{"id":148932,"date":"2025-07-13T15:50:37","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T19:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=148932"},"modified":"2025-07-13T15:50:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T19:50:37","slug":"nuggets-front-office-learned-past-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/13\/nuggets-front-office-learned-past-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"The New Nuggets Front Office Learned From Past Mistakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Denver Nuggets entered this offseason with a lot of uncertainty. Although they pushed the eventual NBA champions to the brink in what was arguably the Thunder’s toughest<\/a> series of the playoffs, doubts remained about how the team would take the next step, fully capitalize on Nikola Jokic\u2019s<\/a> prime, and build a roster capable of getting back to the finals during this year’s free agency.<\/p>\n

Understandably, some fans had concerns when ownership, in typical Kroenke fashion, opted not to hire a high-profile general manager. Instead, they placed the front office in the hands of a co-leadership duo of Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace, who are both relatively unknown names.<\/p>\n

Statements suggesting that fans shouldn\u2019t expect many roster changes only added to the sense of apathy felt by some. That\u2019s why the flurry of activity in the free agent market came as such a surprise.<\/p>\n

Fans and analysts alike have praised the front office for aggressively targeting roster weaknesses and making bold and opportunistic moves that could significantly strengthen the team.<\/p>\n

The New Nuggets Front Office Learned From Past Mistakes<\/h2>\n

To be fair, the successful promotion of assistant coach David Adelman had already shown that internal solutions could pay off. Given the Nuggets\u2019 track record of finding strong internal replacements for key departures—especially in the front office following past exits of Masai Ujiri and Tim Connelly—ownership had earned a degree of trust. Still, the pressure was on Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace to show they could improve a championship contender despite limited possibilities. It required smart and timely decisions, and so far, they’ve delivered impressive results.<\/p>\n

The headline move was trading longtime Nugget Michael Porter Jr.<\/a> to the Brooklyn Nets for Cameron Johnson<\/a>, using their only available first round pick. It was a move that not only opened up some cap space that could be used to strengthen different areas, but it also brought in a much-needed breath of fresh air with an intriguing replacement for Porter Jr.<\/p>\n

The extra cap space freed up by that deal allowed the Nuggets to upgrade the backup center position<\/a>, acquiring Jonas Valanciunas<\/a> by trading Dario Saric<\/a>. But Tenzer and Wallace didn\u2019t stop there, quickly improving the roster depth by signing proven veterans like Bruce Brown<\/a> and Tim Hardaway Jr.<\/a> at veteran minimum contracts. The front office accomplished something remarkable, especially in a situation that seemed to offer little room to shake up the roster.<\/p>\n

Learning from Past Mistakes<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In previous offseasons, Denver was often slow to act, settling for leftover free agents or relying too heavily on the development of their unproven young players. This time, however, the front office moved with urgency, securing quality replacements and key depth upgrades immediately at the start of free agency. They filled important bench roles with seasoned veterans who bring experience at the highest level, while still leaving room for young talent to compete for minutes if they\u2019re ready to step up and earn them.<\/p>\n

Striking that balance was something Calvin Booth struggled with. To his credit, he successfully drafted key foundational pieces like Christian Braun<\/a>, along with promising prospects such as Peyton Watson<\/a> and Julian Strawther<\/a>, all outside the lottery. However, his confidence in their readiness to contribute to a championship-caliber team backfired last season, leading to the roster\u2019s lack of depth.<\/p>\n

That said, finding the right balance is no easy task. The widely criticized decision not to replace Kentavious Caldwell-Pope<\/a> ultimately proved wise, as it created an opportunity for Braun to thrive in a starting role.<\/p>\n

On the flipside however, the team depended too much on the still-developing Watson and Strawther, who had yet to reach Braun\u2019s level of readiness. Outside of Russell Westbrook<\/a> \u2014 whose late offseason arrival came at the behest of Nikola Jokic \u2014 the front office failed to add a reliable veteran presence to stabilize the bench rotation.<\/p>\n

A Smarter, More Balanced Approach<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This new front office duo of Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace appears to have learned from past missteps. The additions of Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Cameron Johnson make a lot of sense.<\/p>\n

Of course, there are still risks. Bruce Brown may not return to his 2023 form. Tim Hardaway Jr.\u2019s inconsistency is well-documented, and while Cameron Johnson looks like a strong fit on paper, he may struggle to replicate Michael Porter Jr.\u2019s unique blend of size, shooting, and importance in Denver\u2019s high pick-and-roll defensive scheme. Still, considering the team\u2019s limited cap flexibility, scarce trade assets, and the realistic options available on the market, it\u2019s hard to imagine the front office making better moves than they did.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say Calvin Booth was a poor general manager \u2014 his draft r\u00e9sum\u00e9 speaks for itself. But his reluctance to make proactive trades and his inability or unwillingness to secure veterans on team-friendly deals ultimately left the roster thin over the last couple of years.<\/p>\n

Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace appear to have recognized those shortcomings and adjusted their approach accordingly. While it\u2019s still too early to know if their strategy will deliver long-term success, the early signs are undeniably promising.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Denver Nuggets entered this offseason with a lot of uncertainty. Although they pushed the eventual NBA champions to the brink in what was arguably the Thunder’s toughest series of the playoffs, doubts remained about how the team would take the next step, fully capitalize on Nikola Jokic\u2019s prime, and build a roster capable of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5490,"featured_media":150116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,20,62],"tags":[4533,1899,287],"class_list":["post-148932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nuggets","category-nba","tag-bruce-brown","tag-cameron-johnson","tag-tim-hardaway-jr"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5490"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148932"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150115,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148932\/revisions\/150115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}