Nuggets Pre-Season Presser: Hindsight is 2020(-2021)

[TheSyndicate]

Last Season (The Season of the Broken Finger):
Man, what a year we had. After 3 seasons of floating around .500, we made moves to bring in Blake Griffin and Kent Bazemore, as well as a mid-season move to acquire Greg Oden.

Despite most prognosticators predicting we'd finish behind the two teams with long names that both start with 'T', we went 57-25 tied for the 4th best record overall and 2nd best in the Western Conference. Starting the last sim of the season, we lost our best player to a broken finger that would cost him the first series and a half of the playoffs. We gutted out 7-game wins against the rival T-Wolves and Rockets with some key game-planning victories. However, in Game 2 of the Rockets series, we also lost starting Center Greg Oden to a broken finger that would carry into the third round.

In the WCF, Blake Griffin led us to a 3-1 lead. We lost game 5 in Phoenix due to a catastrophic 19 turnovers, but felt confident in closing out the series in game 6. 15 minutes into this game, we lost Blake Griffin again to another broken finger. Despite a 4th-quarter charge, the Suns held on for a 3-point victory. In Game 7, we thought we had a punchers chance in Phoenix as we would be getting Greg Oden back for this game. However, 17 minutes into this game, Greg Oden was sidelined by yet another broken finger and was forced to exit. Phoenix went on a 3rd-quarter run, and we never recovered.

It was an excellent season by any standard, and yet it ended in playoff disappointment.

Off Season:
With a core of aging players that came up JUST short of the promised land, and only our potential 2nd repeater tax season, we set out to acquire some long-term (but also win-now) talent to build around for the future while keeping a very talented team streaking toward the playoffs (and hopefully deep into them). We pulled the trigger on a major deal to acquire the 25-yo Greek Freak. Giannis can play any position and will be a size/speed mismatch for the next half-decade. In doing so, we traded away James McCormick and a future pick, both of which will be missed.

In Free Agency, we did our best to entice some of the games premier post defenders to Denver, but were unable to come to an equitable deal. Even Greg Oden spurned our overtures to join the upstart Warriors in the Pacific where we wish him the best of luck (kinda). We filled out our team with quality players who all have a unique skillset. It'll be up to our coaching staff to determine the best way to utilize these pieces as the season progresses.

In Training Camp, some of our younger players - including rookie Frank 'Octopus' Garden really came ready to play and we see them with higher ceilings than we may have projected even a short time ago. Garden has been tearing up the Vegas Summer League and we look forward to his contributions to our team for a long time.

Looking ahead:
This season we look to once again contend for the division crown, though the competition in the Midwest has become - much like the Bucks GM on one-too-many of those little blue pills - very stiff. We have the right mix of youth and experience to play long into April and May and that is our goal. Normally, here's where I'd show off our starting lineup, but we're still determining this on a game to game basis.

I'll now take any questions on anything I've discussed, or whatever your sick, twisted, depraved minds can bring to me...

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: I think this year's Nuggets have a real shot at landing #1 in the Western Conference, but there are a couple other teams that have stocked up and could pose a challenge. What teams do you think will be the toughest to battle against for the Nuggets?

[TheSyndicate]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: I think this year's Nuggets have a real shot at landing #1 in the Western Conference, but there are a couple other teams that have stocked up and could pose a challenge. What teams do you think will be the toughest to battle against for the Nuggets?

It’s a fun Conference this year, eh?
In my own division even, the Blazers look tough, the Jazz may be ready, and Andrew Wiggins looks unguardable.

I’d have to guess I’m about the 2nd or 3rd favorite behind some combo of the suns, warriors, and blazers.

[IamQuailman]

Early trade block rumors have Chet Dooley on the market... any truth or just more fake news?

[TheSyndicate]

Early trade block rumors have Chet Dooley on the market... any truth or just more fake news?

He's just entering his prime and could certainly be a key cog for seasons to come. That being said, if it starts shaping up like I may have a chance this year, you know I like to go all-in, and with the athletes on my team I could go a lot of different directions.

[ballsohard]

Going to leave this one open since it was late and people may have more questions.

i'll ask for fun :

Can you talk about your unique style of never really going into the early portions of the draft to get your talent?

[TheSyndicate]

Going to leave this one open since it was late and people may have more questions.

i'll ask for fun :

Can you talk about your unique style of never really going into the early portions of the draft to get your talent?

Thanks for the question!

I won't say 'NEVER' going into the early positions of the draft, as I have had a #1 pick (Klay) and a #2 pick (Wade). But you're right, I haven't had to fully rebuild in quite some time. Part of that was having a talent like Klay for so long and being able to surround him with the right mix of guys to never get fully eaten by the tax, nor bottoming out. For instance, 2 seasons ago I was dead-set on ducking the taxman, but I was still able to squeak out a playoff berth. I've consistently been able to have at least one all-star caliber player on my team in their prime in all seasons, a couple of young guys, and some geezers. The all-stars I've traded for more young guys, and the young guys for more stars, etc. I may actually be coming up on a bottom-out season, but we'll see what the future holds.

I've also always tried to fit the players I acquire into some niche to make game-planning a little more fluid. When that Warriors team won with DJ and a bunch of 3nD guys, it made me think about roster construction as a holistic art, and I've tried to keep that in mind while targeting players with certain skill-sets.