Denver Nuggets getting ready for big changes this offseason?

Denver Nuggets getting ready for big changes this offseason?

[Music] [Music] all right folks welcome in to pickax and roll brought to you by our good friends over at bet online and number 38 I’m your host Ryan Blackburn at NBA Blackburn on Twitter part of the Mile High Sports podcast Network and I am so excited to be joined by my guy Swip a cam on the side swiper how you doing my friend um just hanging out with you a little earlier than I thought we would but living um enjoying this hot weather and the AC isn’t on so it is steaming in here it would be nice to have the AC on every so often but um but yeah it’s been good Atlanta’s living Denver’s living uh I feel like I’m doing better than the nugar right now how is it possible to operate in Atlanta without the AC like that seems that seems cuz the the AC bill in Atlanta can fluctuate like my place is pretty static I got a deal I got a deal that I put in like it’s consistently 105 um but like if you live in some other place like a home or whatever and then the the bill goes up but that’s you know also if you’re running a bunch of trap music and stuff all the time and like got people running in and out the house then that’s why your bill be be crazy high keep throwing parties and whatnot but I can’t speak to that I can’t speak to that oh you can’t okay yeah I see I see no no no no no okay okay all right all right all right it’s live it’s live it’s live uh it’s good to see you my friend we actually haven’t spoken in in a little bit here who’s SP is that it’s it’s I think we could both have Shar oh no I I called you literally called you and you didn’t call me back that’s you know what that is true that is true that was the night of the loss on Sunday night and we were gonna talk and then things got all out of whack as they often do like just just had a lot of [ __ ] to go over so we’re gonna go over it now we’re going to go over some of this we’re going to talk about the presser from today or from yesterday excuse me of Josh grony Calvin Booth Michael Malone all speaking about uh the future of the Denver Nuggets and there’s a lot to obviously discuss there and then we’re going to talk about some of the key factors in this offseason what you’re looking for what I’m looking for uh we’ll get into that in just a little bit but first got to tell everybody about our friends over at B online the number one source for the NBA and NHL playoffs this season every stats every matchup and even live odds while the games are being played when the game’s over head on over to their online casino and get in on a game of blackjack or poker or unwind with over 150 slot games head to the website today and get in on the action don’t forget to use promo code believe for your 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit bet online the game starts here all right cam let’s get into this this is going to be an interesting discussion I was at the presser yesterday obviously you’re in Atlanta but you got to watch it you got to see you got to hear all of the different comments that were being made I I’ll I’ll give you the floor unless you’d like me to sort of direct here just what stood out in your mind from the presser various comments I’ve got some quotes that I can share uh but what what was your general impression of how the Nuggets handled it yesterday um yeah I think some of this is bro is C the ever since the Kevin oconor article came out Calvin and Malone having a differing opinion on the team it’s clear cvin said last year we’re not trying to win back toback I want to win three and six three and seven something like that cool um he called himself the steward of the niik oera which he is um I think the thing is is that watching that Malone took the blame for overworking the starters and he talks about the red the lack of rest even AG talked about the exhaustion that they felt but I think some of this is bro like I think they got to get on the same page what exactly is happening here and I think some of this is Calvin I think Calvin because of the CBA agreement which is not all his fault he looked at it and said Brown pton Watson Julian strawther Hunter Tyson um Jaylen picket this is the way that you build a new CBA yeah but if you look at the Boston Celtics right you look at theid so the timber Ryan you look at all these teams they went and got veterans that are cheap but young and they took they took a risk on the perimeter like The Kill Alexander Walker was a throw in but I told you for a year and a half Ryan Blackburn why he would be such a good fit yeah I told you why players like Chris Dunn because there’s a certain thing that nuggets need and you need older players that are still young enough to be in their Prime and develop but you get them at a younger younger price tag Derek white Vando Bruce Brown Casey P those are Aaron Gordon those are players that the nuggets the Celtics and other teams have gotten that have helped them to take these leaps because they’ve gotten younger players that are veterans and know how to win and they know how to play basketball but you don’t have to develop them but you get them on cheap contracts get them in your system and you can pay them more as time goes on I just think that Calvin Booth if you think Hunter Tyson Jaylen picket and Julian strawther for me Ryan are the answer between the Nuggets having a foray of young athletic Shooters who can help you win playoff games for me that just seems like a little bit like kind of what the Warriors did with the two timelines thing now here’s the thing the Nuggets starters weren’t good enough in that series versus The Wolves yeah they that’s why they lost so I’m be clear about this but they lost because they were as Malone said they were exhausted they were burnt out from the end of the season into the playoffs but I do think that the thing thing I do have a little bit of issue with with Calvin is I think you just have to at some point look at the overall like again somebody else to brought it up we both were being on this deal yeah we both said something the day it happened we got done shooting it dropped we did an episode on it because that’s the kind of stuff that you need and he ends up getting the seventh the was it the seven most minutes in the series I think pretty sure he had the highest plus minus on the series for he did he did so that that’s what I’m saying like I think some of that though bro is like those are the players you win with that have that know how to play basketball I just don’t think man that like I just think Calvin has have this thing in his brain a little bit where I think you gotta like see you got Bruce Brown and Casey p and you also drafted Christian but it doesn’t matter if you don’t have kyp and Bruce like you got older veteran players who’ve been in the playoffs before and then you got this dude who’s a winner and just has a dog in him and then you had Jeff Green so you had like a rotation of of of role players that was just like monstrosities and then I think this year it’s like they just got a little bit too caught in like well let’s just kind of draft and see how it goes and then at the end of the year Malone’s talking about he didn’t play the young guys enough but I’m also with Malone a little bit like who are you gonna play Jaylen Pi I think they should have played jayen picking more R Colin but if if he wasn’t ready to play over Colin’s gapy that just shows you where Jaylen is yeah I it’s all great points I I could not agree more on that and I was pretty argumentative actually you know what because Denver had won a championship I didn’t make as much of a stink about the draft as I probably needed to but Denver deciding that they wanted to go with three rookies on guaranteed contracts and that just being the way that they handled that you already add in DeAndre Jordan and then they lose vaco chanar to an injury and your bench is suddenly like okay you’ve gone from 10 guys that you could potentially use in a playoff series to five and Denver had different players but the big issue in my eyes was that he put a lot of stock into developing three players Christian Brown pton Watson and Zeke Nai and by the end of the series by the end of the time that Denver actually had those guys available like against the Minnesota tber wolves only one of those guys was playing because Michael Malone felt that only one of them gave them the best chance that they could win and I still think that pton Watson has a future in this league there’s no doubt about it like I mean he’s GNA be very very good he just can’t shoot or score yet yeah and like that’s GNA come with some time but like he also is one of the best defenders best young defenders in the NBA clearly right zek Nagi was an extension guy and I remember sort of pushing back on the extension I remember others pushing back on the extension like he hasn’t really proven much it’s money that you gave out that he hasn’t really earned and the conversation around zek naagi at the presser yesterday was oh he works hard he’s still trying to figure this out he’s still young he’s going into his fifth year man like like this is this is a this is a tough situation for Denver to be in and not having vaco or Zeke uh losing Jeff Green obviously DeAndre Jordan’s not a guy that you could really play with any consistency like Denver just didn’t have the size and the physicality enough in order to do what they did last year Year and that was a was a big problem and so I I’m I’m with you man they I think they spent too many roster spots on players that could not play Rotation at all or or like had had no business even thinking about playing that player and so I sympathize with Michael Malone as well who are you gonna go to who are you gonna try like just saying that Jaylen picket should play versus him actually deserving to play is completely different things and I think the biggest difference was felt in game one and game seven like the Nuggets were close game in game one but then they got beat uh in the minutes that mattered and I think in game seven they got they hit a wall in that third quarter that was insane I had never seen in this era of the Nuggets where everybody looked at Joker and said please save us and he put up 21 points in the second half he tried but he also attempted eight threes and and gassed himself like everybody on the team was gassed and Michael Malone to a certain agree deserve some blame for that I don’t think the nuggets should have gone for the one seed in retrospect like but you can only talk about that with hindsight you can only talk about that with saying like Okay maybe people were like ah you know it might bother them in the future but like I don’t know if anybody really foresaw this level of fatigue from the team because like these guys are just playing basketball and it’s not like they had to try that hard in the second and again they got blown out by 32 and then by 45 in that series and I think that’s just for me it’s just like yeah I mean you’re obviously like just in a different place like and again they just thought they could win and that’s the thing the Nuggets were so good had they gotten past the Wolves they could have won the finals that’s how good they are but I think that’s the difference it’s like they just absolutely plummeted I think energy wise and they just didn’t go into the playoffs looking right uh versus the Lakers they were just that much better and then they were on par with the with the Wolves but then the problem is if you don’t you can’t close it out energy-wise and they couldn’t even get stops you know down the stretch of the fourth quarter they just didn’t have like you know whether it’s cling out a ND Reed bosing got a ND Reed bosing got a cat like it just the momentum wasn’t there and I think some of this is bro like what I don’t like about the way this stuff works and and this is my whole thing with Calvin if I ever get a chance to talk to him oneon-one you know I whatever I just think joic is a top 10 player ever he’s gonna retire a top 10 player ever anytime joic loses oh yic got beat by 22- year old yic got outplayed by Anthony ERS yic got beat by this tonight y got swept in you know 2021 yish lost to the bub 41 that’s the way it works Murray Porter they’re never going to catch that flag Malone’s not even going to catch that flag so for me joic gets all the shine we don’t have another player that made any a war system you know no kcp all defense no AG all defense they got Vates but the thing is now bro it’s like if Calvin truly believes that you can’t look at LeBron Jordan Magic Johnson Larry Bird Kobe Bryant Hakeem alaguan uh Tim Duncan go through the list you can’t tell me they didn’t have Elite veterans that were on their rosters that knew exactly what they were supposed to do when they won those titles multiple titles they didn’t have young players that were coming out of nowhere now they might have drafted a Manu later on in the process but even before that even like Vin neger in them they just had players that were just smart knew what they were supposed to be doing so my whole thing is Ryan it’s like if I’m a if I’m a basketball historian and I’m watching the Celtics in the the 60s and 70s I’m watching the Lakers in the late 70s and then early 80s and mid 80s I’m watching the Philadelphia 76ers in the middle of those 80s runs I’m watching the Bulls in the 90s the Houston Rockets in the 90s the Lakers with Rick Fox and Derek fiser and Shaw and Harper and all those players and even uh uh George and then you get Lamar odm and Paul gasa later on and then you get the Miami Heat that Norris Cole and Mario Chambers and uh uh what’s the boy uh the the dude that played uh uh Shane Bader like all these players and then you get to the Warriors Sean Livingston Harrison bnes like just having rotation obviously Draymond clay and step and then you get Kevin Durant David West Kevin like Lee like this this is what I’m trying to figure out you tell me if I’m tripping that’s what it takes that’s what it takes so what what is I’m trying to figure out what is he missing relative to literally the history of basketball that you think Hunter Tyson and Jaylen picket and Julian strawther are the difference between what the end of this year was and what changes next year I just truly cannot believe that is going to be the move I guess it’s possible that he thinks that those guys are going to develop into better players over the course of a year being in the system and like going through your second third and fourth year with a team and improving consistently I think that that’s the general theory of the practice and the hope is that those guys may hey maybe one of them Pops to be even more than just a minimum level signing maybe one of them Pops to be one of your future starters like let’s say it’s Julian St like could you could you see him taking over in the future for somebody on your roster I think that that’s that’s the theory I don’t believe it and that’s why I I was critical of it but I understand why he did it I just don’t agree with it for obvious reasons yeah yeah and I just think that again Ryan this is I’m I’m truly trying to take my nuggets hat off here just because I’m trying to be as objective as I always been in basketball you do not have generational players and have iffy players around them and they go win multiple Rings doesn’t work that way LeBron definitely didn’t have that Jordan definitely Duncan never happened you don’t win five titles four titles three titles even two yeah when you got those Isaiah Thomas they had Mark aguire coming off the bench coming off the bench in 1990 yeah huh yeah like so this is this is what I’m trying to tell y’all like I I want people to get this my philosophy is always going to remain the same I’m going to be as hard on niik yic as I have to be remember I said he wasn’t good enough uh engage one and two I was hard on him everybody was like you’re the best in the world you respect that oh swiper is it really no you you you don’t get to wear a generational crown and not show up and then he proceeded to dominate but the issue is Ryan is like Jamal Murray you got to know where you at Michael Porter you got to know where you at Aaron Gordon Casey P Christian Brown pton Watson Michael Malone Calvin Bo the cronies you got to know where you at this is the responsibility this is what comes with the territory you can’t say oh we got a three-time MVP we got the generational player best player in the world you don’t get to then supplement that with Hunter Tyson jayen picket and Julian stur and call it hopefully they develop nah that’s not the way NBA history works yeah I’m telling y’all so tap in if if this is the most critical I’ve ever sounded then I’m not trying to be critical for the sake of being critical I’m bringing it to reality Ryan you do not win multiple titles with that strategy one of the things that I think sort of changes this perspective and like everybody’s going to be like Swip is 100% here he’s he’s great he’s awesome I think that one of the things that changes that other Generations other teams never had to deal with was that this CBA is now penalizing teams for being competitive for being good right for being pricey for having a bunch of awesome players on their team and like Denver is going to be put in a headlock by the CBA because of how they like have structured their contracts because of like I I I put this out to you before the podcast started yeah 152 million of Denver’s salary this year was tied up with the five starters 26 million was given to the other 10 guys and that includes like players like Zeke nji and Reggie Jackson who even made like nine and a half million so even beyond that like it is so difficult at this point and the penalties are so heavy and so painful that’s like the nuggets are gonna have to make some tough decisions and they may not be able to keep this group together if and like have the actual depth that you’re talking about get I get it but look at what I told you I told you this already this year though Ryan nil Alexander Walker got a$ four and a half million dollar deal you tell me the Nuggets they couldn’t so this is what I mean even if you could agre with you man but even if you but even if you couldn’t give him I get it but a couple second round picks for they’re playing four and a half you think they would rather have a first round pick later no that’s stupid I’m doing it then on top of that what’s DJJ making right now for the mths I think it’s the vet Minima vet minimum I also remember saying something about DJJ PJ Washington throw in change 1am I know I know the contract I know the contract and stuff is is for PJs it’s like 48 mil like these other these other players like Denver just had their starting five they had their like their Championship how much actual role could Calvin booth and the nuggets have actually promised to those guys on vet minimum contracts where instead like a guy like in Dallas like Derek Jones Jr hey you’re gonna have an opportunity to maybe even start man you’re G have an opportunity to be a real contributor you’re gonna have an opportunity and like on a bigger stage to make the most money that you possibly could Kelly UB Jr going as as a minimum contract guy to the Philadelphia 76ers dude you may have an opportunity to start this year we don’t know how it’s going to work out you may have an opportunity to start and make some big money with us that’s the thing that people will just say okay yeah you could you could have gotten this veteran contract you could have gotten this this veteran contract like there’s no guarantee of that because Denver starting five was already locked and their roles were already locked how much actual playing time especially with a guy like Kelly or Jr or Derrik Jones Jr when Calvin Booth was already like the commitment was made that Christian Brown why so then why not up Jeff Green’s money to at least four and a half Mill instead of the vet minimum if you’re if you’re concerned about the rotation is going to be the same we need to retain players that are going to be able to fit this system so what I’m saying to you this is where I think we drift because if that’s the case they could EAS just kept Jeff Green and said all right we’ll pay you a little bit more money I disagree because he actually got eight million from Houston I thought it was six that six no he got eight million a year but but even but even in that situation though you don’t you don’t think that if if they were in that situation they well they could have paid him more money since they had two years on him so what I’m saying to you is that if you’re going to go that route of saying well we need to make sure Rock locking down our rotation uh let’s see Jeff Green 2024 here’s the thing we can talk about this in hindsight but I remember the conversations that we were having of like yeah hey Jeff was probably the least essential member of the rotation the hope is that you can replace him with Payton Watson blacko chanar Zeke Nagi and I think that that was a logical decision honestly I do and Denver has this youth that like this is honestly and this is the major thing if you’re a championship ship team if you’re a championship caliber team the thought process always with all of these teams is you try to retain your most important players other teams poach your lesser important players and then you have to find a way to replace them maybe Denver didn’t replace them in the way that they were supposed to and I can totally agree with you that like trying to go get somebody more defensive like a Delon Wright or an ail Alexander Walker or a Derrick Jones Jr that was the logical step they did get Justin holl but I do think that they should have done more for obvious reasons like committing to so many younger guys was a problem but we’re talking about one or two roster spots here as opposed to like the three that they decided to go get rookies for and I don’t blame Calvin boo that much for that I think that there are some decisions that he could have made that were better uh but remember we were arguing for a while Pascal or npj um you know we we had those conversations there’s even some if they swung Jamal Murray opportunities but I don’t I don’t think they’re gonna because they’re going to come out for many different regions but that was more of a fit thing with the Pascal versus mpj thing though like Pascal is clearly a better player but fitting him and Aaron Gordon together with yic it was it was gonna get a little clunky I mean yeah I think here and again I the first onus why they didn’t win game seven is them they they the starters were not good enough but the starters were also connectively gassed from the run before and then by the end of this year because they had to be so they played so many minutes together this year and including with Jamal Murray not being healthy for 23 games this year I think my whole thing is that Murray 184 and four in your second round that’s that’s Austin Reeves numbers on way worse efficiency that’s not good enough at the end of the day if you’re going to play and I’m giving him every excuse he’s Hur hurt calf injury 1,00% but 184 and four I don’t care who it is that is unacceptable if he plays an average series they win the series but the problem is is that he just he was hurt and I think some of that is because he just didn’t have enough behind him I think Reggie cool and all that stuff but I just think that there was a lot of pressure on him and his body um and when he just didn’t have it he probably could have missed more games last year then obviously to push to the end of the season and everything else so you know it’s just uh it’s a lot different thing that kind of all happened at once and again npj played 81 games this year and I don’t think npj was tired in the second round I just think he got clamped up and then his confidence got Shook and he started missing everything yeah true teller asks and has been belligerent can nuggets get Batum please answer Batum said he was going to retire after this season so like maybe I I don’t know like he he said he was gonna retire was gonna be his last year so he doesn’t have a ring he doesn’t have a ring he doesn’t uh so he might decide that he wants to but like Sixers I mean he’s if they go get Paul George or somebody like that then then you add that into the equation then like maybe Batum just wants to stay where he was like I wouldn’t that team would be I okay [ __ ] [Laughter] this I would love to get Nicholas patum let’s just let’s just leave it there um last couple things before we hit a break any other points from the presser let’s talk about Chris uh kyp’s free agency actually that’s probably the the next one here from Calvin Booth quote kcp has been a great addition the last couple of years obviously we’d love to have him back we’re going to take a hard look at what that looks like um I don’t know what that looks like and like I’ve talked about the CBA concerns and getting into that second tax apron we’ve also talked about whether like could Denver’s starting lineup get cheaper and then they add a little bit more money to their bench could that be a thing that they try to do with Christian Brown because he was the one who was discussed as a potential starter I’m not sure if that’s the way that I would go but I think Christian Brown replacing kcp would be a drop off maybe not as far as you think oh no no no no I’m not doing this offensively be a huge drop off no no they they will completely change the offense no no not yet not yet not yet not yet he’s not near as good of V twinder yet either by the way just to be clear I think you’re probably right you’re probably right I’m trying to think about it from the perspective of if if Christian Brown comes back a better player like we think that he could coming from a second to a third year if he’s a better shooter if he’s a little bit better as a ball handler just kind of refining some things I can see the theory of it I don’t actually believe okay so now we’re gonna go another year into jokic’s age 29 season on hoping that a prospect develops at a keykey spot in your fifth best spot on a potential championship team that’s a lot that’s what I’m saying that’s that’s what I mean that’s what I’m saying it’s like hey yo we’re we’re we’re in danger territory here this is this is this is hubris like this is this is us thinking we’re outsmarting the system I’m telling you Ryan again I’m not a I’m I am a I’m very much a believer in in process and development but I’m also a little bit of a numbers person as well and I’m just saying the odds say that’s not gonna help you win the championship doing that here here’s what the thing says the odds say that the Nuggets will never win another championship ever again no you’re going you’re going too far on the other end if you have the best player in the world Ryan your odds are higher than everybody else in the league relative to NBA history okay um but he ain’t gonna acknowledge that you see how Ryan do that’s crazy Christian was the best defender on the best offensive player on the opposing team in that last round like chrisan was yeah not the best offensive player he he was the best defender on Anthony Edward Wards oh yeah in this last round yeah got muscle yeah like that’s not going away and like kcp is also getting older and I can understand why the Nuggets might think hey that’s one matchup you don’t think that that would carry over into other matches no Christian Brown was not a better Defender versus guards on totality over the year than kcp was okay cha screen navigating chasing staying connected off ball Christian Brown would have got flamed by Steph Curry I don’t I don’t disagree man like more of what I’m talking about is how the nuggets have like it’s how they have to gear up to win the next championship like how how can you do it how can you find a way and I think that one of the ways that they might decide to go is they might decide hey with our fifth starter we could take a little bit of a step back in order to improve our bench in order to spend a little bit more money on the bench I’m not sure if that’s even possible but like if they could get under the under the tax sapon a little bit and then spend some money to add some offense for the bench might not be the worst idea in the world because if you really do have Murray Porter and Joker shouldn’t those guys be able to carry most of the offense on that starting five if only Jamal Murray was a guaranteed 70 plus a game player and on top of that you knew for a fact he was going to go into the playoffs healthy yes sure doesn’t it makes sense by the way to have more offense coming off the bench so that you can replace him if that becomes a factor and who would that be I don’t know I’m talking through we can talk about different strategies this is a theory this is me talking through the theory no I’m responding to your theory in kind and I’m saying to you the theory that Christian Brown is going to step into a lineup at age in his third year and be a good enough replacement for kcp and then subsequently you’re going to spend another $4 million on whoever else that apparently Calvin boo said it’s going to be Jaylen picket by the way that he’s not sold on and being a veteran well he he’s talking about the Young Guns he said they just they just need more seasoning he literally said they need some more seasoning what if I told you that the Nuggets could get Alec Burks no on the taxpayer does that change anything no okay all right um obviously Denver’s hands are pretty tied like I’ve already made the case in an article that everybody can go read at Mile High Sports that the nuggets are at their best if they just run it back wait who did Alex by the way are you talking about the same Alec burs I’m thinking about yeah the one who was awesome in game seven against the Indiana Pacers yeah you know how many minutes he had played in the playoffs prior to that like 14 minutes total because fibs is a Madman like no because he’s not better than Duce McBride that’s why and then they got several injuries and then he was able to play I think he’s better than dece McBride no he’s not better oh man are you kidding me this is this is right up there with your Jaylen green shenon take by the way by the way no no no no pretty good the yeah one month one month pretty good you just remove a n game stretch you you take that fulcrum out of there and the paint just opens up looks pretty good this would be the last show that Ron and I will ever do together there was an argument for it it wasn’t a good argument but there was an argument um okay so I had MVP candidate damont sabonis over pass over uh over a lot of players by the way so I was also proven correct I can’t believe sabonis made all NBA actually why but like he was like he was like he was top 10 MVP voting why I thought that Jaylen Brown was better for one thing well no Hy should have been off remember I had hie off Jaylen was on no I had hlee off jayen on and so bonus on okay yeah I mean I guess I can believe it it’s like when you when you remove some of the competition with the 65 game roll that’s that’s what’s going to happen it should have been all International this year um if memb play 65 games it’s going to be all an international First Team all NBA that be dope thanks sure that’ be dope yeah I’m sure you would love that anti-American over here all right go ahead next subject me anti- Damon sabonis like okay that Gonzaga [ __ ] uh okay any final thoughts on the presser before we hit a break I don’t uh love the energy but I think they were I think that I think Calvin is is is fooling everybody again um I think he’s gonna get a Bruce Brown KTP swap out of nowhere again and it’s you know somewhere along those lines it’s gonna have to be magical that it’ll be uh it’ll be very interesting to see if they can leverage that who has more chemistry me and you or Calvin booth and the free agency market definitely Calvin Booth come on what are we let’s let’s be let’s be [ __ ] honest here uh everybody hey let’s take a break when we come back we are going to chat about what swipa and I would each do if we had the keys to the Denver Nuggets front office we will be right back but first I want to tell everybody a little bit about number 38 the home base for Denver Nuggets Colorado avalan lch and going forward probably Colorado Rockies and Denver Broncos watch parties with Mile High Sports we did some stuff with Denver stiffs over there was a lot of fun great food great Vibes outdoor environment the the outdoor patio area was pretty sick you should go check it out make sure to go over to number 38 in the Rhino District all you got to do is uh pull up tell them that Mile High Sports sent you and you can get a $15 pitcher would be great thank you so so much for checking it out we’ll be right back at pickax and roll all right back at it pickaxe and roll Ryan Blackburn here this is the weekends with swiper Edition joined by my guy Swip on the other side let’s talk about this darn off season we’ve gone through all the different problems and some of the things that happened over the course of this last year with the nuggets uh the way that things were handled last offseason and how that kind of had some ramifications so Swip I’m going to ask you if you were given the keys to run the team right now what would be the first thing that you did or the most important thing that you did probably finding a competent backup point guard that for sure can play with and without Jamal Murray and make sure I never put that amount of pressure on him ever again I mean I that was my respons IL last year so I would have I would that wouldn’t even be a question Jamal Murray had his best season of his career with Bruce Brown on the court wonder what that was wow we fortified Jamal Murray to take all the pressure off him as an on ball player off ball defender on ball Defender and all he had to do was shoot the ball and playmake and play defense sparingly on the other end wow okay okay okay okay okay okay yeah I mean that that’s I’m I’m thinking about about Jamal here first down not even a question I don’t I don’t understand I don’t right I’m telling you sometimes you just over people overthink stuff Jamal was just spectacular because Bruce was next to him he just didn’t have the same amount of responsibility there’s a lot to that there there’s a lot to that of not like Bruce was the Jack of all trades for Denver in so many different ways one of the ways like even Beyond on the court was he was just an off the court like energy guy somebody who could like you could rely on him to give you the momentum and give you the motivation and the energy to deliver and I think that if Denver does add somebody like that they needed to be somebody who is like not boisterous or anything like but just just somebody that has some personality somebody that has some like like belief and some like want to and as as just like like that’s one of the things that I I think was missing from this year’s team was the attitude of like we’re going to kill you there was none of that none of that at all thank you Jonathan I appreciate it um so I’m I’m I think that’s a great call from Bruce do or do you have any ideas do you have any candidates on who that would be uh shout out to my boy Harrison win I love Harrison we have a really great relationship he’s a really good dude he’s one of the best of what he does um Harrison W posted up a uh yeah all the all white team yeah Harris wi posted the 10 fake trade from the nuggets for uh bogy Josh giddy Stephen Adams Corey kissper uh in meich and uh you know I do think that some of those players would be okay um but I do think Jamal needs a little bit more defense next to him so bogy would be great I just don’t think Atlanta’s trading bogy uh personally um but I do think that like again nille Chris dun I’m gonna be so angry Ryan because I know exactly what’s gonna happen Chris Dunn to the Denver Nuggets for A2 and a half million doll year deal uh and you know throw in piece for whatever else I’ll be like where the hell was this last year I told y’all for a whole year and then Chris Dunn watch Chris Dunn is gonna have a 10 10 and 10 game everybody’s gonna be like where was this where was this so ball exactly I told y’all this would have been so I think easy just even Chris Dunn That’s a throwin but what’s let me see let me see what Chris Dunn’s money is right now I I don’t even know if he has a uh I think it’s like a $3 million contract or something like that Chris Dunn twoyear $3 million they can afford him but hey this is this is the other thing man is that when you go like he he got that opportunity from Utah like the previous year at the end and then they’re like hey we can give you an opportunity to compete for our starting point guard spot like you could be our starting point guard card I think he got sold for that I think he I think he got sold and I think if he has an opportunity this time around he’s going to be a little bit smarter no he’s not gonna he didn’t get sold on anything they had a top 10 pick keontay George was coming okay number one and then number two they already had Colin seon no you didn’t get sold on anything he got he got an opportunity with them yeah but again this this you asking me why are you talking to my second by the way you ask me a question this is called conver ation this is called dialogue it’s crazy but no I think I think Chris Dunn who who who would you what what do you think is the most important thing because I feel like you might be leaning a different position to me um I think that the most important thing is to retain kcp I I do agree with you that that’s that’s where they should be trying to live and then you just look around at the rest of the roster and think okay Reggie’s on a player option we’ll see what happens there you’ve got Christian you’ve got Julian you’ve got Hatton those are your three wings those are your versatile wings and I think they should be trying to find ways to play all of them whether they can play all of them I think is a question mark um to me it’s the five yeah I mean we I know but this is the we’re and that’s the thing it’s like the only name that you can really come up with is Andre Drummond is like somebody of that nature where empty the clip form say it again you think they would empty the the clip form I mean the the role player clip form yeah the the minimum contract that they can shell out like that’s the thing is like that’s all that they can offer so the only thing that they can do is unless they get unless they get kcp to take such a HomeTown discount that it’s possible I I don’t think that they can do anything unless they they trade zek Nagi for nothing which involves sending out some assets with them unless they like we we got mun in the comments who was giving uh uh plenty of signals that he would like Nick Richards from the Hornets Nick Richards would be great he also makes five million and Denver could find a way to to match that but like it’s it’s hard it’s it’s hard to find some of these guys that actually make sense Kyle do Kyle Anderson’s unrestricted free agent would that be worth something for you I mean he’d be a depth piece I would only add him at a minimum that would be the only like I I couldn’t add him I could justify adding him for more than that because he is like like he does add some playmaking a little bit but he also is like a spacing drain on what you’re doing and you already have Christian Brown and pton Watson with your starters and then if you add another or with your bench and then if you had a center in there then like there’s just no spacing at all Andre drumman made 3.3 Mill last year yeah like why would they not trade him what are they doing because Chicago sucks of what they do I mean honestly why would you keep him we know this Chic they could have got like a first for him yeah I no SO3 million according to the reports they they were holding out for three second round picks and I don’t know if they got that offer or not because here’s the thing like teams know how important or unimportant centers are like there’s a it’s it’s like you get your top 40 guys or so but outside of those guys it’s tough so I I I think that Drummond if they were to add him he would be helpful in terms of like hey you’re G to just like take away some of jokic’s heavy minutes you’re gonna start in place of Joker whenever he sits that would be a good idea if they could find somebody like that Kelly oen just signed an extension with the Toronto Raptors if I were Denver I would try to go find like a Zeke nji uh maybe even Julian Str and the overall pick now this this could be something I mean it won’t happen but hey since you’re all in on this we might not need KY P Ryan Blackburn that’s what you’re doing um Bruce Brown and Kelly alen Zeke Naji kyp that would have to be a sign and trade because kcp would then he would need to sign with Toronto in order to make that happen I don’t think it’s possible I don’t think that he would do that like in theory Sure but like here’s another one here’s one that I I had floated Bruce Brown Kelly o lenck and a first round pick for Michael Porter Jr no no not even close no so you get your important six man back you get who’s starting um start either Bruce or Christian or Payton in that situation I I think you could make cases for each of them so go smaller a little smaller yeah a little smaller yeah okay ball shooter in the league yeah and a help side Defender that’s what I’m saying you’re losing a lot no I’m I’m Legit saying the Nuggets whole asset is the spacing the rotation defense and then the size and rebounding you lose all four of those things get some rebounding back wouldn’t get the spacing back wouldn’t get the size and then rotationally like there there’s just no Bruce Brown mpj verticality like I do think that they you lose one of the holes in the rotation as a like because Mike was kind of targeted defensively a little bit he also really struggled on the offensive end and if you’re just like if you know if you think that he’s going to struggle in those moments on the offensive end going forward then you’re going for a more defensive minded guy imagine what they would have done to Bruce Brown though playing off of Bruce though like in this Wolf series sure yeah it would have sucked like I I don’t disagree but Denver also might have held Minnesota down even more the only way that works Ry if if pton Watson is able to start at the three next year he elevates that’s the only way that would work if now if they’re sold on that like P’s gonna be an all defense dude next year and he’s going to hit 36% of his threes cool then I can understand it I I will also say by the way that Christian did close for Mike on several occasions during that series and did a pretty good job and they lost not the games that he closed didn’t he close game four he closed game four and game five would then he close game seven too uh he no he didn’t came off the floor and they went with their starters and then the you know I think some of this is like if you want to get off his contract because you just feel like 81 games is happen again then okay and that’s the thing is like this is I’m I’m not trying to be hard on mic or anything like that and I’ve got some other mic trades that I could throw out there in terms of like does this make sense or not but I think the problem that you run into is Denver’s made this deter mination that their starting five is going to take up a bunch of their money that that’s just how this is going to be and that’s how they’re running things the only other way that you can change that is you could do two things because you’re not giving up Murray you’re not giving up Gordon you’re not giving up yic that’s the the I fundamental identity of the team you could lose kcp and spread out the money that he’s making onto bench guys or you could trade Michael Porter get back a worse starter and then improve the bench that’s boie and DeAndre Hunter for somebody offer npj for bogy and DeAndre Hunter then yeah like that’s a different conversation that’s another that’s another uh trade that I threw out there in the article like it’s not the dumbest thing ever we know you’re a great Rider Ryan Blackburn you got to keep plugging it we know you’re historically you’re an all-time great Rider we get it we get it okay let’s do this now let’s do this then because this is the theory of the practice and I guess we could probably save this for a future episode but I know the I know the chat is probably rearing for that Michael Porter for Andrew Wiggins and cavon Looney are you asking me this yeah I’m asking you to think about it uh I mean I can see why I’ll say that I can see why yeah I can see why well I saw say I can see why they would do it if you’re telling me Wiggins is going to hit at least 38% of his threes again then sure he’s a great defender he’s a great defender cavon Looney you know he’s a Warriors fans loved him for a while and then they hat him again yeah because they they’re comparing him to Draymond Green um I think that there’s theory in that like you get worse at your starting small forward and then you get better at your backup center oh yeah uh five five five five is oh I saw that’s why I said I can see why so he would have to have a huge boun back he was horrible like there’s no doubt about it he also makes 10 million per year less um Allstar Starter by the way respect Kyle kosma and one other piece whether it’s a Landry shamut or a Marvin baggley or somebody for Michael Porter again this is all about like the money do you just not think Porter is going to have like you know is he not going to be healthy enough or whatever then you know I guess go here’s where I’m at with Porter I don’t think he’s ever going to be a 22 per game kind of guy I don’t I don’t think that’s what he’s going to be anymore I think in Denver’s offense I think that he is going to be a player that opposing teams are going to load up on but he’s going to be mostly a spot up shooter he’s going to be a dho threat and his offensive game is always going to be kind of limited based off of how Denver runs their team based off of the yo yic Murray 2-an game the theory of the practice with Denver’s offense I think that he’s always going to be kind of limited and so maybe the best opportunity is to get somebody else who is limited and to try to improve your roster in in like around that and maybe the person that you had is a slightly better defensive player that was that’s the only thing man I’m I I really don’t have a this Vendetta against Michael Porter but just with as much as I’ve been looking at the cap sheet as much as I’ve been looking at what Denver needs and how they lost like I think that there is some logic to it which it sucks but I’ve also said and wrote the piece that Denver their best course of action is to retain everybody is to keep everybody together so kind of talking out of both sides of my mouth here but I think that there’s Arguments for both sides uh yeah I I I kind of I kind of don’t love not you but just the idea that Porter is the one that’s like going to take the blame for it I think for this is more so like you know situationally what’s the easiest way to upgrade your roster right um so I mean I can understand it I just think that like you know I just think that the Nuggets need to add a six six player I don’t think the thing that they don’t need Porter to do that again I just don’t buy the excuse of Calvin boo not looking at their landscape and saying I just think he underestimated what Jamal murx need and we said that last year like Reggie Jack is not a player that like doesn’t even make any sense and it didn’t work all year yeah so then you had to put more onus on joic and then more onus on Murray Reggie had some good moments in the playoffs but I do agree he did he did they need somebody who’s more stable and they need somebody who’s more versatile and that was always the thing and I don’t think you’re getting that with Jaylen picket you’re certainly not getting it with Kong Gillespie so they need another point guard who can probably do that I do agree with that um let me pivot a little bit I’ve got another couple questions here here how much more contribution can the Nuggets expect from Zeke Nagi and vaco chanar next year because they didn’t get value this year I don’t want any more injury prone players I know uh CT loves blo and I love what CT has to say about the game I just I’m blacko has been so hurt like he was great the year before had some really good minutes and all that stuff he said he’s had a couple long-term things but like tearing your ACL I just I I don’t ever consider somebody injury prone if they just randomly tear their ACL it could happen to anybody sure I just think that uh he’s on the team because joic obviously wants him there so they’re good friends and everything else but like I said like at this point I’m not we’re not really about friendships like you need a little bit more Jordan than you like no I’m not here to make friends you already have no friends you have plenty of friends on the team you got friends in the city you got your family you got your brothers you got everybody else like you know I think Zeke especially bro like there’s just no justification for having a $9 million on a very limited team sitting on the bench and you know you cannot play him and if he pops somewhere else then really good for him he has the talent to do it but you also need another big you can play next to Joker that can space the floor Z was supposed to be that that’s what his vision was the first two years yeah and that has gone it’s gone so what’s interesting about the way that the roster is currently laid out like the cap sheet at this point kcp Reggie Jackson they have the player options DeAndre Jordan Justin holiday those guys are unrestricted free agents the young guys are all under contract if you want want them to be it’s the veterans that are all kind of like we’re trying we’re going to try to see what happens here I I think that you’re right and the conversation that we had earlier about how Denver needs more veterans how they need more more players that they can rely upon there’s going to be a problematic balance there because the guys that are actually under contract are the young players and Denver they’re going to need to find some veterans that can help them but are also on short-term deals that are also very cheap and it’s going to be really really difficult um but that’s why I ask about vaco and Zeke because they are under contract vaco has a team option so Denver could decline it if they wanted to uh let me ask you this the young players that are not Christian Brown and Peyton Watson how much contributions can the Nuggets expect from Julian Str Jaylen picket Hunter Tyson and the 28th overall pick in this year’s draft so let me get this straight so that’s Jaylen pick it uh 30 what he 32 33 pick 33 I think I think 32 and then uh Hunter was 37 yeah Julian was 29 yeah I don’t know man like you can get contributions from guys that are outside again we’re still playing the odds on the unlikely happening I just don’t like that yeah when you have the best player in the world you can you can do that sometimes but doing that four times four you don’t need to go four for four if you go one for four or two for four in that case that might be enough like honestly like not everybody on the roster needs to be able to play but you need one of those guys to hit two of those guys to hit and so I’m asking you like what are the odds which two you think are most likely to hit I think it’s probably Julian because he’s already played and like he’s he was first round pick for a reason he’s a guy that they have on a first round salary I think that he like the theory of that is very good I am underwhelmed by Jaylen picket I am underwhelmed by Hunter Tyson certainly I didn’t really understand the pick when they made it uh those guys are so limited wait who was on the board Andre Jackson and them too uh at that point yeah Jordan Walsh Andre Jackson there are some there are some names that that were available there that Denver could have gotten uh and and players that I think made more sense for what you would expect from from a team like Denver at that point you know GG Jackson was there although he was like an 18 19 year old tumani Kamar who played pretty well for Portland this year uh Trace Jackson Davis yeah older guy who made a lot of sense I think I thought that that was a name that they probably should have gone for like it just didn’t make a lot of sense but it’s going to be interesting to see because I I as I kind of go through this like Denver is still t tying up a lot of roster spots into players that you may not think are helpful so that puts a lot of pressure on the other decisions for sure when you said uh yeah GG Jackson but that’s what I’m saying bro like that’s what I’m trying to figure out bro he’s the youngest player in the draft though I understand why Calvin Booth was no I get it but the nuggets the nuggets have shown that like the more athletes you have on this team the better Jay picket isn’t an elite anything he’s cool he’s a good dude he’s an elite passer I think he can make passes maybe we’ll see if that works I I know what Elite passing looks like and not athleticism they have to be Stars yeah to be really good players but he ain’t Chris Paul maybe we’ll see I I don’t think it’s Chris Paul uh John Stockton like Kyle Lowry like those players goad no I was just I was looking at the draft like Andre Jackson Jr went 36 Hunter Tyson went 37th they may have decided that they wanted jayen picket but I Andre would have been there though I don’t know if he would have been taken off the board by that point yeah I think you’re you’re certainly right and I’m maybe he decided that that was like one of those other teams would have taken him but I don’t know it felt like Denver reached in in both of those cases and it felt like like from my perspective the problem wasn’t that they drafted those actually the problem wasn’t the guys that they drafted the problem was the fact that they drafted at all that they they spent three draft picks rather than going for more veteran options as as you mentioned I do agree with you that that was that was where the missteps happened in my mind but remember Calvin got all the love he made a trade uh in the in the during the NBA finals and everybody was like man he’s going for it and all this stuff and I get it like he deserves it but again like I think a lot of this is like just making sure that you’re you know the Nuggets had like 1100 minutes play to put their starters this year let’s just not let’s just you know there needs to be they need more flexibility in their lineups and you need it at the guard spot and you need it at the Center position yeah because they have it at the wings now it’s about okay finding your Bruce Brown and then finding a real backup center that the nuggets have not had since Boogie cousins or Isaiah haren’s not in spots or whatever like it’s just or Bon plumly like they just need an actual like player there and again and like the the excuse can’t be made that like you’re not going to play somebody like that because you have Joker like you have to play them like it is a requirement in order to get Joker to the playoffs healthy and ready like I I think that that was one of the other that was said at the presser Denver’s got to take care of Joker they can’t play him this many minutes going forward like he’s he’s got to play less Joker’s got to accept that too like he was tired at the end of it too so I do think that it’s I think he was more tired than that situation because he was caring for the entire team for two rounds and Jamal wasn’t what he believe he could he he usually has those Pops from Jamal you know like we’re like even game two of the Timber Series last year 40 points for Jamal and Joker kind of able to be like all right cool like I got of settle whatever I don’t have to do it he didn’t get any of that this whole run he got okay he got 32 from Jamal and 28 shots in game five of the Lakers series that’s yeah no no sure like that’s a lot of us taken up that’s a lot that’s that’s two games though is what I’m saying that that also is not sustainable for I think a big a big always needs a guard next to them the beyond anything like we could talk about all these different moves the one thing that if if you think that Denver is going to retain their starting five that starting five has to be the best in the league or has to be really close which it was they were for the first like 82 games of the season and then the playoffs hit and they were not so I think that that more than anything has to be addressed I think that Jamal is the he’s the key factor there for obvious reasons I think that Jamal has to be an All-Star next year that’s my that would be my challenge to him I don’t think he will be though okay that’s fine but like I think we had I said he gonna be 13 allier coming to this year I think he’s got to go try to do it I think he’s got to be out there I think he’s got to take I think he’s got to take this regular season more seriously and with more attention to detail oh he’s 27 years old and I’m not I’m not trying to be hard on Jamal because you know I never come in Jamal with Nick I I’m not going to try to do it now but Jamal you’re 27 like you’re not a kid like if we’re if if we’re still pushing you to like take 100% seriously take your body seriously to take take the court stuff seriously not throw heat pads on the court and all that stuff nobody’s just counting you’re NBA champion you’re one of the best at what you do but at the end of the day from the and this is what I mean Ryan I’m I’m be I’m be 100% here because I I’ve covered for Jamal all year Ryan when when that whole thing happened in the press conference the way he answers questions watching the MMA fight all that stuff throwing the heat pad on the court all that stuff that’s all cool the reason people put up with it it’s because of the YC stuff you have to live up to that if You Gonna Act Like a superstar you gotta play like a superstar because guess what Luca don’t Luca got his own moments and all that stuff Luca play like a superstar from 80 from game one to the end of the playoffs SGA he don’t say nothing he don’t bother nobody he respectful to everybody take care of everything Superstar MVP conversation jayen Brunson answers questions directly great relationship with people 82 games all the way through the playoff with no OG no Julius R none of them played like a superstar Steph Curry no issues answers questions great and press conferences Superstar J Morant people say whatever they want about J job might got some off court issues with this and that JN Mor and press conferences cool locked in 82 games locked in playoffs locked in so what I’m telling you this and I’m I’m being 100% right about this because I you you never heard me talk like this before but I’m telling you that if you are going to have the air of being one one of those type of players you have to from game zero to the end of the playoffs be able to do it and do it consistently that is what makes you you because the end of the day Ry and this is why I always tell people Joker is the best player in the world because game zero to the end of the playoffs he always is there and available don’t mean every game Ryan because every game you’re not going to have the same energy that’s not the way it worked Jordan didn’t do that Mt gam sure didn’t do that I I Kareem definitely didn’t do it but guess what Kareem wasn’t a great interview either because Kareem had he didn’t want to trust the media he want to talk to Media he definitely didn’t trust the White media because all kind of stuff it was the 1970s bro sure but when it came to playing 33 and 15 every day and you knew what time it was so what I’m saying to you about this whole thing with Jamal you’ve been walking this line and even me I put you top 20 last year you’ve been walking this line because you played next to Joker and my whole thing is you are one of the best players in the world and I will defend you and your game and everything you do and I rock with Jamal everybody know how I feel about Jamal but when you get to this point though bro you telling me you getting 18 four and four in the second round when your best player got 29 11 and eight and getting this dogtail [ __ ] and every time somebody bring up the series they ain’t gonna bring up Jamal Murray they might mention you but they gonna blame joke for not getting the job done and so what I’m telling you is like bro like if you gonna carry yourself like that which I don’t think you should I don’t think Ryan deserves that I told you this to your face I don’t think you deserve to be talked to sometimes the way it is but what I’m telling you is that if you going to be that de Booker don’t respond that way no none of these dudes do that Ryan all the stuff you see I know what I I’ve heard some things about Deon but you get in the press conference I’ve seen these players I’ve watched them there’s just a there’s just a way you got to carry yourself on the court and so what I’m saying to you bro is like he been getting kind of a not not a pass not a pass but it’s definitely like it’s it’s it’s nut up time Ry that’s what I’m telling you like you about be 28 years old this year and you got one all NBA one MVP one Allstar and your second best player in all of the last 30 years when you got a player in a goat conversation LeBron had Kyrie say whatever you want about Kyrie Luca got Kyrie say whatever you want about Kyrie say whatever you want about Scotti Pippen top 50 all time locked in say whatever you want about Shaq lazy locked in say whatever you want about Kobe locked in that’s what it takes that’s what it takes and if you going to feel like that SHO cuz remember when somebody asked him do you want to be an All-Star this year he said I’m an NBA champion I’m something most people will never be that’s true but guess what if you are doing what you’re supposed to do and where you supposed to be we didn’t even have this conversation we’re still playing so that’s my whole thing with you bro I’m not even trying to be like heavy on nothing but I’m just telling you like if I’m taking my my nuggets Denver Park Hill 23rd my whole life hat off like I done been here through the through the grind through the gut Robert Pack everybody I watch Antonio mcdy get traded to the Knicks was pissed Nick Van AEL I’ve seen it all Ryan I’ve been here but I’m telling you right now that you get to this spot next to an alltime great player you got to know what you’re supposed to do and that’s just what it takes so Jamal you right he should be an All-Star next year he should be a 255 and five player but in the since 2016 you’ve never seen him live up to that in the regular season and me and you we defend him because we know he’s 20 is better and basically everybody else is 20 except for maybe seven players in the league that simple wow that was ramp and I got love for Jamal yeah I’m with you man I there are a couple things I disagree with there most of it is like it’s straight facts it’s that’s what this is Jamal has been resting on The Laurels a little bit of winning a championship he took the pressure off of himself he should be to be an allar he should be trying to be out there and be available and be as dominant as he possibly could be there’s a balance that he has to sort of ride between getting everybody else involved and making things for himself but I’m with you like that can’t hold you back but I told you that Ryan remember remember when when that whole thing happened in a press conference MMA video Everybody saw it was public it’s public information was that whole thing happened I told you yeah he he remind me he remind me of a receiver that’s what receivers do in the league that’s what Randy Moss does but guess what Randy M they all Pros Terrell Owens All Pro Jamal it was it was disrespectful as hell that’s what it was and then you throwing heat packs on the court and then when and then the next day when they ask you about it I don’t want to talk about that let’s move on you got your basketball question nah no no you know who the only person that gets to act like that and not have that kind of resume is you because Denver’s cool Denver loves the players we love our team you would York you in La DLo can’t even can’t even breathe can’t even breathe if he has a stinker think about a Jamal average 184 and4 next to LeBron James in La yeah it’ll be it’ll be hell he’s got to be better like he has to challenge him like he actually has to have that motivation to challenge himself and be the best version of himself because if he’s not then he’s holding the team back like straight up the team has been ready the team needs $50 million Ryan he about to get a fouryear $200 million deal yeah 200 million it’s it’s going to be the same that Donovan Mitchell got and Mitchell has been better than him throughout his career Mitchell could have made first team all second team M NBA this year if he would have qualified Mitch had a 45 piece versus Boston or or the uh or 50 what 53 5 how many point have versus magic his 50 like 50 50 I think 50 and that’s by himself Jared Allen wasn’t even there in the Boston series yeah and like Jamal can’t rest on his Laurels Jamal’s got to constantly try to get better and I think that this was the wakeup call that that he needed if I’m being honest like I think that he and everybody on the team thought that they were going to that they were going to Breeze or just ultimately find a way just get it done and when you don’t get it done and when things don’t work out well and you are sitting at home and it sucks and and you hate yourself like you got to look inward you got to look at where you could be better and he had a great game seven but he also gassed out as well like he had 29 through J Jaylen Brunson left gluca never made nothing never been nothing went to New York all a sudden he’s an MVP talk well that’s what I’m telling you man like you got to take stuff personal Ryan like I gotta I I’m watching all this stuff happen I I watched jic go down with the ship like I I’m not letting it happen Ryan if you told me right now swiper I need more from you swiper you got to be better swiper I’m carrying the content by I’m carrying my High Sports by myself if you said that to me I would literally spend the entire summer locking into the gym I wouldn’t be the same player come next year the same content creator come next year that’s what you got to have that’s my whole thing ain’t no way Joker got three MVPs and I ain’t got an allar I ain’t never got an Allstar there’s no way there’s no way no way no way it’s happening no way I I play with a three time MVP I ain’t got an allar my no Ryan Ryan no way you going to outpace me like that there’s no way I’m not selling on that no way no way no way you you going you f to have conversation with me and another dude for top 10 no way I’m letting that happen no way is is there any way swiper is there any way I’m telling you bro Ryan I’m like that now everybody joke around like but I’m telling you football is different like it’s monoo if I suck it’s on the eagle ey everybody see it if I get ran over everybody see it if I miss a tackle everybody see it there’s no way that I’m gonna keep letting this happen where when I’m getting in these situation everybody looking at me funny yish putting up crazy numbers all playoffs now everybody looking at him like he s there’s no way I’m going to let my dog that I’ve been around since 2016 and I’m watching this go down I’m not just doing it for one game I tell you that much there’s no way and again I get Jamal Murray was hurt but what I’m telling you is what I’m telling you regular season you Ain even got to worry about it I’m locked in I’m locked in Joker you’ve been carrying us the last four years four MVP Seasons Cedric there’s not going to be a Murray for Mitchell swap unless unless unless Donovan says I’m not signing absolutely and and Nuggets give them the best trade package they can get which that’s that’s happening they will not like that that will not happen because that’s the thing is that Murray doesn’t have a bunch of trade value he’s on an expiring contract now and I guess if he agrees to a deal but like why would you do that if you’re if you’re the Cavs like you’ve got Darius Garland and Jamal Murray trying to play together and you’ve also got Evan Mobley and Jared Allen trying to play together they need to get wings man they need to get size they need to get athletic atticism they’re not going for Jamal like Mitchell’s a better player than Jamal right now that’s pretty simple so I don’t think I don’t think that’s uh that’s something that’s happening um any final thoughts yeah I mean c bu you got a job to do and I expect you to do it like you know all that other stuff about Young Guns and all that cool cool cool that’s that’s not one year out the other for me but that’s what me looking at uh so didn’t be top 75 that was after yic won his first one so it’s going in so that was 2000 uh 2022 so we are in so 20 23 24 this is uh year 77 There’s 7 seven years of the NBA you’re trying to do something that’s happened maybe four five times i’ be one to bet in winning in winning championships no no no no uhuh I’m not doing I’m just not I’m not betting my money on that I’m not betting my money on that you might be an outlier but I’m not betting my money on that I’m not letting Yas go into the year and I’m not like the team on the bench is just way different not happening team has to be better they got to make changes but they probably shouldn’t make too many changes because they’ve still got the best starting five in basketball mhm but those guys have to be better too like it was on the starters that they lost it was not on the bench that they lost it was on the starters that they lost in the playoffs those guys have to be better and the bench has to be better in the regular season in order to give them the rest that they need so we’ll see what happens I’m very curious we’re gonna have plenty of discussions over the course of these next couple weeks before trade season and draft half season and free agency actually happens but should be very fast the second round we’re doing trade offseason talks hey man can’t win a championship every year nah stop it up 20 up 20 we we didn’t even talk about that up 20 in the third quarter can’t close out your home I don’t know what you’re talking about like did something happen up 20 in the third quarter and everybody choke out and everybody looking at Joker like please save us like again I know I get it defense was incredible but oh yeah and Michael Malone didn’t do a good job in that series either he got out coach yeah I mean I don’t know how many stre who asked him that question by the way about uh at home in the fatigue or whatever and he said they’re down 20 and then he he uh said something about like the series is over we lost the Series oh that was uh Bennett durando of Denver Post they made up no I know they made up but this is what I’m telling you when Nick Wright I told him before the show Nick Wright brought up this whole thing about yic is jish owns the penthouse he brought everybody up to the penthouse and Malone and Murray living in the penthouse and they they they thinking they own the penthouse I agree they deserve all the respect and Credit in the world I would never take that I think Malone is one of the top four or five coaches in the league if not higher he’s great buto got out Coast got out Coast you don’t lose by 32 and 45 in the same series and not get out Coast you were up 3-2 and you’re up 20 got out coached I honestly don’t think it’s those games that were the big deals I think it was the ones that they lost in the clutch like game one and game seven yeah I think that those were the out coaching ones no answer for n Reed cat and my col the second half of game one they had they were 17 of 19 Ry yeah and then and then they don’t have Rudy and they’re they’re playing a blitz scheme versus versus uh Joker and them and the whole team freaked out yeah it just wasn’t a good it just wasn’t a good Malone series he’s had better ones that’s for sure he had a pretty good Lakers series um yeah good Lakers series good Heat series good Lakers series good Sun series good Wolf series he was on fire the year before sometimes pressure makes you crack a little bit Denver hadn’t faced a bunch of pressure until this series y twice in that wol series started the second quarter twice I was like first time I get I got it but no no first time they were down uh I think they were down 12 or whatever going into the uh second quarter in game six and so he started him in that game uh and then yic went out like I think like nine then came back in was like an 18o deficit or something game was over but he did that in this last game it worked but I’m saying like bro like a minute rest for Joker that’s panic and then he didn’t then he didn’t take them at all out at all in the in the third quarter when they were Los he just they just panicked everybody panicked everyone panicked yeah I don’t think it would have been better if he had rested if I’m being honest well I just think that if he had like three or four minutes more rest I just think he could have had more energy but defensively more so than anything else yeah I think Denver would have collapsed in those non- Joker minutes I agree I would just rather have Joker like fully fresh going into a four but he had 15 and four but then you got to make deficit at that point and that’s just like these are these are the these are difficult decisions that every coach has to face and like if I’m alone I probably make the same decision that he did I was like I’m going to leave the best player on the floor out there yeah leave the best player in the world out there like sorry but this is what I mean about competent number two because guess what Lucas sucked in the first half it didn’t suck but he wasn’t good in the first half game one vers a wolf but you know who took over and said I got you Kyrie Irving yeah Jamal’s goingon to be falling down some of those top 100 lists that’s for sure oh he’s going into the 30s after that I me not the 30s but like’s going into the 30s probably low or highs I guess well I mean I’m saying bro but like you you don’t you like Kyrie’s clearly better this whole year yeah and Kyrie was most people 20 25th best player 26 27 yeah that’s tough like I don’t know what to tell you Jamal like you are in control of that okay we gotta save some of this content um we a’t talk we a talking two weeks so whatever I know I know we’re going to get more videos up bro like come on don’t we’ll spoil for the audience audience we are going to get I can’t believe this dude were up 20 and lost Ryan I can honestly I think they were gas man that that’s like we’ll talk about that too H everybody I’m I’m telling y’all y’all better be thankful to God I’m being honest with you I want the 66 with the elite elite handling all that other stuff I would have been in the league barking barking barking never would have stopped either barking y’all thought y’all should see me on the football I was loud all the time I’m walked in ready Ryan in real life swipe us 56 like all no bite exactly it’s wild like I I don’t understand it he pulls like I I I get it like good for you man swiping Ryan over to Murray and Y best two-man game let’s go let’s get it you already know baby everybody that is going to do it for this episode of weekends with Swip appreciate everybody for hopping in here we went long needed go along because we hadn’t talked in a little bit we’re going to get up some videos we’re going to we’re going to talk a little bit offline we’re going to record some things and we’ll have some individual questions that swipe and I will be answering throughout the offseason as well if you’ve got any content ideas that you want us to answer any trade ideas we’ll probably do some trade ideas in a in a call in a video as well uh let us know what you want to see we’re going to put out some great content any final thoughts my guy second half of game seven third quarter and we need we need to stop I’m getting stopped I just say you that much I’m not afraid of that I am not getting a stop that that I will say everybody thank you so much for tuning into the show we appreciate all the love and support please hit that like button hit that subscribe Button as well would obviously appreciate it we’ll talk to you guys very soon

On the latest episode of Weekends with Swipa, Ryan Blackburn and Swipa go over the latest comments from Calvin Booth, Josh Kroenke, and Michael Malone on the future of the Denver Nuggets. Will there be major changes going forward? What’s up with the free agency of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope? How do the Nuggets become better prepared for the playoffs in the future? Ryan and Swipa discuss yesterday’s press conference before going over the major storylines of the 2024 offseason.

Make sure to like, comment, and subscribe to stay up with all the latest Colorado sports content from Mile High Sports!
Subscribe to our page: https://www.youtube.com/c/MileHighSports
Follow us on social media: @MileHighSports
Check out our website: MileHighSports.com