Did The Denver Nuggets Make A Big Mistake?

Did The Denver Nuggets Make A Big Mistake?

let’s do the other end of this just because kcp is the highlight of the magic uh the Denver Nuggets I they are having a terrible offseason folks so far we’ll see what happens but they resign DeAndre Jordan Oney year vet minimum they lose kcp for absolutely nothing um as of right now they’re less than $2 million into the tax for 12 players I’m wondering if they’re gonna you still need to add talent and people are talking about oh like they have the mini mle okay cool that $5.2 million is basically it’s I mean percentage wi is a pretty big increase over but if you’re just signing a veteran uh to their minimum who’s had 10 years of experience you’re over $3 million so there’s not like a huge value add there I guess if you can use it to bag a Malik Beasley or a buddy heel and increase your shooting this team is and you have Nicole yic so it does like it matters to an extent but you have Michael Porter Jr is like your caps lock shooter I guess Jamal Murray is your caps lock shooter Julian strawther if you think he’s going to kind of make the leap and then it’s all right what are we doing here uh yoke is got to take a lot more threes and can Michael Porter Jr be less streaky I swear he’s the streakiest just look at his percentage from three and it’s always through the roof except in certain playoff series for the regular season and you still just feel like that it’s not always going in when he shoots it I don’t understand the logic from this team again there Calvin boo was talking and he you knew kcp was gone the moment he started talking about the Christian Brown’s sample size and I don’t throw this on him I throw it on the cronies it’s yeah okay looking get what is going on in the west and some of these teams had more tools but I’m holding the Nuggets to the bar of retain your own Talent when you have the ability to do so I don’t need you to go out there and be as active as the the Thunder were as active as the Mavericks were you didn’t have those resources at your disposal I understand that but don’t come out here and say like this is just the realities of the second apron no it’s not and I don’t know that that’s that was the implicit framing is how I took it that is you had the ability to pay kcp it wasn’t that big of a raise and look at this deal it would have been onethird over by the end of next season and if it wasn’t working out that’s a deal you can absolutely move at that number that’s a deal that you can absolutely positively move you should have been prepared to suck it up for one year and I don’t want to hear and it sounds like another transaction I didn’t really list it’s not official I don’t think but Jamal Murray he’s gonna sign a four-year $28.5 million extension I don’t want like I just what are we doing honestly what are we doing the Thunder Ms improve a great deal you have all so they’re not going anywhere their Timberwolves are not going anywhere there is a team that could just Memphis is going to be healthier there are teams that could just you okay let’s go ahead right off the clippers the Pelicans are certainly more intriguing at least if they’re going to be healthier the West is good like the Spurs now we’re going to get to them too in a little bit like the West is still the West there might be teams that look like they’re I don’t know know if the Golden State’s weaker so much is just like they’re weirder but the Lakers could just be better depending on if they make a move couldn’t couldn’t get Jonas funes to make LeBron take that pay cut though that’s rough stuff for them so you’re sitting there you’re telling me with knowing that Jamal Murray even while he plays not a perfect portrait of good health while you’re looking at what Michael Porter Jr kind of did in the playoffs while you’re looking at Nicole yic gonna turn 30 and you’re just saying like nah like we’re gonna really just bet on our youth right here no not when you have the ability to keep kcp this wasn’t a Bruce Brown situation where you couldn’t have paid him and if you want to get into the cost of maintaining this roster long term and you’re saying well we’re going to kind of pull back this year so we’re okay paying Aaron Gordon’s next contract he’s extension eligible has that player option Jamal Murray’s extension will kick in for the 2526 season just get miss me with that stuff you have Nicole yic one of the greatest players of all time you’ve won a single Championship you already kind of pulled the youth movement this year where maybe there was a disconnect between Michael Malone and the front office with how much those guys were supposed to play but now you’re leaning into it further you you traded Reggie Jackson attached three second round to him and you did that to save money but is it to just open up playing time for jayen Picket or no is this what if Michael Malone just responds by instead of Leaning into the youth movement you’re just gonna see a lot more of DeAndre Jordan and too much of Russell Westbrook when he inevitably ends up in Denver the one thing I will say about that that perked my ears up Adam mes was talking on I think it was the lock on nuggets podcast or the dmvr Nuggets podcast and he said that joic is on board with Westbrook and maybe actively excited about it that made me PA like oh okay if yic thinks it’s fine like let’s do this but you had the ability to keep kcp and if you are not prepared to fully maximize Nicole yic is short-term window while also planning for the long term for a single season I don’t care how much you paid last year when the second apron just really wasn’t a thing you have Nicole yic one of the greatest players of all time you had just won a championship you are less than like you’re only a year removed from your last championship you still have a championship caliber roster and by the way you had depth issues with kcp and we’re just supposed to believe Christian Brown and pton Watson and Julian Strather and maybe uh Hunter Tyson like and jayen picket all those and Don holes now that’s they’re gonna figure it out no like okay maybe they do you could have been a better team and I’ve seen some fans I I respect the fans you don’t have to be super critical if you want to see how it plays out that’s fine but don’t kind of like let’s you don’t have to sip all the Kool-Aid where it’s like well we’re just not going to have the best roster in the league now and that’s fine it’s not fine you have yic and to just I think there’s it’s cool you could say well we just trust Nicole yic to optimize whatever around him how about you optimize Nicole yic and focus on well maybe we don’t want him playing as many minutes in the regular season or as many games in the regular season because hey he’s getting up there and he’s been a Iron Man this is the team that has made me so angry and I lay it at the feet of the cronies not Calvin boo I don’t think he’s sitting there saying yeah bye kcp I I don’t want to pay you like it seems like he’s a very big believer in pton Watson and did you see the 52 possession net rating sample size with Christian Brown oh my God I need to move on this is so bad this is just like let’s if they sign someone that’s a home run with the mini Emily that you think is GNA replace kcp sure you you wouldn’t have had the mini Emily with kcp I I can give you that but are they going to use it or are they going to look to duct the tax entirely that’s just something that we need to like that that’s going to be a reality and then you know what hold them to the fire if they then don’t pay Aaron Gordon or something after kind of pulling back this year so I am the nuggets have been my title pick for two years in a row as of right now they’re not going to be my title pick again they’re still capable of winning a title but you’re already in territory of so much needs to go right and get lucky and yeah that’s the case for every single team even the Boston Celtics but now it’s just you’re more beholden to these unknowns than you should have been and I understand wanting to plan for a long-term window and building a dynasty you got to win another title before that happens and Nicole yic is in his prime now when are pton Watson and Christian Brown going to be fully ready in their primes when he’s 33 34 uh as of right now it just seems like this organization is up and that’s really disappointing the nuggets are still a really good team potentially great team they had the potential even as currently constructed you had to get lucky with health but that’s still caveat now it’s just a bigger caveat they had the potential to be a generational team for a sustainable period and maybe they’re still that I won’t rule it out again I’ll eow if this Christian Brown comes in wins most improved player pton Watson is hitting threes but this team just lost one of its three most important Shooters um without anyone that’s going to readily replace him that doesn’t bring the package of defense and shooting that he does you could say well look if Russell westbr comes in and plays with that defensive energy the point of attack great can’t shoot uh Christian Brown fantastic Defender we’ve seen him he can go on runs where he hits threes it’s not the same as kcp defenses aren’t going to treat him the same Christian Brown might even be the defensive upgrade I’m actually open to the idea that the Nuggets defense is just better um not I guess better without kcp in the sense that now you have to lean up more pton Watson and Christian Brown minutes which I anticipate will come at the expense of your offense but you could also there could be a trade-off of like we just need to lean really hard on Michael Porter Junior now because we need that shooting in offense on the floor so you’re always going to put your defense in sort of not compromised he can be good but you’re not going to see it maybe you’re not going to lean as hard into the brown and Watson minutes playing at the same time which hey can you even do that with the roster the way that it’s going what does the offense look like during those minutes I love Nicole joic but there’s only so much he could he could prop up so I’m Mega disappointed in the nuggets it was clear they were going to lose kcp they should have kept him there was no if ends or butts the contract was fine they could have moved on from it mid-season they could have moved on from it and that would have cut their tax bill that they you know all this restrictions yeah would have have been a dollar Ford dooll match or you could have taken back less there are people making less than kcp no could you’ve done a straight up salary dump for kcp in the middle of the year no I’m sorry just because teams have to the cap for now so those opportunities just aren’t going to be available you you need to be prepared to suck it up for one season but it wouldn’t have been impossible to make moves here you have these salaries where you could the only player where you might run into an issue with is Michael Porter Jr and guess what he’s still on the roster so uh terrible stuff from the Denver Nuggets and don’t don’t try to sell me on it being any other way I I like pton Watson and Christian Brown too and maybe I end up being wrong but for now uh just really really sorry stuff from the nuggets in my in my humble opinion even though I went I went off there [Music]

Dan reacts to the Denver Nuggets losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the plan moving forward. Check out the full episode here👇

🍎LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS!⬇️
http://apple.co/2iIw0IJ

✳️LISTEN ON SPOTIFY!⬇️

SUPPORT THE SHOW BY PURCHASING HARDWOOD KNOCKS MERCH!⬇️
https://bit.ly/hwkmerch

JOIN THE HARDWOOD KNOCKS DISCORD!⬇️
https://discord.com/invite/vFF4kKPMdb

BUSINESS INQUIRIES⬇️
HardwoodKnocks@gmail.com

FOLLOW HARDWOOD KNOCKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA ⬇️
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HardwoodKnocks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hardwood_knocks/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hardwoodknocks
Dan’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/danfavale
Dan’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/danfavale
Grant’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/gt_hughes
NBA Math Twitter: https://twitter.com/NBA_Math

#denvernuggets #nikolajokic #nba