Curtis Jones and Tamar Bates.
Simpson played 98 games during a three-year college career at Colorado. He earned First Team All-Pac-12 honors as a junior and stamped his place in program history during the 2024 NCAA Tournament, when he buried a game-winning shot against Florida to send CU to the second round.
Players on two-way contracts split their time between the NBA and G League depending on where they’re needed. Denver’s G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, has been without key players such as Jones, Bates and big man DaRon Holmes II for most of the last two months, with Jones and Holmes assigned to Denver and Bates injured.
The Nuggets have used Jalen Pickett and Julian Strawther as complementary guards in the starting lineup over the last month while navigating injuries. They prefer to use Tim Hardaway Jr. off the bench to generate an extra scoring jolt when they make substitutions, though Hardaway has also closed a number of games this season.
PHILADELPHIA — These are the stories nine Nuggets bench players and their coach will tell decades from now about a peculiar basketball game in Philadelphia.
It was a random enough game, one of 82 on a Monday in January, that it will fade from collective memory eventually. Just not from theirs. David Adelman will tell the story of “one of the best NBA wins I’ve ever been a part of in my life,” as he described it in the locker room, his stoic demeanor giving way to emotion that might’ve been verging on tears. “That was (freaking) special, man.”
He’ll reminisce about strategizing for a seemingly insurmountable matchup without seven of his usual rotation players, without his entire starting lineup, without Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. He’ll tell the story of his staff’s edict to “keep five guys in the paint and try to win the ball,” because the Nuggets didn’t have a healthy center, and they were playing against one with an MVP trophy. He’ll recount how he urged them to “play fast” and hunt easy buckets to avoid the limitations of a half-court offense. How he had no choice but to use all nine available players, including two who knew only garbage time in the NBA until a few days earlier.
He’ll compare it to a February 2020 win over Utah, where the Nuggets had only seven guys at their disposal, also on the second night of a back-to-back. But one of the seven was Jokic.
“This one is different,” Adelman said. “This one is unique, because our best player didn’t play. … When they’re older, 20 years from now, they’ll probably grab a beer and talk about this game.”
Bruce Brown will tell the story of his game-winner that never actually went through the net. It was a fitting climax, first requiring the Nuggets to get a defensive stop while they were down one point with a six-second clock differential in overtime. They collapsed on 76ers rookie sensation VJ Edgecombe in the lane. Peyton Watson disrupted his driving layup. Spencer Jones blocked Joel Embiid’s tip-in attempt, tumbling over Edgecombe. While the bodies hit the floor, Brown was waiting at the free-throw line. The ball caromed to him for a one-man fast break.
Keep five guys in the paint and try to win the ball. Play fast. “I didn’t have to call a timeout,” Adelman said. Embiid tried to chase Brown down for a block, but the ball had already touched the backboard when the Nuggets’ nemesis got to it. Goaltending was called with 5.3 seconds left.
“I was in the perfect position,” Brown said. “I knew everyone was in the paint, trying to go rebound. I was just like, I’m going. There was only one person back.”
He’ll tell the story of human nature. How it worked to Denver’s advantage. How he’s sure that a Philadelphia squad with Embiid, Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George in the lineup overlooked this game after winning four in a row. How Brown could hardly blame them because he’s been doing this long enough to know that it’s almost unavoidable in an 82-game season. He was the most experienced player available for the Nuggets. Their other eight players had combined for 94 NBA starts before Philadelphia, and only 45 before this season.
“People are expecting us to lose. We have nothing to lose, right?” Brown thought. “Go out there and hoop. We’ve been on the other side before, where other teams sit people out, and the same thing happens. So I knew they were probably gonna take us a little light. … When I’m on the other side, sometimes that happens, right? The other team just comes out playing extremely hard, and you’re like, eh, bench guys; they’re not the starters.”
Jalen Pickett will tell the story of how he quieted his older brother. “He’s my biggest critic,” the 6-foot-2 point guard said, “so I can’t wait to see what he says tonight.” They don’t get to see each other often during the NBA season. This was an exception, a reunion in Philly. Pickett, who finished his college career at Penn State, scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Nuggets. He added five rebounds and seven assists.
“He was just absolutely in control of this basketball game,” Adelman said. “With all those great players on that court, he was the guy tonight.”
Pickett’s first three years of pro hoops have been an emotional roller coaster. Drafted in the second round in 2023, he became a focal point of the tension between former general manager Calvin Booth and coach Michael Malone. Palace intrigue encroached on his confidence at times. But a 7-for-11 outside-shooting performance in Pennsylvania? Three step-back 3s over the 7-foot Embiid? It was the best Pickett has felt on a basketball court since “probably back in college, having the ball every possession.” He’ll tell the story of the Nuggets’ nickname for one night: “We were calling ourselves the Denver G League.”
Hunter Tyson will tell the story of his go-ahead 4-point play, the crux of a 14-0 fourth-quarter run after Denver trailed 98-89 with 11 minutes to go. He scored half of his 14 points during that run. Perhaps no sequence was more crucial to the momentum than his contested rebound and pull-up 3-pointer in transition, which he buried while getting fouled. “We were just a bunch of dogs tonight,” he said afterward.
He’ll tell the story of the bench’s comradery and patience. Tyson was drafted five spots after Pickett in 2023. Seven of Denver’s nine available players have suited up for the Grand Rapids Gold, a developmental G League affiliate. Eight of the nine were either drafted by the Nuggets outside of the top 20, or signed by the Nuggets out of college as undrafted free agents. Before this game, Tyson had played 50 total minutes in the first 35 contests of the season.
“He might be our hardest worker,” Pickett said.
“We’re blessed with the opportunity to be in the NBA, to be in this position. So I really try to keep a good perspective about things,” Tyson said. “And maybe even if I’m not playing as much as I want, just try and get a little better each day.”
He’ll tell the story of how that patience was a virtue on the final play of overtime, when Maxey released a potential game-winning floater. It threatened the three hours of maximum effort Denver had devoted. But it rolled off the rim as time expired, igniting a spontaneous celebration of hugs.
“Dude, I swear it sat there forever,” Tyson said, laughing. “I was really glad it didn’t go in.”
Zeke Nnaji will tell the story of Adelman’s relentless encouragement, which Nnaji says dates back months before the one game when it was most necessary. “He says that we’re so deep, we’re so talented, that on a random night, it could be anyone’s night. He’s constantly hammering that message home,” Nnaji said.
“I think it’s really DA. … He believed. And we all believed.”
Nnaji is the third-longest tenured Nugget behind Jokic and Murray, but his four-year, $32 million contract has been widely ridiculed as a waste of money on a player who mostly rides the bench. For at least one night, none of that mattered. Nnaji was Embiid’s equal, amassing 21 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks off the bench as Denver’s fourth-string center. He’ll tell the story of how it felt like a “normal” game, if only because the reserves are so accustomed to playing pickup together on the practice court. They need the reps.
“We play with each other so much,” he said. “Especially when everyone (in the starting lineup) is healthy, we’re always playing with each other. … Opportunities like this are so rare.”
Adelman will tell the story of Denver’s pregame shootaround someday, once he can get through it without choking up. “This morning, walking through (the plan) with nine people,” he said, “it was really special.” He had to stop himself there.
The nine also consisted of Julian Strawther, DaRon Holmes II and Curtis Jones. Others who contributed behind the scenes will also tell the story of this game, though. The team security guard who ran down the back hallway, ecstatic. The starters who sat out and cheered from the bench, including Aaron Gordon, who sat at his locker room stall perusing the box score afterward with a proud smile. The player development coaches who work closely with Denver’s reserves. As two of them walked through an empty arena toward the team bus, one declared, “Shoutout PD,” lifting the Modelo can he was carrying in a toast to themselves.
When Nnaji tells the story, he’ll always return to Pickett’s deadeye shooting. “There were a couple of times Pick hit a step-back on Embiid, and I just go crazy whenever he hits one of those,” Nnaji said.
Pickett will tell that story, too. His children and grandchildren will hear that one.
“Oh my gosh,” he said, perhaps still in some disbelief. “I’m gonna tell ‘em I was giving MVPs buckets out there.”
For his latest trick, Nikola Jokic dribbled into oncoming traffic and escaped unscathed.
Sometimes after he reels in a defensive rebound, the Nuggets center prefers to launch an aerial attack with one of his long outlet passes. This time, he brought the ball with him up on his usual route up the middle of the floor. Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. trailed him by a step. Up ahead, Tyus Jones veered into his lane from the left, sensing an opportunity to pick the pocket of a lumbering big man.
But Jokic is nimble. Before Jones could cut across his front side, he anticipated the attempted swipe and transferred his dribbling hand with a behind-the-back move that shouldn’t have looked so graceful. Jones whiffed. Carter caught up, but Jokic decelerated to allow him to pass. Then the newly minted best passing center of all time went behind the back again — this time, a dime to Jamal Murray, who finished the play with a lefty floater.
Denver’s stars were just showing off at that point in the third quarter of a 126-115 win over the Magic that wasn’t always so smooth-sailing.
DENVER , CO – DECEMBER 18: Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets passes behind his back as Tyus Jones (2) of the Orlando Magic watches during the third quarter at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Thursday, December 18, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
It was a monumental night. At 30 years old and 302 days, Jokic passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Thursday for the most assists by a center in NBA history. Coming into the game, all he needed was six to match Abdul-Jabbar’s career total of 5,660. He finished the evening with 13, highlighting a 23-point, 11-rebound triple-double.
“For those of us that love the history of the game, that one should be wrote about and talked about, and that should be a national story,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “Because that’s passing a guy that you could argue — if you just want to go by generations and not, ‘Who’s the best player of all time?’ and all the talk-talk stuff — Kareem is in the conversation. Look at his MVPs. Look at the winning. And our guy tonight from Denver just passed him in a category.”
“This is a time that I can be able to look back and appreciate all the years I’ve had to play this game with him,” Murray said. “It’s special. Passing Kareem in anything is pretty cool. So I think it just speaks to his greatness and how unselfish he is.”
Jokic has also passed other Hall of Famers including Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson on the all-time list this season, now ranking 50th overall in career assists. Next up for him to catch is another legendary passer, Larry Bird. Jokic is 28 away from tying him.
“I always say the assist makes two people happy (instead of one). My coach ‘Deki,’ he always said that,” Jokic said Thursday, paying homage to the late Golden State Warriors and Mega Basket coach Dejan Milojevic.
“Maybe it’s not a splashy pass or whatever,” the three-time MVP continued, “but I think when you make the right play, you’re going to feel good about yourself.”
Adelman was especially adamant about the historical significance of the occasion. He gave Jokic the game ball in Denver’s locker room after the win.
“It’s such a cool thing, because it’s Kareem, who was passed by LeBron (James) as the all-time leading scorer, which puts in perspective who Nikola passed,” Adelman said. “So it’s a celebration of both people. It’s somebody that completely changed the game. The sky hook. The longevity. … I feel like in the modern era, we talk about Tom Brady and all these people. But go look at Kareem. The guy changed his name while he played. The guy plays 20-plus years and, until the very end, was impactful on teams that went to the Finals. So for Nikola to pass him, I think, says a lot. And if we’re going to celebrate what LeBron did, (we should celebrate this also). And I know it’s a different kind of thing because it’s a center, it’s a position. I’ll just keep saying it. Just don’t get tired of this, because it’s unique.”
Jokic is also closing in on Oscar Robertson for second all-time in triple-doubles. Thursday was his 177th, bringing him within four of the iconic guard. He became the first center in league history to average a triple-double last season, and he’s on pace to do so again this year with 29.8 points, 12.4 rebounds and 10.8 assists per game.
Orlando called a timeout after Jokic and Murray combined for that saucy transition bucket in the third quarter. As they sauntered to the huddle, Nuggets assistant coaches Ognjen Stojakovic and JJ Barea could only laugh at the duo’s skill and panache.
DENVER , CO – DECEMBER 18: Assistant coach Ognjen Stojakovic laughs as the Orlando Magic take a timeout during the fourth quarter of the Nuggets’ 126-115 win at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Thursday, December 18, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
“That’s how kind of we made our staple in that second unit growing up, was just the give-and-go,” Murray said of Jokic’s passing. “… A lot of give-and-go, and you could see his court vision and his fluidity.”
The Nuggets did most of their work Thursday during an astonishing second quarter. They flipped a 47-33 deficit with a 35-7 run that only took the last 6:26 of the first half. Murray scored 20 of his 32 points in the frame. Reserve point guard Jalen Pickett ignited the comeback and was a plus-26 in eight minutes of playing time that quarter.
Both teams were short-handed at Ball Arena. Orlando was fending without Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. Denver was down three of its best defenders with Peyton Watson (right trunk contusion) ruled out shortly before tip, joining Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon on the shelf.
In Watson’s place, Bruce Brown started his first game as a Denver Nugget since April 9, 2023. David Adelman used 10 of his 11 available players, including Julian Strawther, who was cleared to play earlier this week after missing a month with a back injury.
Orlando mounted mini-comebacks throughout the second half, eventually narrowing a 21-point gap to 121-115 with 90 seconds to go.
Moments earlier during a Nuggets timeout, Ball Arena had displayed a graphic commemorating Jokic’s all-time assists achievement. The crowd greeted him with a round of applause as he returned to the court. Then he treated Denver to one more beauty of an assist, passing out of a double-team with a missile across the court to Cam Johnson in the backside corner. His open 3-pointer sealed the win.
“It’s a celebration of our guy, of a Denver Nugget, and it’s a celebration of NBA history, all in the same place,” Adelman said. “And we all got to be there to see it.”
That shadow over the court was Aaron Gordon’s. Suddenly, the Nuggets felt his absence as painfully as their opponents usually feel his presence.
He would have been perfect for a crunch-time possession late Saturday night and the unenviable task of guarding DeMar DeRozan with a game on the line.
David Adelman instead asked for one stop from Spencer Jones, the eager 24-year-old wing who has prospered as a defensive specialist on a two-way contract.
He had started the game in place of the injured Gordon as well, but this was a step up in stakes. The Nuggets trailed 123-120 after a successful two-for-one bucket with 29 seconds to go, allowing them to play out a defensive possession instead of fouling. They had no margin for error, but they had a chance.
Jones does have one glaring flaw in his defensive game: He’s foul-prone. And against a savvy veteran scorer like DeRozan, discipline with hand placement is especially vital. Jones didn’t pass the assignment this time. He reached into the cookie jar, and DeRozan immediately drew the contact while burying an improbable midrange jumper. Ballgame.
Gordon and the Nuggets are seeking second opinions on the severity of his right hamstring strain before determining how much time he’ll miss, Adelman said Saturday, 24 hours after Gordon slipped on a drive to the basket in Houston and then gingerly walked off the court. The injury could result in another prolonged absence for a Nuggets starter, with Christian Braun already on the shelf for the next five weeks.
“We’re trying to make sure we get the correct answer to make sure we’re doing the right thing,” Adelman said. “… Obviously, that was concerning last night with Aaron.”
And Jones was a major variable in the defensive equation of replacing Gordon during Denver’s back-to-back this weekend. He was impressive in Houston, matching up on a full range of players from Reed Sheppard to Alperen Sengun.
On Saturday, he was a minus-18.
“I’m concerned about anybody guarding DeRozan,” Adelman said when asked whether he was concerned about the foul potential of the Jones matchup. “He’ll learn from that. He got his hand in there. That’s what DeMar does. He’s always been an artist with that. He’s one of the best scorers in the modern era. A lot of it is because of that, and of course, it comes at a really key time. So Spence will learn from it. I have nothing but full confidence in him.”
Baptism by fire is the only way sometimes, in Adelman’s view. After spending weeks lauding his team’s depth, the injury bug is forcing him to use it even more.
“We’re going through this process with a couple of guys out, really three guys out,” he said, referring also to Julian Strawther’s recent back pain that has kept him inactive the last four games. “So we want to see what each guy can do. We played Jalen (Pickett) a little bit. We started him (against Indiana). Zeke started in New Orleans. We wanted to give Hunter a little bit of run.
“As we go through this time, if guys are out — and some are, as you know — we’ll try different lineups to see what we can do. … I can’t play an eight-and-a-half man rotation every night. So I’ll get creative with it as best I can.”
Denver’s three healthy starters showed out on the second night of the back-to-back. Nikola Jokic amassed 44 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Jamal Murray continued to be a steady source of offense, with 23 points and nine assists to just one turnover. Cam Johnson continued to do all the little things that prompted Adelman to defend him when he was slumping — and also went for his first 20-point game as a Nugget.
But with Peyton Watson and Jones slotted in as starters, the bench got outscored 48-20. In a home loss to the Bulls last Monday, the margin was an even uglier 66-9. That happened with Gordon in the lineup.
“I think 12-4, it’s not the real picture. I think we are not that good,” Jokic said Saturday, laying it on perhaps a little too thick. “I think we need to be much better if we want to do something big. Yes, we’ve played better. We look better. But I think we need to consistently, every night, every possession.”
“Those guys are really important to what we do. They’re very talented players, CB and AG,” Johnson added. “Very gritty guys. Contribute a lot to the game. But it’s part of the league, you know? It’s part of the game. Eighty-two games is a long season. Sometimes, things happen. I think we have the depth that we can (trust the) next man up and rally and find ways to maximize the guys available on the floor.”
If Gordon sits out an extended period that corresponds with Braun’s recovery, getting stops will be Denver’s biggest bugaboo. The team’s defensive rating when those two players share the floor is an elite 109.5 in 241 minutes. It’s 118.9 when they’re both off the floor. The Kings turned the ball over only six times on Saturday. Russell Westbrook scored 15 fourth-quarter points to fuel their win, which snapped an eight-game skid.
Not having Braun meant one more matchup adjustment that wasn’t available to Adelman as Westbrook heated up.
Then there was DeRozan, getting the best of Jones, who has done an admirable job this season but could continue to face heightened challenges if Gordon is out for a while.
“They’re both, of course, really good defensive players for us,” Jokic said. “And I think we miss CB in all the split action. … He’s setting flares or rip screens for the guys, and always finding the right spot to be and getting us easy points, getting us to the rim. AG, especially when we play against smaller lineups, he’s a really good low-post player. … He’s just putting a lot of pressure on the defense, and offense.”
In the latest edition of the Nuggets Ink podcast, beat writer Bennett Durando and sports editor Matt Schubert reconvene after the first week of the regular season. Among the topics discussed:
Aaron Gordon got the season started with a 50-burger against the Golden State Warriors. The Nuggets forward says he’s not as athletic as he once was, but is he the best he’s been at basketball, as he contended this offseason?
Is Tim Hardaway Jr. going to be the Nuggets’ sixth man all season? How has Jonas Valanciunas fit in with the second unit? Is Julian Strawther going to remain tethered to the bench?
How has new head coach David Adelman fared running the show? His rotations? His adjustments? What’s been different between how he runs things and how Michael Malone did?
Emails and iTunes reviews … would’ve been read had anyone sent them in!
In one of the most peculiar sights of the decade so far for hard-core Nuggets fans, Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas played hot potato.
It was Sunday in Los Angeles, in the middle of Denver’s third preseason game. Peyton Watson was having trouble feeding Jokic in the high post, so Valanciunas flashed to the top of the key to give Watson an outlet.
The Lithuanian center collected the ball and quickly passed it to the Serbian center — the original intended target. But Jokic had limited options with both Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac sitting back in the paint, unconcerned by the 3-point threat of Valanciunas. Jokic immediately passed back out to the open Valanciunas, who reluctantly fired away.
Yes, the Nuggets were playing two centers together, as first-time coach David Adelman promised before training camp. Their 102-94 win over the Clippers marked the preseason debut of their new double-big look, with the three-time MVP center Jokic essentially playing power forward.
And yes, the floor spacing looked a little funky at times. Adelman could only chuckle about it later.
“I thought it was hilarious to watch it on tape,” he said Tuesday before the Nuggets hosted the Chicago Bulls. “We haven’t had a ton of time (practicing with) those guys. They’ve scripted together, but they haven’t played together. But it’s kind of like, rip the Band-Aid off and just see what happens.”
That’s precisely what preseason basketball is for, Adelman will attest. Denver played only five offensive possessions with Jokic and Valanciunas on the floor together that night, scoring four points for an offensive rating of 80.
But again, note the minuscule sample size and the lack of practice time devoted to this particular lineup so far.
“If they end up playing together a lot, we’ll slowly but surely add a package for those two guys,” Adelman said. “And not just for them, but to make the other three guys comfortable. I’ve made this point about Houston. Offensively, with the two bigs, (Alperen) Sengun was the point person, and (Steven) Adams just crushed the glass. So it’s like, our personalities are a little bit different. Val can crash the glass, but he’s also skilled. So I have to find a way to get those guys comfortable in space so they’re not right on top of each other.”
It wasn’t all bad on Sunday night, either. A timeout was called in the middle of the short stint, allowing Adelman to draw up a set “ATO” play using both big men. Jokic set a screen to bring Christian Braun up to the ball, then a second screen under the basket to get Valanciunas coming across to Braun’s side of the floor. Los Angeles switched that second screen, making the entry pass to Valanciunas difficult but allowing Jokic to flash to the foul line. He knocked down an open jumper from there.
“The ATO was great,” Adelman said. “We got them organized with the high-low, and that’s gonna be effective. I don’t know how people will handle that. I’m sure they’ll come up with something.”
The Rockets are a nice template to study after they discovered resounding success with Sengun and Adams last year, but double-big lineups have been a growing trend around the league for longer than that. Adelman is nothing if not an experimenter, and he has expressed an earnest curiosity all preseason about how opponents will guard Denver’s version of the twin-towers look.
The problem might be at the defensive end. There, too, Adelman is drawing inspiration from Houston by trying a zone scheme with both centers next to each other at the bottom. On Sunday, he placed Valanciunas in the middle and Jokic on the edge, forcing him to defend from the corner to the wing on a couple of possessions.
Adelman pointed out on Tuesday that he put Jokic in that same location in the zone a few times during the 2025 playoffs, which allowed Aaron Gordon to play the middle and defend pick-and-rolls.
“I thought we did a really good job as a team defense behind him. … You tilt a little bit more,” Adelman said. “If he ends up with a quality offensive player, wing player, you bring that second defender over a little bit more, as opposed to if it was, I don’t know, Peyton Watson down there. So a little bit of a difference, but not much. And he’s just so smart with his angles, he’ll always force the ball back to where we want it to go.”
The lineup around Jokic and Valanciunas prioritized length: Watson, Braun and Julian Strawther. Whether that’s the best combination remains to be seen. After all, Denver was just ripping the Band-Aid off.
And there’s still time to tinker more — 82 games of it.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be the perfect thing,” Adelman reiterated, “but I definitely want to try it.”
Instant observations as the Nuggets defeated the Raptors 112-108 in their second preseason game Monday night at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
More like it
Denver’s starters looked a little rusty as a unit in their first preseason minutes together Saturday. Two days later, the rust was gone for the most part. Turnovers still piled up — Nikola Jokic committed six — but ball movement was generally more fluid and crisp.
Peyton Watson and Christian Braun made smart reads as connectors (Watson started for Aaron Gordon, who took the night off for maintenance). Cam Johnson played on the ball a bit more than he did in the first exhibition. On an early possession, he recognized that no entry pass to Jokic was available, used his dribble to put pressure on the rim instead, kicked out to Watson, then relocated for an open catch-and-shoot 3-pointer.
And Jokic was in full experimentation mode. One of his most avant-garde passes was a side-armed, no-look fastball curling around the baseline to successfully reach Johnson in the corner. (He missed the 3.) Another was a reverse over-the-head attempt to find a cutter in stride, but that one was nowhere close to a completion. That’s what the preseason is for.
Pressure release search
The Nuggets finished at an extraordinary clip in Vancouver. They were shooting over 60% from the floor for most of the game, including an 8-for-8 performance from Braun (19 points, three 3s), a 5-for-5 night from Jokic and a mini-collection of tough 3s off the dribble from Jamal Murray, still the preseason MVP so far.
Starting plays, not finishing them, is the tricky part right now. Especially when Murray isn’t on the floor.
Toronto showed full-court pressure most of the night, and Denver’s backups often struggled to get the ball up the floor and initiate offense cleanly. Five bench players turned the ball over multiple times, led by Bruce Brown’s four. He might just need some time to reacclimate to his point guard role with the Nuggets, but handling intense ball pressure has been a collective issue for the bench so far. Can Jalen Pickett be a consistent answer? Julian Strawther? Even Peyton Watson is handling the ball more than ever through two games.
Bench notes
With Watson sliding into the starting lineup, David Adelman played a four-guard bench lineup around Jonas Valanciunas in lieu of slotting in a more size-appropriate backup four like DaRon Holmes II, Zeke Nnaji or Spencer Jones. (The main second unit was made up of Pickett, Strawther, Tim Hardaway Jr., Brown and Valanciunas.)
That might say more about the current pecking order than anything else. Back from his torn Achilles tendon, Holmes seems to understandably be a work in progress rather than an instant plug-and-play rookie. He did check in and knock down a couple of huge 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter as Denver held off a late comeback, though.
Also somewhat worthy note: Hardaway has been Adelman’s first sub into the game in both exhibitions so far (with Watson on Saturday, alone on Monday).
And without these two, the Nuggets are no longer bitter and a whole lot better.
This is not a reset. It is a cleansing of negative vibes, paranoia and a bench that was thinner than Flat Stanley.
When last season ended, there was a feeling the Nuggets were going to run it back, throwing their arms in the air and asking coach David Adelman to sprinkle pixie dust on an aging roster increasingly defined by injuries and a lack of versatility.
Four months later, that’s all changed.
The Nuggets hired two general managers, Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer, who made a trade that immediately restored title expectations. Those have only grown stronger with the unfortunate season-ending injury to Houston’s Fred VanVleet, the possibility of mental and physical fatigue in OKC, and the inclusion of six Nuggets on ESPN’s NBA Rank Top 100 released this week.
This is the deepest team Jokic has ever played with, and it’s the best chance he will have to win another title in Denver.
Sure, Jokic, who was No. 1 on the aforementioned list, has four more years left of his prime. But he will never have another prime opportunity like this.
He has Jonas Valanciunas, ESPN’s No. 87, as his backup. Are you kidding me? Valanciunas will deliver double-doubles. The previous backups for Jokic were lucky to deliver double-figure minutes. Jokic, yes, Jokic, will be fresh for the playoffs.
Everything has fallen into place this offseason as the Nuggets prepare to hold their media day on Monday, starting with the subtractions.
Multiple things can be true when discussing Michael Porter Jr. and Malone.
MPJ was candid, accommodating, and earned high marks for playing through three back surgeries and assorted other ailments. He won a ring, but wanted an offense to run through him. His departure has featured a series of revelations about his off-court life, former teammates and, this week, an admission that he is unsure if he wants to play beyond this year.
What does it say about the Brooklyn Nets that they are trying to tank and want the 2018 first-round pick to set the culture for their battery of younger players? Wish MPJ nothing but success, but if this deal nets another Nuggets title, Wallace and Tenzer will deserve a statue.
Malone deserved a news conference and a proper goodbye upon his firing. He also deserved blame for helping create the heavy pall that hung over the Nuggets last season because of his distrust of former GM Calvin Booth. It permeated the organization and oozed into the locker room as players tuned out an increasingly irritable Malone.
Porter and Malone are what the Nuggets needed two years ago. Cameron Johnson, ESPN’s No. 67, and Adelman are what they need now.
Johnson is not the floor spacer that MPJ was. But he is smarter and more equipped to contribute defensively. There is a selflessness about his game that has drawn comparisons to Aaron Gordon, No. 40 in the rankings. Durability is a question. Nothing else is. He is exactly the type of player Jokic makes better.
As for Adelman, the players like him — and not just because he is not Malone. Will his meritocracy and message work on the second night of a back-to-back in Dallas on Jan. 14? Not sure. But the players’ loyalty to him gives it a decent shot.
Who knew that Wallace’s return to the organization would have such an impact on Jamal Murray? With Wallace in Murray’s corner, while also challenging him, the guard has enjoyed a tremendous offseason. He is in great shape and has had a positive effect on team chemistry because of the way he has communicated and hooped with the young players.
Who knew that Tim Hardaway Jr. would sign a veteran minimum deal after starting 77 games for the Pistons last season? For all of the legitimate handwringing about bench scoring, Hardaway is one of the league’s most underrated signings. He profiles perfectly for the spot-up 3s created by passes from Jokic and Valanciunas.
And who new that Bruce Brown would want to come back? OK, we all did. Brown is not the player he was two years ago due to injuries. But he is a trusted reserve and creates a fight for Adelman’s up-for-grab minutes between Jalen Pickett, another player expected to take a big step forward, Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson.
It is impossible to look at the Nuggets and not think of a championship.
There is no guarantee that Denver will beat the Thunder or solve the Timberwolves. But they match up as well against the champs as anyone, and the shiny offensive options give them different ways to counter Minnesota.
No one in the East is beating them — or anyone else who advances out of the West.
If the Nuggets had kept the band together, Jokic would have given them a puncher’s chance. But last season, one in which he averaged a triple-double, showed he needed help. The Nuggets have better shooters, more depth and less drama.
Jokic turns 31 in February. He will not be the best player forever. That honor could belong to Victor Wembanyama as soon as this season.
Of all the problems the last two years — exhaustion, tension, lack of 3-point shooting — there are none left. Jokic is still here. Still in his prime. And he has teammates and a fresh voice from a coach worthy of his talent.
Now is the time for him to get another one. Likely his last in Denver.
As a longer-than-expected offseason tips off for the Denver Nuggets, team officials want to be sure they separate from what coach Michael Malone calls “the emotional reaction to losing” before any major decisions are made.
“I think you always want to take time to let everything sink in and go back and take a quality look at everything that happened during the season,” general manager Calvin Booth said, “and then make decisions from that point.”
As those reflections begin, Booth, Malone and team president Josh Kroenke addressed several topics during a 34-minute news conference Thursday. Chief among them: Do the Nuggets need to find a way to upgrade their roster?
It was telling that Booth focused heavily on advancing the development of Denver’s youngest players.
“I think (the 2023 draft picks) need more seasoning,” he said. “They need to get in the gym. They need to play Summer League. They need to get stronger. Obviously, maybe in our top seven, we can use a little bit more talent. Maybe there’s a way to upgrade one or two positions. … Get a guy that’s a more accomplished NBA player for whatever (roster) slot they’re taking. But I don’t see anything that’s, like, crazy out of sorts for our roster.”
All indications from the extensive availability were that Denver isn’t rushing to make drastic changes to its roster. Booth doubled down on his previously stated team-building philosophy, which involves continuity achieved through drafting and developing to fill out the fringes of an expensive championship roster. He acknowledged the need to address the bench this offseason, potentially even with outside acquisitions, but it’s clear the Nuggets would prefer to rely on home-grown depth.
That Kroenke later expressed faith in the starting lineup — despite its poor showing against Minnesota — was among multiple signs that Denver isn’t rushing to shop Michael Porter Jr. as a trade piece this summer. Malone also rebutted Porter’s own comments taking blame for the early exit.
“We think we still have the best starting five in basketball, even though we fell just short this year,” Kroenke said. “Could have gone either way up until the last few minutes. So we don’t think we’re far off.”
Here’s a look at some of the other topics addressed Thursday:
Will Nuggets cross second apron to keep Kentavious Caldwell-Pope?
Booth said: “We spend a lot of time looking at the second apron and all this other stuff. I think for me personally, it’s win a championship, one. Two, we have to look at the overall financial picture. And three, second apron. And I know the second apron is daunting, and there’s all kinds of restrictions, but I don’t think that’s first on our priority list. KCP’s been a great addition the last couple years. We obviously would love to have him back. We’re gonna take a hard look at what that looks like.”
Analysis: Denver’s roster payroll already exceeds the luxury tax line and the first tax apron, resulting in a list of penalties imposed by the new collective bargaining agreement. If Kentavious Caldwell-Pope exercises his $15.4 million player or if the Nuggets re-sign him in free agency, they’ll trigger the second apron next season — meaning even more penalties. But Booth’s comment Thursday indicated that won’t be what stops Denver from retaining Caldwell-Pope.
Kroenke also said that while he’s cognizant of the long-term consequences of existence in the second apron, he’s comfortable going there to make the most of a Nikola Jokic-led roster.
Alignment between Michael Malone and Calvin Booth
Booth said: “We’ve talked about this a lot upstairs. The general manager, front office job oftentimes is to make sure the long-term view is something that we’re satisfied with. And Coach Malone’s down there in the trenches trying to win every night. And a lot of times, those things are aligned, but sometimes they ebb and flow away from each other.”
Malone said: “I’m thinking how do we win the next game? That’s my job. And Calvin as a GM is thinking about how do we win the next couple of years? That’s his job. And Josh is overseeing all that and understanding how to piece all that together.”
Analysis: When Booth and Malone made these comments, they were answering separate questions about different topics. So this has clearly been a theme within the organization in the days following the Nuggets’ second-round exit.
The franchise needs its general manager and head coach to be on the same page in order to maximize all 15 roster spots during the regular season. Most of what that boils down to is Booth’s aforementioned dependence on drafting and developing against Malone’s reluctance to trust young players with extended minutes. (That’s not a tendency that’s exclusive to one NBA head coach.)
Nikola Jokic’s backup big men
Booth said: “We’ll get a great chance to evaluate Vlatko (Cancar) this summer. … If (Slovenia is) able to get out of those qualifiers in Athens, he’ll be available to play in the Olympics, and I believe he’ll be playing in those qualifiers. … Zeke (Nnaji) is a young player. He brings energy to the game. He gives effort every night. He’s trying to grow into both sides of the ball. I think originally we drafted him to be a four. He’s ended up playing a lot of five. I don’t think it matters as much off the bench, but there are certain matchups where it becomes a little bit more problematic. But he has to get better. He has to be ready for his opportunities when they come. I think he’s gonna have a good NBA career.”
Analysis: Cancar missed the entire 2023-24 season after tearing his left ACL during a national team game last summer. His contract has a $2.3 million team option this offseason. The Nuggets need affordable salaries like his, but it would be difficult to justify holding onto him if his health continued to be an issue. If he’s able to make his return in international competition (and maybe even play against Jokic or Jamal Murray in France), it’ll be a huge boost.
As for Nnaji, his four-year, $32 million contract signed last October has aged controversially due to his lack of playing time. Booth seems to prefer Nnaji as a backup four instead of a backup center to Jokic, but if that’s the case, it still leaves a roster hole at the five. (Especially if DeAndre Jordan doesn’t return.) Nnaji’s contract is tradable until it isn’t. If the Nuggets become a second-apron team, they won’t be able to aggregate salaries such as his to get back a larger AAV.
Is Christian Braun an NBA starter?
Booth said: “He obviously has the intangibles and the physical strength and athleticism and defense (to be a starter). And he’s gonna have to make some improvements, as he has, shooting the ball. But I don’t know how you could see a player in his second year that’s done what he’s done and not think he has a chance of starting. He’s ahead of schedule in that regard.”
Malone: “I think Christian Braun, it’s all gonna come down to one thing. To be a shooting guard in the NBA, you’ve gotta be able to make shots. That’s the bottom line. So if you want to simplify CB’s future as a starting two-guard in the NBA, it’ll be determined upon his ability to be a 38% or above 3-point shooter.”
Analysis: If Caldwell-Pope moves on in free agency, this is the leading applicant for Denver’s fifth-starter opening. The No. 21 overall pick in the 2022 draft, Braun was in Malone’s closing lineup for much of the Minnesota series due to his defensive prowess against Anthony Edwards. That’s an impressive notch in the 23-year-old’s arrow, on top of playing rotation minutes in the NBA Finals as a rookie.
In an ideal world, Braun would come off the bench again next season, improving Denver’s 2024-25 depth and giving him one more year to develop before making that jump to a starting role. But to Malone’s point, here’s the good news: Braun already shot 38.4% from 3-point range this season.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Malachi Smith led six players in double figures with a season-high 23 points and No. 6 Gonzaga used a big first half to beat Portland State 102-78 on Thursday night in the opening round of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament.
The Bulldogs (4-1) led by 27 in the first half, held a 55-31 advantage at halftime and withstood a sloppy second half.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few said he had his players take note of games earlier in the day when Portland put a scare into No. 1 North Carolina and No. 8 Duke was nearly upset by Oregon State.
“There’s good teams out here if you’re not quite ready to go or at your best, you can get knocked off. I think that actually helped us firm up our approach,” Few said.
Smith was the Southern Conference player of the year last season at Chattanooga, but had yet to have a big scoring game with the Zags. That finally happened against the Vikings as Smith made 9 of 12 shots and all five of his 3-point attempts.
“I’m just trying to be ready whenever my number is called and what I’m asked to do,” Smith said.
Drew Timme scored 18 points and the only shot he missed was a dunk attempt midway through the second half. Rasir Bolton had 14 points and a career-high eight assists, while Julian Strawther, Anton Watson and Hunter Sallis all finished with 10. Gonzaga shot 60% for the game.
“That’s what makes this team speciall, we’ve got multiple players that can do multiple things,” Smith said.
Jorell Saterfield led Portland State (2-3) with 21 points and Cameron Parker added 16. Fresh off an unexpected win at Oregon State, the Vikings hung with the Zags for about 10 minutes before Gonzaga got rolling.
Portland State trailed just 18-16 after Isiah Kirby’s layup, but Gonzaga proceeded to scored 32 of the next 41 points and it was a mix of all the key pieces contributing. Timme had a couple of baskets. Bolton had seven points. Smith hit a trio of 3s.
Gonzaga shot 66% in the first half, had three players in double figures before the break.
“They’re very good at exposing the defensive mistakes and that’s kind of what happened in the first half. … They went on their run and it was tough to recover for our guys,” Portland State coach Jace Coburn said.
But the second half performance was clearly not sitting well with Few, who was notably frustrated by some of the sloppiness. The Bulldogs still had the majority of their starters on the floor well into the second half. Portland State cut the deficit to 16 on a few occasions but could get no closer.
“We challenged our team and they responded and felt like we got after it the second half,” Coburn said.
BIG PICTURE
Portland State: The Vikings went 1-2 in this tournament when it was played five years ago, putting a scare into Duke in the opening round and beating Stanford on the final day. These Vikings would gladly take a similar result this time around.
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs will have a major challenge in 7-foot-4 Purdue center Zach Edey in the semifinals. Timme likely will not have it as easy as he did against Portland State, but he did have 22 point and seven rebounds in the win over Kentucky last week.
UP NEXT
Portland State: Will play West Virginia in a consolation game Friday.
Gonzaga: Will face No. 24 Purdue in the semifinals Friday.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP—Top25
