Mason Plumlee pondered the question, then ultimately agreed.
Could all five of the NBA’s Northwest Division teams make the playoffs this season?
“It could happen,” the Nuggets big man said. “Just beat the (heck) out of everybody else outside the division.”
Thatap life in the Western Conference, which seemingly got even tougher after a wild offseason in which a bevy of stars switched teams. The Nuggets made their own splash, signing four-time all-star Paul Millsap as a free agent. Though that move helped make the Nuggets a stronger playoff contender entering Wednesday’s season opener at Utah, they also recognize the stiff road they now must navigate in order to return to the postseason for the first time since 2013.
“We don’t shy away from that. We don’t run from that,” coach Michael Malone said. “We embrace that challenge and that opportunity.”
Other than Gordon Hayward leaving the to sign with the and Kyrie Irving getting traded from the to Boston, Malone noted that it feels like “everybody came West.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder gave reigning MVP Russell Westbrook a huge boost by adding Paul George in a trade with the and snagging Carmelo Anthony from the just before training camp began. The Chicago Bulls traded Jimmy Butler to the , the squad that already boasts young stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. The Houston Rockets traded for Chris Paul to pair with James Harden, last season’s MVP runner-up.
Those flurry of moves made Millsap’s decision to join the Nuggets the NBA’s most underrated offseason move, according to a survey of the league’s general managers. But was it underrated because it was savvy, giving Denver a complement to center ? Or was it underrated because it was overshadowed by even more impactful additions?
Teams are loading up to chase the champion , of course. The Nuggets, however, are building for now and for the future. While they want to be a player to land marquee talent via free agency or trades, they also do not want to haphazardly give up promising assets in order to jump into the NBA’s arms race.
“We have to be painfully realistic of where we are in the Western Conference, and we’re not (a championship contender) yet,” president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said. “So if we skip steps, maybe we miss that chance to get there. And I think those chances are so few and far between.”
So maybe the Northwest Division does have five playoff-caliber teams this season. The Nuggets are set to compete with their young core and underrated free agent acquisition — no matter what else happened in the West this offseason.
“If we’re not worried about us first and foremost,” Malone said, “we’re not gonna give ourselves a chance.”
