What would it take to trade for Giannis? Would he and Jokic fit next to each other?

— Fred, Aurora

Of course they would fit next to each other, have you gone mad? Imagine the four-five pick-and-rolls — Jokic screening and Antetokounmpo turning the corner to attack downhill, or Jokic ball-handling with Giannis as his lob threat, putting pressure on the paint as a roller. Imagine Jokic’s outlet passes and Antetokounmpo’s fast breaks. Imagine Giannis as the athletic back-line rim protector Jokic needs to cover his defensive flaws.

Now, listen: I thought Giannis and Damian Lillard were a match made in heaven, and we saw how that ended. Nonetheless, believing the two best players of the decade so far would be extraordinary together as teammates … yeah, that’s a hill I’m willing to die on.

What would it take? An extremely convoluted trade framework involving a minimum of three teams, and probably more than that. Jamal Murray would go to a third team (not Milwaukee; perhaps an East contender that’s not interested in acquiring Giannis but is willing to cooperate with sending him to the other conference). One of Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, or Christian Braun would also probably go out in the deal. There would have to be a team with multiple good first-round draft picks to send Milwaukee alongside Denver’s No. 26 pick, not to mention a reason to send Milwaukee those picks. That means there would have to be another team in the equation sending a young All-Star to the team with the picks. And then, of course, there would have to be at least one team (likely more) with both the cap space and willingness to eat some salary from the other teams. Probably in exchange for more draft picks.

If the Nuggets were sitting around with five future first-round picks to throw around in trade offers, this would be a real conversation. Instead, it’s about as close to impossible as any NBA transaction can be.

ESPN and Marc Stein both put out that Cam Johnson and Christian Braun are the two main players Denver is trying to trade this offseason, as opposed to the bigger names (Murray and Gordon) you’ve suggested. How possible is it that someone is actually willing to take Braun’s contract, and if so, is it smart to trade a younger player like him to hang onto an aging core? I don’t know if I’ll ever trust Murray and Gordon to both stay healthy simultaneously for a full playoff run again.

— Mitchell, Denver

To be clear, what I’ve reported since the night Denver’s season ended is that Johnson is the Nuggets starter most likely to be traded. Really, that’s been the growing suspicion in league circles since Peyton Watson started to look more expensive by the day in January. The reason I’ve spent more time examining Murray and Gordon as trade candidates than Braun is exactly what you’ve pointed out in your question, Mitchell: Based on conversations I’ve had with league sources, I share your skepticism that teams are lining up to bid for Braun after his down year. Flexibility is the name of the game in this apron era. Everyone is afraid to get stuck with bad money. Cap space and maneuverability are often more valuable than a player under contract for five years.

I do expect the Nuggets to explore the market for Braun — maybe they’ll even pull something off — but the problem they’ll encounter is that potential trade partners will ask for draft compensation to sweeten the deal. And unlike the Thunder and Spurs, Denver is not exactly swimming in future picks. You can’t just panic and keep burning draft assets every time you start to semi-regret an extension you’ve given out. The Nuggets already coughed up their last trade-eligible first-rounder to get off of Michael Porter Jr.’s max salary last summer — speaking of which, if they’re not able to get back at least one equally valuable pick for Johnson this offseason, then trading him to cut payroll would be poor asset management and difficult for team ownership to justify.

If I had to guess what type of team is most likely to bite on Braun, I would look the opposite direction from the playoff contenders that could feasibly show interest in Murray or Gordon. Think about teams backed into a corner that have no other choice but to get younger and be patient for the next few years, rebuilders with less risk in taking on Braun’s contract. Milwaukee? Sacramento?

It saddens me to see all this talk of trading Jamal Murray or AG. What happened to the continuity the Nuggets used to love preaching about? What happened to teams and players staying committed to each other through the hard times? I’d rather see the Nuggets fail to win another championship with the guys I’ve cared about for years than trade away their identity as a team, bring in some guns for hire, and probably fail to beat Wembanyama anyways. 

— Adam, Kansas City

It’s a completely fair stance. Sports fandom is an emotional proposition, after all. I’ve seen Adam’s sentiment plenty — that Jokic, Murray and Gordon should be allowed to play together until Gordon’s hamstring falls off the bone or Jokic leaves for a second career in horse racing. I also can’t fault Mitchell in the previous question for wanting to see the Nuggets completely overhaul their supporting cast. The big-picture question of whether it makes sense to break up the band is a genuinely nuanced predicament that weighs basketball ambition against chemistry and nostalgia. Maybe the sentimental approach is too conservative. Maybe the aggressive path forward is nothing but ill-fated, cold-hearted pragmatism. You can convince me of either.

I read that Jrue Holiday was once an alternative to Aaron Gordon, years ago. Why not go get him from Portland now? He doesn’t really fit their timeline, does he?

— Daniel, Denver

He would certainly check multiple boxes for Denver. The soon-to-be 36-year-old provides ball-handling, perimeter defense, veteran leadership, reasonably efficient shooting from the corners. Shoot, most teams would like to have that guy.

Holiday will make $34.8 million next season. Then he has a $37.2 million player option in 2027. If Denver acquired him, it would probably involve Murray going to Portland, and I’m not sure he makes a ton of sense for a team that’s about to get Damian Lillard back from a torn Achilles next season. Or maybe there’s a deal in which the Nuggets send out Johnson and Gordon (or Braun, why not) to two different teams so they can take Holiday back at a lesser salary. Targeting him is a good idea, but the logistics are the obstacle, as with most large-scale trades.

The league’s board of governors voted last week to institute a new system known as the “,” diminishing the worst teams’ odds of being awarded the No. 1 overall draft pick. The changes — which are designed to disincentivize teams from intentionally losing for draft positioning — will take effect in 2027.

• Sixteen teams will be in the lottery, up from 14 in the old system.
• A lottery drawing will be held to determine all 16 picks, rather than just the first four. (In the old system, Nos. 5-14 were determined by worst record in order of the remaining teams that did not receive a top-four pick in the lottery drawing.)
• The bottom three teams in the NBA can pick no lower than 12th. The remaining lottery teams can pick anywhere between No. 1 and No. 16.
• The bottom three teams in the NBA have only two lottery balls, resulting in a 5.4% chance of receiving the No. 1 overall pick and a 16% chance of getting a top-three pick. The seven remaining teams that miss the Play-In Tournament have three lottery balls, meaning an 8.1% chance at the No. 1 pick and a 24% chance of landing in the top three.
• The No. 9 and No. 10 Play-In seeds in each conference will receive two lottery balls each (same odds as the bottom three teams in the league), while the losers of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 Play-In games in each conference will receive one lottery ball each.

Nuggets team president and KSE vice chairman Josh Kroenke was on the competition committee that mulled over various solutions to the years-long tanking epidemic. But for the most part, the Nuggets have watched this issue take hold of the league from a safe distance, perched above the lower class of the league’s perpetual pursuit of the next superstar. They already have theirs. Nikola Jokic is coming off a sixth straight year as either MVP or runner-up, and Denver possesses the longest active streak of playoff appearances in the Western Conference at eight years. Tanking has not crossed this team’s mind in quite some time.

Still, the 3-2-1 reform will have ripple effects across the NBA — among them, a recontextualization of recent transactions.

Trade value on future draft picks

One widely anticipated downwind result of this new system is that the perceived trade value of future draft picks will change. First-round picks that belong specifically to the very worst teams will be less valuable than ever. But those odds have subsequently been redistributed, introducing more randomness than ever before (especially with 16 teams in the mix, instead of 14). That means more hope for more teams. Most first-rounders should therefore heighten in value, as middle-class teams will feel more inclined to keep their picks and cross their fingers.

Owning a high quantity of picks gives you a better chance at franchise-changing luck than owning one high-quality pick (or one that was previously considered high-quality). Stockpiling first-rounders in bulk is advantageous. Two teams in the West have done that especially well over the last few years, it just so happens: Oklahoma City and San Antonio.

Denver’s two most threatening adversaries in the conference have . That’s near-infinite flexibility to continue building through the draft, or to pursue upgrades on the trade market, or to pivot around the tax apron.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets are the only team in the league without a single trade-eligible future first-round pick. (The ones they do own, they’re forbidden from trading because of the Stepien Rule that requires teams to own at least one first-rounder every other year.)

Denver is allowed to trade this year’s pick (No. 26) on draft night, but the front office’s flexibility is severely limited beyond that. Only two future seconds are available to trade. Former general manager Calvin Booth made it his annual strategy to sacrifice future draft capital for immediate late first-round and early second-round talent — players he believed could be plug-and-play contributors for a championship team, such as Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther, Jalen Pickett and DaRon Holmes II. Those four players combined to log 26 minutes in Denver’s first-round playoff series against the Timberwolves this year.

The Nuggets were particularly cavalier with second-rounders in the 2024 offseason, which turned out to be Booth’s last at the helm. They sacrificed 2024, 2026 and 2031 picks to move up six spots and get Holmes 22nd overall. They also traded their 2025, 2029 and 2030 seconds to salary-dump Reggie Jackson and make room on the depth chart for Russell Westbrook. Their 2027 and 2028 second-round picks were already owed to other teams at that point.

The good news: The 2027 and 2029 first-round picks that Denver traded in recent years are top-five protected, in case the Nuggets slip into one of the 16 lottery spots. The bad news: Both picks are owed to … Oklahoma City.

Lucky timing for the Spurs

Another rule being implemented: Teams cannot draft No. 1 overall in consecutive years, nor can they be awarded a top-five pick in the lottery for three consecutive years. The idea here is to dissuade teams from prolonging their rebuilds.

But unfortunately for the Nuggets and other championship contenders, it’s all happening a little too late to slow down the Spurs.

Their meteoric rise to the NBA Finals required more than one stroke of luck. After San Antonio drafted Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 pick in 2023, it received the No. 4 pick in 2024 (Stephon Castle) and the No. 2 pick in 2025 (Dylan Harper). That would no longer be permitted under the new system. But it worked out swimmingly for the Spurs: Their trio of top-five picks combined for 50 points on 50% shooting in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals last weekend.

Fewer tanking teams

Teams at the bottom of the standings will now be incentivized to win late in the season, as they’ll want to avoid having their lottery odds relegated. This, of course, is the core principle of all these rule changes. Tanking teams got more creative this past season, even benching high scorers for the fourth quarter of close games.

The Nuggets went 23-6 against the 10 teams that missed the Play-In Tournament. Their 12-game win streak to finish the regular season included four games against those teams.

There won’t be as many “easy” wins on the schedule going forward.

That is what the NBA’s Western Conference Finals have become. The Thunder players excel as floppers, spending more time on the floor than Swiffer. They bait officials into calling fouls.

And it extends to defense for both the Thunder and Spurs.

They grab. They pull. They push. They know the refs won’t call fouls on everything, so they see what they can get away with every time.

Why bring this up? This is what the Nuggets face in their pursuit of a championship, and why their postseason failure represents a trend, unlike the Avs’ aberration.

Even after getting swept, the Avs could return to the Stanley Cup Final with a new coach and a plugged-in power play.

The Nuggets? They are in a galaxy far, far away from the NBA Star Wars between the Thunder and Spurs.

As I have said, taking a step back to move forward makes the most sense. There is no reason to run it back, other than to sell merch and continue the home sellout streak.

Rumors and proposals are starting to percolate, revealing the steep incline the Nuggets face to remain a championship contender.

ESPN reported this week that the . The latter requires a pause for laughter.

Braun has one of the league’s worst contracts — $21.6 million per season over the next five years — an extension I advocated for and watched become an immovable glacier because of an ankle injury.

Braun, 25, backslid in an alarming way, never regaining his footing after getting hurt and suffering setbacks. He averaged 12 points last season, shot a career-low 30.1 % from 3, and was passing up layups in the playoffs, while he was insisting he was the team’s leader even when he was nowhere near a shutdown defender.

Other than that.

The only path forward is to see if Braun can regain his shine with a productive offseason and improved health.

The Nuggets would be selling at an all-time low.  And where would he go? Who would take him? Shedding the contract would involve connecting Braun to a deal involving Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon. Same goes for Zeke Nnaji, obviously.

The easiest play is the cleanest. Trade Johnson, who has an expiring contract. He represents a functional piece for a contender and could bring back desperately needed draft capital. Then attempt to move Gordon to re-sign Peyton Watson.

The Nuggets will not be better next season, but they will be better positioned to regroup in 2029 for one last spending spree in the final years of Nikola Jokic’s contract.

Hard Labor: MLB owners proposed a salary cap in collective bargaining talks, showing the difficult road ahead. The owners want to fundamentally change the sport by tying a cap ($245.3 million) and a floor ($171.2 million) to competitive balance. In case you are wondering, the Rockies current payroll sits $54 million below the floor.

The MLBPA does not want to restrict players’ earning power and believes competitive balance can be tied to front-office competence, not spending limits, when looking at teams like Tampa Bay, Milwaukee, and Cleveland. Let’s be real, most owners are motivated more by franchise valuation than winning. A cap creates cost certainty. End of story. The difference is that the players are unlikely to have the public on their side in these talks because of payroll disparity–see the Dodgers. Baseball is on a heater, benefiting from pace of play changes and the ABS system, and does not have Cal Ripken’s consecutive-games-played streak or the fake muscled-fueled home run chase of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa to save the game if another season is lost. Deadlines spur action. Next February will determine how serious the sides are at avoiding a lengthy lockout that costs games.

Final thought: Elimination games feature raw emotions. But Nathan MacKinnon not talking after Tuesday’s loss was unprofessional and inexcusable for one of the NHL’s best players.

The harsh reality is that very few players available for the veteran minimum salary end up impacting teams at a championship level. Expecting to improve from good to great merely by signing guys out of the bargain bin is a fool’s errand.

But a clever vet minimum acquisition can pay dividends over the course of a season. The Nuggets have pulled off two of the savviest signings of the last two years, in terms of regular-season production relative to salary. Russell Westbrook was a chaotic but dynamic player in 2024-25, shouldering a high usage rate and playing a huge part in Denver’s first-round playoff series against the Clippers. In the next free agency cycle, a new front office scooped up Tim Hardaway Jr., who proceeded to shoot 40.7% from 3-point range and finish in third place for Sixth Man of the Year.

Both players ultimately struggled in the playoff rounds that ended Denver’s 2025 and 2026 seasons — a reminder that role player output is fickle, and that even the successful minimum signings shouldn’t be over-relied on during a series. But that doesn’t change the fact that both players were essential in their own ways to Denver’s survival of the 82-game grind.

Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer will need to make use of the veteran minimum again this summer as they seek creative ways to assemble a competitive bench despite likely payroll restraints. If the Nuggets shed enough salary via a trade, they might be able to open up part of , giving them a little more spending money to throw at free agents. But for the most part, they’ll be working on the minimum scale. (A player’s minimum salary is dependent on his service time in the league, but his cap hit is a fixed number regardless of experience beyond two years, so that teams aren’t incentivized to choose younger players just for the cap space. Next year’s projected vet minimum cap hit is $2.45 million.)

One advantage the Nuggets have as they try to pitch players? Evidence of countless others who’ve benefited statistically and financially from playing alongside Nikola Jokic. We’ve compiled a list of 20 free agents they could try to lure to Denver this summer. For the sake of the exercise, we’re only looking at potential newcomers here — not Denver’s own free agents, who are also candidates to re-sign (Hardaway, Peyton Watson, Spencer Jones, Bruce Brown, Tyus Jones).

LeBron James, Lakers F

Look, what kind of a list would this be if we didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to start with LeBron?

Let’s preface by recognizing this is probably not happening. If James signs for the minimum outside of Los Angeles this offseason (and that’s a big “if”), it’s way more likely to be somewhere that A) maximizes his chances of going out with a fifth championship (*coughs* Eastern Conference), and B) has either some emotional resonance (*coughs again* Cleveland) or historical gravitas (*something must’ve gone down the wrong pipe* New York). And that’s all if the conveniently located incumbent team with ample cap space and his son on the roster doesn’t make enough of an effort to retain him for one last contract.

Alternatively for the Nuggets, there’s the sign-and-trade route — if they’re willing to get older while helping the Lakers get younger (Peyton Watson? Cam Johnson?), and if they can navigate the salary cap obstacles (you can’t complete a sign-and-trade if you’re in the second apron), and if James is onboard with the whole thing. In any case, a complex alignment of the stars would be required to get him to Denver.

But if you want to talk yourself into it, you can start with the fact that James and Josh Kroenke have a friendship that dates back years. Or that Kroenke once sent LeBron a Nuggets jersey in a cheeky attempt to recruit him to Denver. Or that Jokic’s Serbian agent, Misko Raznatovic, posted a photo to Instagram of him and LeBron on a boat last summer, captioned: “The summer of 2025 is the perfect time to make big plans for the fall of 2026!” Or that James has long admired Jokic’s basketball IQ and has seen it up close in three playoff clashes between their teams. Or that Jared Dudley, a former teammate and noted confidant of James, is David Adelman’s lead assistant coach. Or that to land the all-time great back in March. Anything is possible in a league where Luka Doncic can get traded to the Lakers in the middle of the night — maybe even something as wacky as LeBron leaving the Lakers for a less prestigious team in a landlocked smaller market.

Khris Middleton, Mavericks F

Denver pursued Middleton pretty aggressively before the buyout market deadline earlier this year. The three-time All-Star ultimately chose to play out the season in Dallas, where he had landed in February as part of the Anthony Davis trade. Once an NBA Finals hero for Milwaukee, Middleton turns 35 this offseason. He’s entering the twilight of his career. Does that mean he’ll be open to signing a cheap deal with a contender? He’s worth revisiting as Denver goes looking for ball-handlers who can take over the scoring load on a random Tuesday in January when Jamal Murray is out.

Collin Sexton, Bulls G

Sexton can probably get paid more than the minimum if he wants. But the 27-year-old combo guard has never appeared in a playoff game, and Denver is a winning team in need of his specific talents. He’s a quick driver with a bit of maniacal competitive energy to him. That personality has never really experienced the NBA spotlight, though, as Sexton has spent eight years in the wilderness of several rebuilds. If the Nuggets are feeling ambitious, he’s the kind of player they could try to convince to take a cheap, short-term contract — a “prove it” year that could parlay into more money later.

Nikola Vucevic, Celtics C

The Jonas Valanciunas experiment was smooth enough in the regular season, but underwhelming in the playoffs. The Nuggets are unlikely to bring him back at a non-guaranteed salary of $10 million. They’ll need a new backup center, especially if they remain reluctant to play DaRon Holmes II. Can they find another veteran innings-eater for less money than they paid the last one? Vucevic would make a lot of sense. A trade deadline acquisition for Boston on a $20 million expiring salary, he never established a consistent role in a frontcourt with two younger centers. If a handful of contenders recruit the 35-year-old Montenegrin, his friendship with Jokic should give Denver an upper hand. Vucevic is certainly flawed (especially on defense), but he’s also a viable five-out big man and a vocal locker room leader.

Bogdan Bogdanovic, Clippers G

Speaking of Jokic’s friends, how about his longtime partner in crime on the Serbian national team? Bogdanovic has a $17 million team option next season. The Clippers might want to pick up the option to use it in a salary match for a trade, but if they choose to let him walk instead, he could be drawn to Denver, where he would be an affordable bench option. Bogdanovic seems to be a scorer in relative decline, but maybe he can capture some of that Serbian pick-and-roll chemistry with Jokic.

Keon Ellis, Cavaliers G

After getting traded from Sacramento to Cleveland this February, Ellis didn’t get as much playoff run as expected with the Cavaliers. The Nuggets could look to add some point-of-attack defense on the perimeter with the 26-year-old wing if he doesn’t want to re-sign with the Cavs.

Gabe Vincent, Hawks G

Vincent is coming off a down year that saw him shoot just 35.2% from the field while getting traded from Los Angeles to Atlanta. He turns 30 this summer.

Matisse Thybulle, Trail Blazers G

How much do the Blazers want to spend on a wild card like Thybulle as they take their next steps toward contending? He guards at a high level — when he plays. His durability has become a major concern, on top of his offensive limitations, as he has played only 45 games over the last two years. Maybe his value hasn’t dipped all the way into minimum territory, but he’s another dynamic defender the Nuggets might want to keep an eye on.

Gary Payton II, Warriors G

The Golden State veteran could add leadership and defense if he finds a new home this offseason. Wherever he ends up, it’ll likely be on a minimum contract. Fellow Warriors guards De’Anthony Melton (player option) and Seth Curry could also be on the market, as their team faces an uncertain future of building around Seth’s brother.

Jordan Goodwin, Suns F

Waived by the Lakers last summer, Goodwin found a home in Phoenix, where the former two-way player continued to develop as a reliable 3-and-D rotation player. The Suns might just do everything in their power to retain him.

Aaron Holiday, Rockets G

Long ago, the Nuggets were in trade talks to acquire Jrue Holiday before he went to Milwaukee. They had Justin Holiday on their roster two years ago when they tied a franchise record with 57 wins. The third Holiday brother is on the market this summer after averaging 11.2 minutes for Houston in the playoffs.

Jordan Clarkson, Knicks G

The 34-year-old scoring guard averaged 8.6 points in 17.8 minutes with New York this season. His minutes have predictably decreased in the playoffs, but he’s headed to his second career NBA Finals nonetheless. Nuggets connection: Clarkson and Josh Kroenke share University of Missouri basketball roots.

Guerschon Yabusele, Bulls F

There’s been a lot of smoke involving Yabusele and a return to Europe. If he stays in the NBA, though, Denver is a landing spot that might appeal to the French power forward after bouncing between Philly, New York and Chicago over the last two seasons.

Andre Drummond, 76ers C

Another backup center option. Drummond was in trade rumors around the deadline, but nothing came of them. (Instead, Philadelphia ducked the luxury tax by handing over Jared McCain to the best team in the league.) There are a few free agent bigs who are probably out of Denver’s price range (Mitchell Robinson, Robert Williams III, Kristaps Porzingis). Drummond, like Vucevic, is sort of in that next tier — affordable former All-Stars who can give you a short stint of minutes each half. For a younger alternative? Perhaps Marvin Bagley III (27), who finished the season strong in Dallas.

Harrison Barnes, Spurs F

Barnes’ on-court role decreased throughout the year, but there’s no reason to think the Spurs won’t want him back anyway for his locker room leadership. If he has the choice between signing a minimum in San Antonio or in Denver, he seems more likely to stay where he’s at. Not a shabby situation down there in Texas.

Josh Okogie, Rockets G

Okogie played well on a one-year minimum deal in Houston. In fact, he might’ve played himself out of needing to sign for the minimum again this summer. If he doesn’t have enough of a market to get the taxpayer mid-level exception, Denver could swoop in and pursue the 3-and-D wing who’ll be 28 on opening day.

Jeff Green, Rockets F

We started this list with the oldest active player in the NBA. We’ll finish it with the fifth-oldest. Not only was Green a valued presence on Denver’s 2023 championship team; he’s also a close friend and former college roommate of Nuggets co-general manager Jon Wallace.

That endearing quality allows the Nuggets’ ownership to take advantage of him, permitting strategic neutrality through glossy double talk as the franchise reaches a crossroads.

Honestly? At this point in his career, there really is only one way Jokic can help the Nuggets win a championship.

Force them to pick a lane.

The Nuggets insist their championship window remains open because of Jokic. President Josh Kroenke emphasized as much last Friday.

But, the Nuggets front office knows the team is flawed, exposed as inferior and soft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. But, they have a good core with Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Jokic. They could run it back.

And round and round it goes.

The Nuggets held a press conference to let us know they could do everything or nothing this offseason. Thanks for clearing that up. It is like the cable guy saying he will show up sometime between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The ambiguity is maddening and messy.

The Nuggets need a clear direction.

What if Jokic walked into the corner office of Stan and Josh Kroenke — or set up a Zoom call from the race track — and demanded the owners spend into the luxury tax or risk the three-time MVP not signing his four-year, $278 million contract extension?

Some people are convinced that the Nuggets are fine and should never acquiesce to any player, even the greatest in franchise history. But would they really say no and risk the consecutive sellout streak and the merchandise money tied to his presence?

The idea of Jokic with a meaner demeanor struck me as to get Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka fired — how dare he not give James a game ball after he set the record for most victories by any player in NBA history? And the chronically tardy while maintaining plausible deniability.

It is exhausting. And it makes us appreciate Jokic.

But what if the Nuggets need something different? For him to command an all-in approach or agree to exercise patience.

At this point in his career — 11 seasons deep — Jokic should demand ownership spend into the luxury tax to improve the roster around him. Or hold his peace and show patience.

And ownership must come clean, and admit this offseason is about avoiding the repeater tax penalties, and that another title run will begin in earnest in 2029 as beat writer Bennett Durando explained, setting “Denver up for three seasons of aggressive spending that coincide with the term of Jokic’s next contract.”

Running it back is the equivalent of being half-pregnant.

The idea of Jokic asserting authority is appealing, rather than remaining satisfied that the front office listens to his opinions and runs big decisions past him. But the time he needed to do it was in 2024.

It is hard to see the Nuggets adding or reconfiguring the pieces in a meaningful way. General managers Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer have shown acumen, but asking them to thread the needle by avoiding the apron and keeping the core together seems unrealistic.

Trading multiple players, though, can re-energize the franchise and make it more flexible with draft capital. It is not ideal. But it is not a terrible idea when looking at how the Nuggets measure up against the Timberwolves, Spurs and Oklahoma City.

Those teams are more athletic, deeper and way better defensively at a time when that trend is dominating the postseason.

It is fair to wonder if the era of winning with offense — even one as prolific as the Nuggets — is over. Jokic’s reign as the best player is. Victor Wembanyama is ready to turn the MVP trophy into a personal paperweight beginning next season.

This is why taking a step back to move forward is rational, if executed properly. I am never a fan of saving owners money, but going all in with the same team, including retaining Peyton Watson, is sentimental and shortsighted.

The Jokic-Murray-Gordon trio is not what it once was.

The players are three years older since winning rings. Gordon has been hurt and has only been available for half the games. And it doesn’t help that Jokic and Murray, below-average defenders in 2023, are worse now because they lack the burst to make stops in big moments or at the end of games.

It would be great to challenge them to produce one last dance together. But even if they have the determination, it cannot mask aging bodies that can betray them.

Their best chance seems to be avoiding a quick fix. The Nuggets don’t have to rebuild. They have to reboot around Jokic.

The risk of standing pat is not worth the reward. They would be better off trading Cam Johnson and Gordon or Murray than winning 55 games next season, knowing the second round is the ceiling.

The idea of stepping back with Jokic seems outrageous. I get it. But the Nuggets are not one or two players away. Jokic can make the team competitive, entertaining. I am pretty sure Jokic and four guys from the YMCA would post a winning record.

Wouldn’t you rather see 48 victories with young players with an eye on supplementing the group with big-name free agents starting in 2028? Think back to when the Nuggets produced their most memorable victories last season — at Philadelphia, at Boston and at San Antonio.

The common thread in those games?  Players who were hungry with more energy. A younger team with promise is easy to embrace after watching the Nuggets capitulate in the playoffs.

They need a reset. It is an uncomfortable conversation. But the only way ownership will have failed Jokic is if he doesn’t get another championship. Not next year. Over the next five years.

But the remark was nonetheless revealing — specifically, the absence of a sentence clause offering Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon the same protection as Jokic.

The 31-year-old Serbian center is due a contract extension this summer, and all indications are that he plans to sign it. As for Denver’s other two franchise cornerstones, the future is clouded by Kroenke’s comment. Should it be taken seriously? Or was it just an easy platitude, meant to convey the urgency of the situation after a disappointing first-round playoff loss? After all, Kroenke also hinted that “running it back” with the remaining core of Denver’s 2023 championship team is a possibility.

In order to peel back the layers and truly understand how the Nuggets might proceed from here, you have to follow the money. That will dictate team officials’ offseason decisions as much as — if not more than — the fact that the Nuggets fell flat in the playoffs. The Post has already reported that at least one key player is almost guaranteed to be sacrificed this summer. As we begin exploring Denver’s trade possibilities and free-agent candidates over the next few weeks, we must start with what they have to offer — and why not one but multiple starter-level players could feasibly be gone by the time the dust settles on this offseason.

A mock offseason … minus the trades

The easiest way to illustrate the Nuggets’ dilemma is to first predict every roster decision they’re going to make, minus trades. Basically, we’re gaming out a “mock offseason” but leaving it incomplete. That should give us a rough estimate of their 2026-27 payroll and how much salary they’ll have to dump via a trade to avoid the repeater tax.

Here are the projected NBA tax thresholds for next season to keep in mind:

• Luxury tax: $201 million
• First apron: $209 million
• Second apron: $222 million

At this exact moment, the Nuggets have 10 roster spots filled and $213.8 million on the books. Even in the most aggressive version of this offseason imaginable, in which they decide to spend lavishly, they’re probably going to treat that second-apron number as a hard cap. Most NBA owners do. Alternatively, the Kroenkes might want to get under the luxury tax or at least within range of it — enough to preserve the option to shed more salary at the 2027 trade deadline (like they did this past season). That means we’re eyeing $201 million as the goal while predicting these moves. We have to locate the easiest ways to snip payroll.

Start with backup center Jonas Valanciunas, who has a non-guaranteed salary of $10 million. The Nuggets have already agreed to guarantee him $2 million of that. But it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that he won’t be in Denver next season. He might not be in the NBA at all. One major Euro League team already tried to lure him away last summer, and he’s reportedly expected to have more overseas suitors this year. Leaving the NBA behind would allow him to be closer to home (Lithuania) and get more playing time as he enters the late stages of his career.

The exit strategy here could work in one of three ways. The Nuggets could trade him to a team that’s willing to eat the remaining salary on his contract after releasing him. But that would probably cost them at least a second-round pick, and they have only three of those to spend with other salary-shedding moves to anticipate. Another option is to waive Valanciunas outright and eat the $2 million on the 2026-27 cap sheet. Or they could “waive and stretch” him, which would basically disperse his guaranteed salary over three seasons. The Nuggets would incur a modest $666,667 dead cap hit next season, still saving them $9.3 million. It seems like the most reasonable route to predict, partially because ownership shouldn’t be as worried about paying the tax in the last two seasons of stretched salary if Denver successfully ducks the repeater next year.

Another easy penny-pinching move is to pick up Jalen Pickett’s fourth-year team option. His $2.41 million salary is about $40,000 cheaper than the projected veteran minimum cap hit. Cha-ching.

Another is to keep the No. 26 pick in the draft and sign that player to a standard contract. The rookie salary scale for the 26th pick is projected to start around $3.1 million. That’s a cheap roster spot and an opportunity to fill a positional hole of Denver’s choosing, lower down on the depth chart.

The Nuggets have two restricted free agents in Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones. Jones came close but didn’t quite meet the “starter criteria” for RFAs, meaning his qualifying offer is the standard minimum instead of $5.9 million. Watson’s qualifying offer is $6.5 million, but he’ll get paid much more than that, whether it’s from Denver or someone else. It should be noted that if the Nuggets want to scare away other suitors (Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Chicago), they’ll probably want to telegraph their intent and ability to match offer sheets in advance. They can only do that by agreeing to a significant salary-shedding trade and clearing their books before free agency — a brutal tightrope to walk with no guarantee that Watson doesn’t still get a lucrative offer regardless. Point being: Our order of operations in this simulation is not meant to be accurate.

Watson checks a lot of boxes for the Nuggets after they felt like they were at a loss for secondary ball-handling and athleticism against Minnesota. Let’s just say restricted free agency works out perfectly, with Jones taking his qualifying offer and Watson getting squeezed a bit in negotiations. We’ll pencil him in for an ascending deal that starts at $20 million next season and has an average annual value between that and $25 million. This would be a team-friendly outcome that still acknowledges and validates Watson’s breakout year.

In summary, here are the (hypothetical) moves:

• Waive and stretch Jonas Valanciunas
• Pick up Jalen Pickett’s team option
• Keep the 26th pick in the draft
• Re-sign Spencer Jones at the minimum
• Re-sign Peyton Watson to an ascending deal starting at $20 million

This adds up to a payroll just shy of $230 million, with 12 roster spots occupied. Teams are required to carry at least 14 players on the 15-man roster. We saw the Nuggets leave the 15th vacant for most of last season. It seems likely that they’ll want to repeat that strategy to help with their cap crunch. But even if they do, they’re left with $29 million to cut and two more roster spots to fill.

Ideally, part of the solution is to find a trade that achieves both goals by breaking down a single large salary into multiple smaller ones. But keep in mind that it can be difficult to pull off in the NBA’s apron era, when there are usually more teams trying to shed money than welcome more of it.

Which players can the Nuggets trade?

Outside of Jokic (and Valanciunas), here are Denver’s bulkiest 2026-27 salaries:

• Jamal Murray: $50.1 million, three years remaining
• Aaron Gordon: $32 million, three years remaining
• Cam Johnson: $23.1 million, one year remaining
• Christian Braun: $21.6 million, five years remaining
• Zeke Nnaji: $7.5 million, two years remaining

The reality is that neither Braun nor Nnaji can be the centerpiece of a trade. Now that Nnaji is halfway through his extension with a descending salary against an increasing cap, the Nuggets might be able to get off his contract by attaching him to a better player or by intervening in a random trade between other teams that need salary filler to complete the deal. (Keep an eye on the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes — Denver could look to get involved as a fourth or fifth party, depending on how the trade landscape develops for Milwaukee’s superstar.)

Or the Nuggets could get rid of Nnaji in a straight-up salary-dump trade if they can convince someone to take second-round picks or a future first-round swap along with his contract.

Braun’s salary and term are probably both too daunting a commitment to say the same for him. Other teams just aren’t going to be sold on the 25-year-old guard right now. His shooting and handles are both under the microscope. The Nuggets can explore the market and offer to mortgage what’s left of their future draft pick pool, but they’ll have a hard time finding any takers.

That leaves you with Murray, Gordon and Johnson as the three main options who are:

1. Good enough to draw interest from other teams and become a primary trade chip.
2. Paid enough to help the Nuggets unload substantial salary in a trade.

Johnson is probably the easiest of the three to move because he’s on an expiring contract next season. In other words, he’s a low-risk commitment. Contenders and tankers alike could be swayed to take the 43% outside shooter, and Denver might even be able to get back some future draft capital. The problem is that his value might also be somewhat diluted by Denver’s intentions to dump salary. You have to view “getting off of Player X’s contract” as part of the return when evaluating this type of trade.

Now, consider that even if the Nuggets are able to reduce their payroll by most of Johnson’s $23 million salary, they would ���پ�������be a few million over the tax.

Sacrificing him isn’t enough. The math simply doesn’t add up. If you completely ignore NBA trade rules and other teams’ priorities, and if you subtract Johnson’s salary and Nnaji’s from $230 million without adding a single cent back, you still end up around $199.5 million with four open spots. Four veteran minimum free agents later, you’re paying $209.3 million for a roster with no salaries between $5 million and $21 million.

If the financial goal is merely to avoid the $222 million second apron, deciding between Johnson and Watson should suffice.

But the only way to actually duck the repeater tax, barring a miracle of front-office work by Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer, is to dump Johnson and lose another valuable player. Maybe that means letting Watson go in free agency, or maybe that means trading Murray or Gordon.

Either way, it’s a financial dilemma that illuminates the meaning behind Kroenke’s message.

If the Nuggets “run it back” with their three best players, but they also want to evade the tax, the cost might be both Watson and Johnson — leaving them with a shallower, older version of the team that just lost in the first round.

If they truly want to prioritize youth, athleticism and defense at all costs (well, except for the tax), they might be sacrificing two starters to keep Watson — even at a relatively low-end salary projection, as we’ve outlined.

Neither option would be encouraging for the team’s championship aspirations in a league ruled by Oklahoma City and San Antonio.

And neither option would be a flattering look for Stan Kroenke, .

The counterpoint from ownership would be that two consecutive years out of the tax can set Denver up for three seasons of aggressive spending that coincide with the term of Jokic’s next contract. And that a first-round exit from the 2026 playoffs revealed the Nuggets are overdue for a reset of the core.

A reasonable rebuttal would be that next season is always the most important season when a player like Jokic is in his prime — and possibly nearing the end of it.

Is Adelman the right guy for the job? And the team? I don’t think so.

— Sam C, via email

The team seems to be a collection of disparate personalities. … Was Michael Malone the secret to the team’s success? He seemed uniquely tuned in to how to handle these very different players’ needs for guidance (until the conflict with Calvin Booth eclipsed that). Adelman seems more like a passionless technician who can’t or won’t work on meshing the team’s personalities. The team’s lack of in-game fire compared to peak Malone has me wondering.

— Casey, Denver

I’ve heard this sentiment a lot recently, and I find it a little misguided. Last week, I came across the video of Jamal Murray’s 2024 playoff buzzer-beater to beat the Lakers. It’s one of the most memorable games I’ve covered on the Nuggets beat (top three at minimum?), so of course I was instantly reeled in by the highlight. My eyes wandered to Denver’s bench, studying the reactions as Murray released the shot and fell backward into his teammates. Perhaps the most animated of all is the bald guy with the clipboard who jumps for joy and punches the air.

Evidence of Adelman’s emotion is pretty easy to find unless you willfully ignore it. Players have said on the record that he can be startlingly direct with them, that he wields an intensity but reserves it for behind the scenes. “I probably seem pretty calm, but I am kind of psychotic sometimes,” he said himself in March, before the calmness became a popular criticism.

From my point of view as The Media, accusing Adelman of being passionless or unable to motivate his players just because he’s usually a more stoic sideline presence and a less fiery postgame quote than his predecessor is unfair to the position he’s in.

Michael Malone lost the locker room largely because his fire-and-brimstone approach to the job grated on players. That’s not to discount his coaching chops or his accomplishments in Denver — his name will be in the rafters someday, and rightfully so — but it’s just the reality of how his tenure ended. When he blasted his team’s effort at press conferences, it might’ve felt satisfying to fans watching on TV who felt the same way. But to many players, it sparked frustration, not inspiration. Adelman took over the job with that needle to thread. By nature, he’s certainly a cooler head than Malone to begin with, but he also had to be a little reticent about calling players out publicly.

He did criticize the Nuggets for their effort two or three times this season — he wasn’t completely unwilling to do so — but he was conservative with those bullets. By firing fewer of them, the times he did felt more revealing, from my perspective as the person who was often eliciting postgame comments from him.

For the most part, he prioritized substance over style in his messaging. He didn’t shy away from the obvious when someone played poorly. He didn’t pretend Jamal Murray shot 80% from the field in a game if he shot 20%. He just didn’t discuss it with any bluster. He was matter-of-fact without being harsh on his players. His approach to media actually reminded me of Jared Bednar, whom I covered briefly on the Avalanche beat.

By no means am I saying Adelman is above criticism. Part of a head coach’s job is to be accountable for the team’s failures, and this Nuggets season unquestionably ended in failure. He’s earned praise over the years for being one of the masterminds behind a great offense; that means he must also be willing to accept blame when that offense sputters. He understands that. In his end-of-season presser last week, he pointed out that the Nuggets allowed Minnesota to guard their two-man game straight-up too much throughout the series, 2-on-2 with Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels, reducing Denver’s shot quality. Role players didn’t get as many open looks. Nikola Jokic and Murray didn’t sufficiently bring weaker defenders into the action. That’s part execution, part coaching. Jokic, Murray and Adelman needed to be better.

But I think there’s a difference between criticizing him for that and ridiculing him for his measured approach, which was a key reason his employers hired him and a reason his employees advocated for him last summer. Arguably the most important aspect of being an NBA head coach today is managing personalities in a locker room with a payroll exceeding $200 million. You need your players to think highly of you. As of now, the two most important people in the building do. And that’s more important than the court of public opinion.

Based on last year’s moves during the offseason, what letter grade would you have given our front office at the time? What is our dynamic duo/power of friendship front office’s letter grade potential this offseason?

— Madalynn, Denver

Without literally grading them, I essentially gave Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace an “A” last summer. They managed to simultaneously improve the depth of the roster and decrease the payroll — a balancing act that satisfied their fans, their star player and their bosses in the owner’s suite.

In hindsight, there are a few decisions that sting. They had to part with an unprotected first-round pick to swap Michael Porter Jr.’s controversial contract for Cam Johnson’s more modest salary. That’s an asset they’d like to have now, even if Johnson ultimately outperformed Porter in recent playoff games.

The Jonas Valanciunas, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown acquisitions were successful in the regular season but disappointing against Minnesota. Valanciunas, in particular, was out of the rotation for most of the series — but it’s not like Tenzer and Wallace were kicking themselves, wishing they had kept Dario Saric as they watched Game 4 fall apart.

The Nuggets also swayed Russell Westbrook into declining his player option by telling him he wasn’t wanted back for a second season. That decision looks bad on paper now, especially when athleticism and ball-handling have been pinpointed as 2026 offseason priorities. But I still feel inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one, because efficient ball-handling is what they really need. Westbrook’s recklessness was costly last year. His turnover rate caused a lot of headaches internally.

Choosing to keep Spencer Jones for a second season on a two-way contract ended up being a huge win. The Nuggets should want to make sure they keep him in restricted free agency this summer.

And speaking of restricted free agency, the obvious winner for most regrettable decision one year later was choosing Christian Braun’s extension over Peyton Watson’s. It seemed like a self-explanatory decision at the time. Now Braun is coming off his worst season, and Watson is coming off his best.

It will be much more difficult for Tenzer and Wallace to earn an “A” this year. The payroll restraints are far more inhibitive, and the most likely outcome — as I see it — is that Denver will tip off the 2026-27 season with a noticeably worse roster than the 2025-26 team.

Who can you see leaving the Nuggets roster in the offseason?

— Ed, Auburn, New York

Apologies for the temporary cop-out answer, Ed, but I’m planning to write a more in-depth answer to this exact question soon. (That’s right, it’s a shameless plug for another story that is yet to be written.) Without going into detail on my reasoning, my educated guess is that Denver loses Cam Johnson and one other top-six player.

Which season-ending loss to Minnesota was worse: 2024 Game 7 (blowing a 20-point lead at home) or 2026 Game 6 (no Ant, Donte or Ayo)?

— Lucas, via email

Perfect way to wrap this up: with the most self-loathing question of the day. We appreciate your vulnerability, Lucas. We’ve all been there as sports fans at one time or another.

My take is 2024. After Denver was eliminated a couple of weeks ago, I wrote: “The 2024 loss stung because the Nuggets knew they were good enough to win the championship. The 2026 loss stings because they were jolted awake to the unforeseen reality that they weren’t good enough.”

The former is going to be more painful to reckon with over time, I think. If the Nuggets end up winning only one championship with Jokic, there are two critical moments that Coloradans will look back on as the tragic what-ifs. First will be Murray’s ACL injury, which sidelined him for the 2021 and 2022 playoffs, neither of which ended with a particularly dominant, convincing champion (Milwaukee and Golden State). Second will be that second-round Game 7 in 2024.

Obviously, there’s no telling what would have happened next. But the Nuggets won a franchise-record 57 games that season with the same starting five that won the title. They ranked in the top 10 in defensive rating, which feels impossible to imagine now. They would’ve been clear favorites to beat the fifth-seeded Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals. And in the NBA Finals, they would’ve faced an elite Boston team that had lost to them twice in the regular season. At minimum, I think NBA fans missed out on a potential classic series, regardless of who would’ve won.

This year, the Nuggets dug their grave on the last night of the regular season, whether they care to admit it or not. They weren’t going to knock out Minnesota, San Antonio, Oklahoma City and New York consecutively. Especially after they fell behind 2-1 to the Wolves in a series they needed to end quickly. Losing to such a depleted team might be more embarrassing, but decades from now, it won’t be as haunting.

Their front office is entering the 2026 offseason with many questions and little clarity. The next two months should provide that. In the meantime, one can only read the tea leaves from a 45-minute news conference Friday at Ball Arena.

Team president Josh Kroenke, executive vice president of basketball operations Ben Tenzer, executive vice president of player personnel Jon Wallace and head coach David Adelman spoke to reporters, putting a bow on the 2025-26 campaign and looking ahead. Here were some of the topics they touched on, and the meaning behind their words.

Feeling the pressure

What they said: “We’ve talked about the teams who we’ve lost to (in the playoffs) in the last three years, and I do think that what stood out was ball-handling. Handling pressure. … That really hurt us. And I thought, you know, athleticism is part of the league. The league is younger. The league changes fast. Watching OKC last night, San Antonio, the way they play.

“… We have to rely on more people to bring the ball up the floor. And we have guys on our team that have gotten better at it over the years, but if somebody’s out, other people have to step up. And then on top of that, I have to put them in a situation that’s comfortable for them. … The expectation can’t just be, Aaron’s gonna play 82. It can’t be that Nikola’s gonna play 82, or Jamal. So everybody that’s with our team has to understand that there’s a chance that’s the role I’m gonna step into. … It’s team-reliant. That’s the new NBA. You’re watching all these series. There’s so many people bringing the ball up the floor.” — Adelman

What they mean: This should serve as a decent guide for what the Nuggets hope to add this offseason as they make changes to their roster. When opponents have made a point to pick up full-court against Jamal Murray, Denver has often relied on Aaron Gordon as the release valve to initiate offense. What about when Gordon is unavailable, which happens a lot? The Nuggets tend to find themselves facing a shortage of dependable ball-handlers. They asked Christian Braun to bring it up a bit throughout this season, but he’s made his money as more of an off-ball movement guard. Nikola Jokic can bring it up — after all, he’s a revolutionary point center — but Denver doesn’t necessarily want him to have to use energy doing that consistently, especially if the defense pressures him.

Adelman wants role players like Braun to develop more ball-handling skills in the offseason, but he is also clearly on the lookout for newcomers who can alleviate the ball-in-hand burden on Jokic and Murray. Hence, the March acquisition of point guard Tyus Jones, who suddenly became a key player in Denver’s two elimination games against Minnesota. The Wolves and Thunder are among the top contending teams with ruthless point-of-attack defenders who can wear out a team’s playmakers over the course of a playoff series. Could Jones return next season on a veteran minimum? Might the Nuggets prioritize more backcourt depth with their roster spots? If they trade a starter, could they try to bring back a point guard who can handle and defend? Adelman often likes to start possessions with Murray off the ball, using screens to get him a touch in advantageous spots. Maybe Denver could even rethink the starting lineup and play Murray at the two. Whatever the case, initiation by committee is an area to look for improvement.

Peyton Watson’s free agency market

What they said: “Peyton had a great year. He obviously grew a lot. I said it at the beginning of the season: We hope Peyton is a Nugget for a very long time. He’s been great for us.” — Tenzer

“We tasked Peyton in the preseason with growing. We went to visit him (at home in Los Angeles). We walked him through kind of what the expectations were, without the actual expectation of (him) getting the minutes that he got in that stretch of January. So you have to congratulate him, and kudos to him for staying the course. What he showed us is what we knew he could do. So he did his part. … You’ve gotta continue to hit on these home-grown talents, and he’s been the focal point of that.” — Wallace

What they mean: This was about as direct a statement of intent as the Nuggets could offer publicly. They have the right to match any offer sheet Watson receives as a restricted free agent this summer, so they should be in a position to keep him as long as they’re willing to pay up. After all, when he’s at his best, he represents all of the skillsets Adelman circled. He showed for a small portion of this season that he can handle the ball and create his own shot. He can be impactful at both ends of the floor, not just one. He’s young and athletic — one of the most gifted shot-blocking wings in the league. He’s proven himself to be an effective spot-up shooter when he’s off the ball.

The average annual value will be the intriguing variable with Watson. He’s widely projected to demand at least $20 million per year on his next contract, but what if the number creeps up to the $30 million range? The Lakers, Bulls and Nets should have money to spend.

Who’s in charge of offseason decisions?

What they said: “Those conversations come about organically. Then we start to realize this might be something that we want to do. Let’s meet as a group. Let’s put our heads together from all of our different perspectives. And that’s how we arrive at the best decisions, we feel, for the team. So that’s kind of what we’re going to be doing again this summer. … I’m the president of the team. I’ve been in the same role since 2010. And whether that was Masai Ujiri, whether that was Tim Connelly, whether that was Calvin Booth, whether that’s these guys, I’m always gonna be there, around, listening and trying to help shape the direction of the franchise. … (Interrupting next question) “I know who voted for me (for NBA Executive of the Year), by the way, and it was a joke. It was an inside joke with a mutual friend. I rolled my eyes and said, ‘You’re gonna create hell for me.’ But he thought it was really funny.” — Kroenke

What they mean: This question came about because Kroenke appeared on two ballots for the NBA Executive of the Year award, to the surprise of many Nuggets fans. It warranted a natural question for the sake of transparency: Is Kroenke the real general manager here? He firmly rejected that notion. Tenzer and Wallace both report to him, but they’re the executives who are actually “in the field,” so to speak, doing the day-to-day work of a general manager. A Nuggets spokesperson later clarified that Kroenke was only on the ballot because teams aren’t allowed to list two executives as candidates for the award. If there was only enough room for one person per team, then Denver didn’t want to choose between Tenzer and Wallace, who are equals. As for the jokester: The Denver Post cannot report this as an absolute fact, but there’s a certain president of basketball operations in Minnesota who might’ve been giggling at that question.

Braun backlash

What they said: “I saw CB’s comments, his frustration with himself and the fact that we lost. I love that. And it’s hard to say in public nowadays because you’re gonna get ripped regardless. CB’s a leader. I believe that. … If you really want to look at it, you could say, ‘Well, their leadership didn’t show up in the playoffs’ — then tell me how we got through this season. How did that group stay together? How many different lineups (and) guys had to step up, use their voice? So collectively, I thought the guys were great this year. But throughout the summer, you’re gonna have conversations with guys and try to instill more confidence in them. Feel the need to speak. … I just wanted to make sure I brought that up. I love what CB said. That’s what a human being should say: ‘I’m frustrated. I want to be better. I want the team to be better. And I want to win.’ That’s what I want to hear.” –– Adelman

What they mean: There’s no guarantee that Braun will be on Denver’s roster when the 2026-27 season tips off, but consider this unprompted tangent by Adelman a vote of confidence in what Braun brings to the locker room. The young guard has been roundly scrutinized this week for his assertion to The Denver Post that he’s “the vocal leader of this team,” but he can often be seen breaking the huddle and communicating with his teammates. Adelman saw Braun’s comments for what they were: not a delusional act of self-aggrandizement, but a gesture of accountability after a disappointing performance. Braun often volunteers to take the blame when the Nuggets play poorly; it has become part of his role as their lead defensive guard over the last two years. It is revealing that Adelman recognized there’s room for team-wide improvement in the leadership department — perhaps Braun shouldn’t have to assume that much responsibility at this point in his career.

“Why did the Cubbies lose the 2003 NLCS?” he would ask.

If they answered “Bartman,” or “Steve Bartman,” or anything that sounded remotely like “Bartman,” my pal would wish ’em well, shake his head, and move on. (The correct answer, then and now, is )

We decided the other day that the same test could be applied to Michael Porter Jr. and the Nuggets.

“Would Denver have beaten the Timberwolves in 2026 if they still had MPJ?”

If somebody answers yes, they’re saying something. They’re telling you they’ve never really watched the Nuggets without telling you that they’ve never really watched the Nuggets.

They’re telling you they follow this team via TikTok. Or Xwitter highlights. Or only when the Nuggets happened to be playing the Lakers in the postseason.

“I guess they might miss me,” Porter, now of the Brooklyn Nets, cracked this past week when asked about his former team’s epic choke job “I don’t know. Probably not.”

Yeah, probably not.

MPJ was a good soul, tougher than old leather, He was also a notoriously here.

The brighter the lights, the tighter Porter got. The closer MPJ flew to the sun, the more his wings melted.

When last Denver fans saw Porter in the NBA Playoffs, the pride of Mizzou averaged 7.4 points, 5.3 boards and 0.6 dimes per game in the 2025 Western semis against Oklahoma City. Porter shot at a 25% clip from beyond the arc (9-36).

Yes, MPJ put up those numbers with just one working shoulder. Yes, he played hurt, played through all kinds of pain. Again — tough, tough, tough dude. The spirit was willing, even as the body failed him.

“If I would have been on the Nuggets,” , “we wouldn’t have lost to the Wolves.”

Cherish your history. Just don’t revise it. Remember the last time the Nuggets were eliminated from the postseason by Minnesota? No? Quick refresher: MPJ was Deadpool in Los Angeles and Nicepool in Minneapolis.

With two functional shoulders, Porter averaged 10.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and an assist against the Timberwolves in the 2024 Western Conference semis. He made 32.5% of his looks beyond the arc (13-40).

MPJ dropped 20 on Minny in Game 1. He would go on to score nine or fewer in five of the next six contests. With the Nuggets leading 3-2 in the series, he’d average just 7.5 points in Games 6 and 7, two setbacks that loom even larger in hindsight, and was 2 for 12 on treys.

“I’m a better player than I played in this series,” Porter said after the Nuggets blew Game 7 to Minnesota and Anthony Edwards at home. “I’m a better shooter than I shot in this series. In the NBA, you’ve got to be able to separate off-the-court matters with your on-the-court play. So I don’t have any excuses. … I told my teammates, ‘Sorry.’ I feel like this is on me.”

It wasn’t all on MPJ, to be fair. But when the Nuggets needed a hero,

Cam Johnson, the man who came over in the trade that sent Porter to the Nets last summer, averaged 14 points, 3.2 boards, 2.3 assists against Minnesota in the first round this season. Faced with elimination in Game 6, Johnson dropped 27 points, eight boards and five treys on the Wolves.

The memory. Oh, how it cheats.

It’s not the guy. It was never the guy. It was the contract. Porter came with a $38.3-million cap hit in ’25-26 and a $40.8-million cap hit next season.

The Nuggets don’t land Tim Hardaway Jr., Bruce Brown, Jonas Valanciunas and Johnson if they keep MPJ.

The Nuggets don’t win 54 games in the regular season if they keep MPJ.

The Nuggets don’t go 11-6 while Nikola Jokic is hurt if they keep MPJ.

The Nuggets probably don’t see peak Peyton Watson if they keep MPJ.

And the Nuggets probably don’t get past Minnesota in ’26 if they keep MPJ. No matter what your favorite fantasy basketball expert says while he’s thinking with his thumbs.

“I didn’t like that (Aaron Gordon) was hurt, I didn’t like that (Watson) couldn’t do his thing,” Porter told the ‘Road Trippin’ Show.’ “I was talking to Christian Braun during the series. He hurt his ankle the first game, and he played through it same way I played through a shoulder injury last year. Now, he’s getting killed on social media, especially since the comments he made. Those are my guys. I wanted them to do well.”

Meanwhile, the four guys who replaced him averaged 33.2 points per game in the Wolves series. Let him go. As the Nuggets just proved,

How many other players can we say that about on the Nuggets’ roster? Four? Five? The list begins with Jamal Murray, includes Christian Braun, maybe a few others, and finishes with Gordon.

It felt like each question on Friday circled back to Mr. Nugget.

President Josh Kroenke insisted “everything is on the table” this offseason, but his answers suggested moving on from Gordon is not one of them.

Nuggets Nation, rejoice at your own risk. Everybody loves Gordon. He has endeared himself to teammates and fans alike because of his unselfishness and toughness.

He plays well. He plays hurt. But he no longer plays enough.

And that is why the leadership press conference came off as underwhelming.

Injuries and complacency were cited for the disappointing first-round exit. Sure, coach David Adelman — he is not going anywhere as Kroenke has “full faith” in him — went into the weeds about needing more ball handlers against pressure and better defensive rebounding.

But much of the talk centered on health and motivation. Those are reasons for the Nuggets’ postseason flop. They are easy to identify. What was not offered were solutions, just a lot of word salad and crossed fingers.

Kroenke mentioned “running it back” as a potential best option so many times that it was like he saw the Broncos’ offseason and said, “Hold my drink.”

As plans go, static would be a mistake.

There is no way Kroenke can digest the postseason, remove emotion and decide to stand pat. Hope is not a strategy unless you are the 2019-2025 Rockies.

The Nuggets are too smart to do something so basic. Nuggets Nation deserves better.

The Nuggets are not a title contender. I was hoping Kroenke would look to his left (Adelman) and right (co-general managers Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace) and break the news.

Instead, they ran out the tired trope that any team with Jokic remains in a championship window. He is responsible for much of their success. And he is also their crutch. We have Jokic. We are fine.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Nuggets need more athleticism, more length, more anger, more hunger.

Kroenke acknowledged that he was frustrated by the Nuggets’ response in Games 3 and 4, but stopped short of admitting it revealed a locker-room fissure. His team got curb stomped, and reading between the lines on Friday, you would have thought it was because the Nuggets waited too long to give Tyus Jones minutes to initiate the offense and were too dependent on Jokic’s 3-pointers.

There are annual lessons in sports about the dangers of standing pat. Especially about players. Don’t love them. Like them. Be real. Be transparent. And if you cannot do either of those? Be willing to change.

If another ring is the goal, it must go beyond trading Cam Johnson and signing Peyton Watson.

Instead, the Nuggets talked about Gordon as if there were only one path forward: helping him heal, physically and emotionally.

This is admirable. It just doesn’t seem logical.

Gordon has missed 77 games the past two seasons because of a battery of calf and hamstring injuries. He turns 31 in September as he enters his 13th season.

What we have watched is a former Superman fighting his body and his mind in a public setting that we wished were private.

His older brother, Drew Gordon, died in a car accident on May 30, 2024. Gordon has said that he has struggled to process his grief, and he believes it has contributed to the endless leg issues.

Everyone deals with loss differently. There is no blueprint.

The Nuggets aim to assist Gordon.

“Aaron is one of my favorite human beings I have come across in all of our wide world of sports. What he has been through since we won a championship is simply tragic and would be difficult for anybody to deal with,” Kroenke said. “To have to go through it (in public) and knowing what he does for his family behind the scenes, it is very demanding on the human body. We have to help him get better at it. That����ap absolutely something we have to talk about. We have to look in the mirror and say, ‘AG how can we help you?’^”

When he is right, so are the Nuggets. But are they confusing loyalty with reality?

No one can convince me that there is not a market for Gordon’s contract, even with $103.5 million remaining if he exercises a 2028-29 player option.

Calling the Celtics to see if they would consider swapping Derrick White for Gordon is a must. All they can say is no.

I don’t sense any motivation for a deal. Gordon is not only their guy but also a favorite of Jokic. And the idea of upsetting Jokic before he signs a four-year extension is unnerving.

That leaves a narrow road for improvement. Heal Gordon. And perform some nips and tucks. If shipping out Gordon remains a non-starter, then the Nuggets must get honest about Jokic.

He needs a rim protector. There are too many nights when he is uninterested in defense; his focus is on quickly grabbing the ball as it goes through the net to throw an outlet pass. Gordon is a terrific defender, and there should be discussions with him about focusing on that side of the ball and letting others — like Watson — pick up the scoring.

Regardless, Denver has to add a deterrent in the paint. Someone who can elevate and intimidate. The latter was so lacking against the Timberwolves that it was embarrassing.

The easy thing to do is keep the roster similar, believing that with an overhauled training staff, the team’s injury report won’t look like an episode of “The Pitt.” And to be clear, there must be changes behind the scenes.

It leaves a trade of Johnson as the move to clear the runway for Watson.

That is a little thing. The heavy lifting is navigating the weighty stuff surrounding Gordon.

You know Jokic wants him to stay. The Nuggets’ brass loves him. And fans constantly ask: How can the Nuggets win without him?

The better question: Can the Nuggets still win with him?