{"id":92249,"date":"2024-08-25T11:55:06","date_gmt":"2024-08-25T15:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=92249"},"modified":"2024-08-31T02:14:28","modified_gmt":"2024-08-31T06:14:28","slug":"disconnect-brewing-between-nuggets-coach-front-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/25\/disconnect-brewing-between-nuggets-coach-front-office\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Disconnect\u2019 Brewing Between Nuggets Coach, Front Office"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Denver Nuggets were on top of the world after winning the 2023 NBA championship. Nikola Jokic<\/a> was then a two-time MVP, but already earning praise as the best player in the league. Their offensive system wasn\u2019t novel, nor was their defensive scheme. Nonetheless, they were good enough at both ends for Jokic\u2019s excellence to take them over the top.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s strange to think that the architect of their roster, Tim Connelly, had left the franchise just a year prior. Seeking a new challenge, the Maryland native flew to Minneapolis to take over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Less than two years later, Connelly\u2019s Timberwolves defeated the Nuggets in a hard-fought seven-game playoff series.<\/p>\n

\u2018Disconnect\u2019 Brewing Between Nuggets\u2019 Michael Malone, Front Office<\/h2>\n

One would think that these events would have led Denver to fortify their roster.<\/p>\n

Instead, the Nuggets didn\u2019t offer their primary wing defender a competitive enough contract to keep him from signing with the Orlando Magic. They struck out on Klay Thompson<\/a> and Buddy Hield<\/a>, two of the best 3-point shooters in NBA history. Replacing Reggie Jackson<\/a> with Russell Westbrook<\/a> is the only talent upgrade<\/a> they made, yet Jackson\u2019s a better stylistic fit.<\/p>\n

It makes sense then that \u201cfor over two seasons<\/a>\u2026 there (has been) a disconnect between head coach Michael Malone and the Nuggets’ front office,\u201d per TrueHoops senior insider David Thorpe.<\/p>\n

The Fine Line Between Genius And Delusion<\/h3>\n

Of note, though Calvin Booth been their general manager since 2020, he\u2019s been Denver\u2019s lead executive the last two seasons. He\u2019s not alone in that ivory tower, as Tommy Balcetis was named as Booth\u2019s assistant in 2020. Ben Tenzer was promoted to vice president of basketball operations in 2023-24. However, Booth is ultimately responsible for decisions like letting Caldwell-Pope walk.<\/p>\n

If Christian Braun<\/a> can play as well as Booth believes, it\u2019ll all be water under the bridge. In fact, he may be characterized as a genius for believing in a readily available and affordable alternative. Julian Strawther<\/a> will have the opportunity<\/a> to replace Caldwell-Pope as well. Yet, as Thorpe notes, \u201clong-term (Malone\u2019s) not a coach whose young players tend to make great leaps forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

One can argue that Jokic, Jamal Murray<\/a>, and Michael Porter Jr.<\/a> are Malone\u2019s success stories. Of course, Murray and Porter were lottery picks, essentially expected to be impact players. Jokic\u2019s generational talent needed to be recognized more than developed. However, Jokic and Porter have made significant strides in an area they weren\u2019t expected to; the defensive end. With Malone catering his offense to them, Murray\u2019s developed a nifty two-man game with Jokic.<\/p>\n

Yet, outside of that trio, Denver hasn\u2019t had much success in the player development department. Braun, Strawther, and Peyton Watson<\/a> have shown flashes but haven\u2019t put it all together. Zeke Nnaji<\/a> hasn\u2019t had a meaningful stretch of good basketball since he\u2019s been drafted. Malone\u2019s inability to get more out of Bol Bol<\/a>, a dynamic player loaded with potential, may be his most glaring failure.<\/p>\n

The Last Word on Calvin Booth<\/h3>\n

Booth has been around long enough to know Malone\u2019s shortcomings. However, rather than acknowledge his weaknesses and provide him with veterans that mask them, he\u2019s hoping that Malone suddenly excels in player development. There\u2019s a fine line between genius and delusion, but what side is Booth on?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Denver Nuggets were on top of the world after winning the 2023 NBA championship. Nikola Jokic was then a two-time MVP, but already earning praise as the best player in the league. Their offensive system wasn\u2019t novel, nor was their defensive scheme. Nonetheless, they were good enough at both ends for Jokic\u2019s excellence to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":92266,"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":[1608,20,62,556],"tags":[49472,1105,1230,297],"class_list":["post-92249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nuggets","category-nba","category-nba-draft","tag-calvin-booth","tag-kentavious-caldwell-pope","tag-michael-malone","tag-nba-free-agency"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92249","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\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}