S50 Nuggets Pre-Season Presser

[TheSyndicate]

Well, it's Season 50, which means it's been about 47 seasons for me as GM of these Denver Nuggets - which were not for about a dozen of my peers, would seem to be some sort of record. Over those seasons we've won 6 rings, and we know a thing or two about when a team is close, and when it ain't that close. And fellas, we're not close.

Don't get me wrong. Put me in a 7-game series with a team with 75% the talent, and I'll probably come out ahead more often than not. But we're fighting a little uphill, we don't have a coherent cap or talent acquisition strategy, and frankly, our focus has been elsewhere. We haven't done a great job. And if we were in real life (unless we worked for one of the clubs with notoriously horrible ownership) we would definitely be fired.

That said. The cupboard is not fully bare, and the long-term outlook could be a lot worse. We have our young, talented front court locked up long term, and we don't have any other long-term salary obligations. We're not in the tax and don't project to be, and we're not outright tanking like some other teams. We brought in a lot of guys who had parts of their hey-days in Denver for a victory tour of sorts. And while we might not win many of the games on the court this season, we do expect to sell a lot of tickets, and give our fans a fun product to watch. Additionally, these wiley vets will hopefully learn our youngins a thing or two.

At the point, we brought in Randy Brown who excels in exactly the areas you need your point guard to excel at. We're a little flabbergasted he hasn't gotten more run in this league that is PG starved

At the two we'll have a roving cast of characters with Silva and Howard giving ageless wonder (and starter) Jerry West a breather.

At the 3, we'll bring back RJ-Bay Barrett. We expect he'll move on to greener pastures after the season, but you never know. New face Brandon Clarke and old face Colby Lopez (with a ring on his finger from his Denver days) will help back up the spot.

The 4 and 5 are set with Campbell and the Zeke Freek, and they'll get spelled by some other familiar faces.

Hopefully the future will be brighter, hopefully we'll find ourselves with more time and energy to devote, but if not, that's okay. It's all good in Denver.

[TheSyndicate]

Hey Syndicate? How upset are you that nobody showed up to your presser?

[TheSyndicate]

Nah, I'm not upset, Nuggets won't be a team to write home about for awhile.

[MexicanMamba]

:: Wipes away cobwebs as he walks through the door ::

What kind of numbers do you think Zeke is gonna hit this season?

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[JNR]

GWR: What does Danny Campbell have to produce to be worthy of the contract he signed?

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: You said it yourself, the Nuggets ain't close this season...which could be a good strategy at the beginning of a reshuffle. Looking at the landscape now, when do you see the Nuggets making a surge into championship relevancy again?

[TheSyndicate]

:: Wipes away cobwebs as he walks through the door ::

What kind of numbers do you think Zeke is gonna hit this season?

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

I think at least 20/8 with great defense, and that might be low.

[TheSyndicate]

GWR: What does Danny Campbell have to produce to be worthy of the contract he signed?

He’s just gotta be him. His potentials are high A’s based on test TC’s, so really I just need him to do well in TC next year and he’ll be worth it. Could be like Robinson’s trajectory

[TheSyndicate]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: You said it yourself, the Nuggets ain't close this season...which could be a good strategy at the beginning of a reshuffle. Looking at the landscape now, when do you see the Nuggets making a surge into championship relevancy again?

Asking for a friend? Well, while some may frown on this strategy/answer, a lot is gonna depend on free agency. But Silva/Campbell/Nnaji is a great starting point.

[K-100]

As your focus has shifted away from the Nuggets to other matters, do you find yourself looking to "mentor" the Blazers GM more in the meantime? Or do you see yourself going on cruise control until you get the itch to make another push to compete?

[ajburman4]

Syndicate, have your veterans embraced the supporting role behind your young players, or is this a final grasp at relevancy, a la the 2014 Nets or Ken Griffey Jr.'s return to Seattle?

[NickMalone77]

While the attention has gone to the Zeke Freak and The Soup Man, and for good reason, you’ve been looking to shop RJ Barrett for a while now. Do you think his deal held back some of your potential rebuilding plans for maybe rebuilding sooner?

[false9]

What would have to happen for you to define the season as a success?

[TheSyndicate]

As your focus has shifted away from the Nuggets to other matters, do you find yourself looking to "mentor" the Blazers GM more in the meantime? Or do you see yourself going on cruise control until you get the itch to make another push to compete?

The Blazers GM is really savvy in general. I give him my opinion on stuff, but he’s pretty self sufficient at this point and you (and anyone else) should definitely spend time getting to know him and/or trade talks.

I’m hopefully over a big hump with family stuff (until the next sleep regression) so hopefully can steer the Nuggets back on track on some timeline

[TheSyndicate]

Syndicate, have your veterans embraced the supporting role behind your young players, or is this a final grasp at relevancy, a la the 2014 Nets or Ken Griffey Jr.'s return to Seattle?

Hey, they see my roster, they know there’s opportunity for minutes at 3 positions, if they play well, they’ll play more!

[TheSyndicate]

While the attention has gone to the Zeke Freak and The Soup Man, and for good reason, you’ve been looking to shop RJ Barrett for a while now. Do you think his deal held back some of your potential rebuilding plans for maybe rebuilding sooner?

Nah, he only makes 30m which is a steal in this league. I’ll trade him if and when the right offer comes along, but he’ll help us win games.

[TheSyndicate]

What would have to happen for you to define the season as a success?

I think it’s going to be pretty tough for this season to be successful. But ideally we’d get a lot better or get a lot worse.

[greepleairport]

In the chat you seemed more optimistic for this team's outlook this year after the preseason sim. Care to comment on what you see now that you did not before?

[TheSyndicate]

In the chat you seemed more optimistic for this team's outlook this year after the preseason sim. Care to comment on what you see now that you did not before?

Nah, just <expletive deleted> around full time. I have no idea. My opinion changes as the wind blows.