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This cannot be it. Otherwise, the Nuggets’ offseason becomes the finale of the Sopranos. Remember, Tony sitting in Holsten’s diner, waiting with his family when daughter Meadow walked through the door as a silent black screen popped up before the credits?
Please tell me the Nuggets’ plans are not this cryptic, not this vacant.
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Following a heart-in-a-blender Game 7 loss to the Timberwolves in the second round, the Nuggets have responded by trading six-second round picks to draft DaRon Holmes and ship out Reggie Jackson to the Charlotte Hornets for $5 million in cap space.
Nuggets Nation is starting to nibble its fingernails.
There has to be more. One super-sized move. Two medium-sized transactions. If not? Then pessimism screams that general manager Calvin Booth saved ownership on the tax bill by trading an aging point guard to free up minutes for Jalen Pickett while committing further to young players Christian Braun, Perry Watson and Holmes.
Those are the types of money laundering moves we expect from the Rockies. Not a title franchise.
When free agency begins at 4 p.m. Sunday, roster construction will resume befitting a team in a championship window, right? Right?
If not, the Nuggets are telling their fans that life will never be better than 2023. Talk about a crowbar to the shins.
A confluence of factors has backed the Nuggets into a corner: a financially top-heavy roster, lacking draft collateral and minimal cap space. And let’s not forget the silly decision to give backup Zeke Nnaji a four-year, $32 million contract. The idea was that he would become a rotational player or perform well enough to offer trade value. He has done neither. He deserves blame for producing underwhelming statistics. And Michael Malone did not help by refusing to use him.
The disconnect between the front office and the coach’s vision for Nnaji is haunting at a time when the team desperately needs flexibility.
Booth has talked about winning multiple championships, referencing the San Antonio Spurs’ three titles in five years. It is why I believe last week teed the Nuggets up to make some noise. The alternative is too depressing.
The biggest play is clear: trade Michael Porter Jr. He brings unique value as a shooter and floor spacer. He is the reason Denver dispatched the Lakers in the playoffs. But his limitations are known. He is not a good defender, and his clutch time usage resides somewhere between puzzling and hibernation. No impact player sees his minutes and production nosedive when comparing the first and fourth quarters quite like Porter.
If he is not going to be in the game in the final minutes, it’s fair to ask if he should be on the team.
The Nuggets are expected to agree to a four-year, $209 million max contract extension this offseason with Jamal Murray.
So, that leaves a payroll gobbled up by reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, Murray and Porter — and Aaron Gordon’s next contract looming with only a player option left after this season.
The Nuggets will not win another title with a bloated top line and a bench that has less depth than an episode of “Jerry Springer.”
The moving of puzzle pieces makes it seem like a trade is in the works. Maybe, it is something small, like a better backup point guard or center who can provide points for the scoring-starved second unit.
Regardless, the idea of MPJ for two pieces must be considered. The buzz in the NBA is that the Nuggets have kicked the tires on multiple trades, including calling Chicago about Alex Caruso before he was dealt to Oklahoma City.
That is encouraging, suggesting there is more to come.
However, one option vanished on Saturday. According to ESPN, Clippers star Paul George declined his player option and will become a free agent, squashing any sign-and-trade dreams involving MPJ and Nnaji. George will be looking to cash in with a team that has cap space — that’s not the Nuggets — making the 76ers a favorite.
The Nuggets are already operating like guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will sign elsewhere, though they are not done trying to keep him. He is an important veteran, but it’s time to let him walk, start Braun and add a shooter to fill valuable reserve minutes.
No team fits Klay Thompson better than the Nuggets. I am not sure a path exists to sign him given his contract demands. But that’s a call the Nuggets must make even if it is a half-court shot.
Denver faces tough decisions, wondering what starters must be sacrificed to continue contending. Losing Caldwell-Pope and trading Porter would hurt, but it would create a roster with longer-term sustainability.
The argument for keeping Porter is easy. He demands attention from defenses. Gordon does all the dirty things, but the Nuggets could no longer hide him in the playoffs as more than a dunker outside of Game 4’s efficiency vs. Minnesota.
It is why the Timberwolves formed a triangle around Jokic and dared other Nuggets to beat them from beyond the arc. It worked.
It doesn’t against the champion Celtics. They feature seven players who can nail 3s. It’s why this offseason remains so important for the Nuggets. They don’t need to win the Western Conference and exhaust their starters to return to the NBA Finals. There is a road back as a more balanced, better shooting, rested team.
It requires a bold stroke this week.
As Tony Soprano sat anxiously in that booth, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” reverberated around him. I consider it a hint.
The Nuggets are too good, too well run to settle for an annoyingly quiet end to their offseason. They cannot go out like this.
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Troy Renck
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