They’re not dead. They’re just confusing. These Nuggets are the NBA’s version of a Christopher Nolan film. Stars aplenty. Jaw-dropping visuals. More puzzle than plot.
A breath-taking piece of work that’s also a foot too clever and a yard too complicated. Non-linear narratives that run the gamut from F to Q, then back to A again.
And speaking of non-linear, this was what Calvin Booth had to say in the middle of his media day news conference Thursday at Ball Arena:
“I think Nikola (Jokic) has a prime, 10-year contention window. You count the first year of that when Jamal (Murray) got hurt (2020-21). I think we’re about halfway through it. So we probably have about five or six more shots. All the shots count … we have (a title in) one of them. It’s great. The earlier we get it, the more we can have other conversations about other things.
“But it’s going to be incredibly hard to win another one.”
A year ago, though, at about this time, fresh off a title, the Nuggets’ GM said this, via The Ringer:
“I just want dudes that we try to develop, and it’s sustainable … if it costs us the chance to win a championship (in ’23-24), so be it. It’s worth the investment. It’s more about winning three out of six, three out of seven, four out of eight than it is about trying to go back-to-back.”
Fall 2023: We’ve got the road map to a dynasty!
Fall 2024: This dynasty thing is going to be incredibly hard!
In all fairness to Booth, those two statements are not mutually exclusive prospects. And both could be true at the same time. We certainly know, based on where we left The Joker, Blue Arrow and the rest of our heroes against Minnesota, that the whole “incredibly hard” thing is an absolute certainty.
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“This is a new opportunity for everybody,” said Murray, fresh off a dogged spring and an iffy Olympic summer. “And (we should) just make the most of it. Don’t take it for granted. The opportunity that we have of winning right now doesn’t come by often. It doesn’t happen everywhere.”
Last spring could prove to be the exception to a Denver rule, the blip, the glitch, the speed bump in middle of a golden Nuggets NBA decade. The first media day takeaway was a parade of free, fun and eager players with spirits as high as the expectations.
Nikola Jokic brought a Robin Hood goatee to his eternal crusade against news conferences, but slayed the scribes anyway. Murray brought the usual saltiness, and celebrated his new, $208-million contract extension by floating the idea, out loud, of becoming an MMA fighter. Michael Porter Jr. flashed a pair of biceps straight out of the UFC octagon and vowed to be in the best shape of his young life.
Aaron Gordon said all the right things for the 508,917th straight time, including hopes of getting a new deal here done soon. (Note to the Kroenkes: It’s your money, but extending AG is among the easiest and smartest ways you’ll ever spend it.) Russell Westbrook was as un-diva as they come, cracking wise with the Blue Arrow behind the scenes, giving old friend DeAndre Jordan grief, and charming everybody in the process.
“From the outside looking in, (the Nuggets have) always been at the top of the Western Conference. Always in the hunt winning championships,” the veteran point guard noted. “Always played the right brand of basketball. Always at the stage you want to be, looking to play the right way, regardless of wins or losses. Understanding that playing the proper brand of basketball allows everyone to get involved (and) allows the team to grow.”
You know what doesn’t? Tuesday’s little Chris Nolan moments. The mild, if confusing, contradictions. The statements that made you wonder if the higher-ups are all signing from the same hymnal, let alone the same verse.
Take 3-point shooting. A year ago, Boston led the NBA in 3-point frequency and 3s made (16.5) per game. Dallas ranked second in the former and third in the latter. Jokic is as automatic as they come in the paint, and only a fool messes with success. That said, coach Michael Malone said he wouldn’t mind seeing his roster put up 35-36 3-point attempts per game, and that his best shooters — Jokic, Murray, MPJ — have the green light to take more chances from deep.
Booth, however, sounded a little frostier on the concept, noting that “we are riding a fine line with our shooting … it’s going to be a fine line. It’s something we have to monitor. If we need to address our shooting with the trade deadline, we’ll do it.”
By trading what, pray tell?
Or whom?
“Calvin and I shouldn’t always agree. If we’re always agreeing, then we’re not really accomplishing what we need to accomplish,” Malone said diplomatically, when asked about rumors of internal dissent. “But through those disagreements and through those conversations, you come to a greater good.”
On paper, Westbrook and Dario Saric should prove to be a greater good than the combo of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Reggie Jackson and Justin Holiday. Although if Booth knew a year ago he had six seasons left of that title “window,” why didn’t he address those 3-point shooting concerns last February?
“You can win and develop,” the GM said Tuesday. “Once you win, you have the obligation to develop.”
He’s also got an obligation to the franchise’s GOAT, who turns 30 in February. Jokic is clutch personified, an artist at his best when the clock’s about to run out. The least Booth and the Nuggets can do is return the favor in kind.
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