What a day! The Denver Nuggets finally all got together in the same place and provided media access before they fly out to San Diego for training camp this week. Everyone looked rested, healthy and eager for the season, none more so than Nikola Jokic. He naturally opened with some jokes, like how he “needs to save [Bruce Brown’s] career again” and how new big man Jonas Valanciunas was worthy of being his friend after Joker had several other friends move on from the team this offseason. But of prime importance to Nuggets fans was Jokic’s declaration that his “plan is to be a Nugget forever.” No more talk about his extension please, everything is just fine in Denver.
More than fine, especially with all the new additions. Jokic was happy to praise trade acquisition Cam Johnson, both his game and his shooting form, and finished saying this year was another opportunity to win a championship. Overall he looked very relaxed and comfortable, which is the place Denver would love him to stay all year.
Jamal Murray also looked in good shape, and despite his normal terse nature in press conferences he too praised Cam Johnson, saying he thought he could lead the team in scoring in a bunch of games with the looks he should get, and that he was finally rested after “having time off, being able to build back up” and was focused on November. He looked like he might be ready for the fast start to the season that fans have been clamoring for. A healthy Jamal Murray is an incredibly dangerous one.
Aaron Gordon had one of the quotes of the day sitting next to Christian Braun, when AG mentioned how deep the Nuggets are offensively and that his focus will be on the other end:
Christian Braun and Peyton Watson both suggested they were more than happy to be in Denver and that the contract extension deadline was not something they were worried about. Watson in particular was more focused on where he is than what he might get paid: “For me it’s moreso about doing things the right way, having an organization that embraces me as the player and person that I am – and I think Denver does that. I’m happy with where we are.”
Braun kept the focus on goals, and wanted to make sure there were no excuses after the offseason Denver’s front office put together to make this team deeper.
And some of that depth also spoke, as Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway shared a microphone to talk about their decisions to come to Denver and strengthen this contender. Bruce was very adamant that this is where he wanted to be, that when his agent got the call from Denver showing interest he was not concerned about the money – he wanted this situation. Jokic might have been kidding about saving Bruce’s career again, but Brown is dead serious about wanting to be healthy and contribute after a lost season and a half away from Denver. He wants to win. Jonas Valanciunas was much the same, saying he was happy to be in Denver and that what he wants is to compete for a championship. “I’m here to do whatever. We have a great opportunity to to this so we just need to dive in, all of us.”
Cam Johnson was also serious, saying he wanted to play 77 games this season when a media member asked him to put a number on it. He and Aaron Gordon both talked about how they spent the offseason trying to get their bodies in the right place to play a much greater number of healthy games (even though Johnson intimated that part of the reason for his limited games last year might have been a team choice rather than his own). The business vibes even from normally-jovial players like Brown and Gordon set a welcome tone for a title contender that has fallen short in consecutive years thanks to a thinned roster and injury woes.
But with the new player enthusiasm – and let’s not forget DaRon Holmes II who looked like he was bouncing off the walls ready for the real games to start after losing last year to the Achilles injury – and the veteran confidence in the interviews, Media Day for the Nuggets was more about a simple statement than any of the various questions posed. The team looked ready to be the problem in the West that head coach David Adelman called them in his press conference earlier in the day. The squad will need time to gel and figure out roles – no one knows how much twin-towers offense Adelman will play with Big Val and Joker, or how much zone on defense, or which starters will rotate with the bench. Not even Adelman himself knows that yet, that’s what training camp and the pre-season is for. That’s what practice will determine.
On paper the Nuggets have a deeper squad with more shooting across the board than maybe at any time in the Jokic Era. They are not exhausted from a deep playoff run. They are not coming off major injuries to key players. The new players will have to adjust, the core current group will need to come out of the gates fast, and Adelman will have to answer some questions as a head coach that he was never posed as an assistant. But this was as good a feeling as one could ask for after hearing from so many Nuggets players.
This felt more like the 2022-23 season, where the Nuggets were finally healthy and had some agendas to set with the rest of the league. And I couldn’t be happier to feel that vibe again. Now somebody get Brucie B his cowboy hat!
