Nuggets Rumors: Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., More
In this week’s episode of The Fast Break Podcast, Fastbreak on FanNation NBA insider and reporter Brett Siegel is joined by Harrison Wind from DNVR Sports to discuss all things relating to the Denver Nuggets, who are on the verge of clinching the 1-seed in the Western Conference.
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Are Late-Season Struggles Concerning For Nuggets? [2:17]
All season long, the Denver Nuggets have sat at the top of the Western Conference standings. They will more than likely clinch the 1-seed in the conference in the coming days, but they have not necessarily been dominant in the month of March, winning just five of their last eleven games.
Momentum is key heading into the postseason and while they remain one of the league’s best overall teams, are the Nuggets beginning to show some cracks and vulnerability?
Harrison discussed what some of these late-season losses mean for the Nuggets, as well as why he is not concerned whatsoever about this team’s chances of making a deep playoff run.
Wind [3:07]: “The 1-4 stretch was definitely rough and it raised some eyebrows. I think what that really was looking back on it was a team that had just accomplished what they set out to do at the beginning of the regular season in terms of having the 1-seed pretty much wrapped up and winning the division. There were concerning things that popped up, but overall, I am writing that stretch off just as Denver taking their foot off the gas.”
Wind [6:35]: “I think they will be ready to go for the playoffs. They will be facing a lot of pressure though as the 1-seed with the back-to-back MVP. I have a feeling that in Game 1 of their first series, they’re at home, and they are down in the third quarter, they are going to tighten up and show a sense of urgency they may not have had this month. I trust this team to come through. This is an experienced group and their ‘Big 3’ have all been in the playoffs before… This is a really good team, this is a championship contender, but they are going to be facing pressure.”
Nikola Jokic’s MVP Campaign [7:34]
Winning back-to-back MVP awards the last two seasons, Nikola Jokic is looking to cement his legacy in this league alongside the likes of Larry Bird, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to win the MVP award three straight times.
With Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo having strong finishes to the season, Brett and Harrison discussed whether or not Jokic has done enough at this point to be the favorite for this year’s MVP award. [8:10]
Wind: I think this race is going to be extremely close. It seems like it is going to be Nikola Jokic or Joel Embiid at this point. Both guys are very deserving and this MVP race has been a massive storyline in the league all year long. People think that all of us in Denver hate Joel Embiid. He’s a remarkable player and he may not like to play in Denver when those two teams play, but he’s a phenomenal player. But, I am biased and I think Jokic should win the MVP again. He’s averaging a triple-double on 70 percent true shooting on the number one team in the West, they’ve been the top team in the conference all year long. I think people are scared to give him MVP three-times in a row if we are being honest. The funny thing is that this year is Jokic’s strongest case for MVP out of the last three seasons.
Siegel: I tend to agree with you. My media poll from last month had Jokic as the overwhelming favorite, your recent media poll had Jokic in front, but ESPN’s recent straw poll has Embiid just two voting points ahead of Jokic. This is going to be a full on sprint and race to the finish for the MVP award. The thing about Jokic and what makes him special in my mind is not his rebounding and scoring efforts, which are top of the line, but his ability to run an offense at his pace. Jokic’s vision may just be some of the best we have ever seen in NBA history, definitely the best from a center, and his natural gift for understanding his opponent’s in front of him is especially unique in the sense that he sees plays develop before they even happen. Those dumb stat-padding arguments are irrelevant and honestly disrespectful. I love Giannis, I think he is the best player in the entire world. I think Embiid is the best scoring big man in this game and one of the most gifted offensive players of this generation. But to me, the best all-around offensive talent in the league this season is and has been Nikola Jokic due to everything he has done from passing to scoring to rebounding.
Denver’s Trade Deadline Moves: Bones Hyland, Thomas Bryant, Reggie Jackson [12:44]
Not expected to be busy at the trade deadline, the Denver Nuggets did wind up making a few moves. They not only cut ties with second-year guard Bones Hyland, who had a standout rookie season a year ago, but they dealt Davon Reed and a second-round pick in order to bring in Thomas Bryant and Reggie Jackson, who they signed in the buyout market.
Harrison broke down what happened that resulted in Hyland’s departure from Denver, as well as how the Nuggets didn’t really improve their roster by adding the likes of Bryant and Jackson.
Wind [13:40]: “The Bones Hyland trade was tough for the fans. However, he really made his own exit. He grew disgruntled with his minutes and role and he was at odds with the entire coaching staff. At the end of the day, the locker room wanted him gone. Key players on the roster did not want him here anymore because he was becoming a major distraction. He even left a couple of games, walking off the bench and leaving the arena before the end of the game because he wasn’t playing. It was rough and it got to the point where this relationship was beyond repair. The Nuggets only goal this season is to win a championship and if anything or anyone was going to detract from that along the way, that wasn’t going to fly. It got to the point where enough was enough, hence why they moved Hyland for any value.”
Wind [14:45]: “I thought the Reggie Jackson and Thomas Bryant additions were solid at the time, but they’ve been busts. Bryant has looked really bad and is not in the rotation anymore unless Jokic is out. I doubt we will see him in the rotation come time for the playoffs. Reggie Jackson was someone who I thought would bring some stability behind Jamal compared to Bones Hyland, but Jackson has not played well either after his first couple of games… None of their additions have really helped and maybe going out and signing a guy like Patrick Beverle would have made sense over Reggie Jackson now that you look at it. At the time though, it seemed like both guys were going to be solid pickups.”
Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. Offseason Trade Chatter? [16:15]
Regardless of what happens in the playoffs for the Denver Nuggets, they will enter the offseason with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope under contract through the 2023-24 season.
This is the Nuggets core group and given that they don’t have cap flexibility, the only real way for this team to switch things up and go in a different direction is by trading either Murray or Porter Jr., that is assuming they do not win a championship or advance far in the playoffs this season.
Brett and Harrison talked about what the future holds for the Nuggets heading into the offseason and Harrison brought up the idea that Murray and/or Porter Jr. could wind up being the odd-man-out should things go south in Denver. [17:10]
Wind: This is the core group of the future unless they flame out in the first or second-round. If that happens, I think you have to look to make a significant change and maybe that includes looking to trade Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. This team has championship expectations so if they come up really short of that, you have to consider big changes. What is likely to happen though is that what they have now will be their starting-five, the core of this team, for years to come.
Siegel: Let’s say Denver fails to win a championship this season and they do not even get to the Western Conference Finals. Calvin Booth and that front-office will have some big decisions to make because Denver has been to the Western Conference Finals once in the Jokic-Murray era we’ll call it and that was in the NBA Bubble with no home court advantage and really not a true playoff atmosphere. If this team loses in the semifinals again or doomsday scenario, they lose to a team like the Lakers or Mavericks in a first round playoff series, what’s next for this team? Obviously Murray and Jokic would not be going anywhere, we would think, but now the key questions become whether or not Aaron Gordon or Michael Porter Jr. hit the trade block, especially Porter.
Wind: Context is going to be everything. I think we will just know what to expect depending on what happens in the postseason. If they lose in the first-round, they are going to be forced to make a massive change with their roster. I also don’t think Calvin Booth will be afraid to make said changes. He’s not as loyal to this roster as his predecessor Tim Connelly was, so Calvin Booth will do what is necessary and I think Nuggets fans should really trust that he will do that. We will know after watching a series if really, really big changes need to occur or if the Nuggets need to run it back and re-tool.
