Today was Media Day for the Denver Nuggets, their first public media availability since the end of last season.

We spoke to every player on the roster, and it was a very interesting morning.

Below are my most important takeaways that Nuggets fans should pay attention to. After that, there will be additional breakdowns of what was shared over the next few days as well:

Nikola Jokic – Nugget for life

During the offseason, Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets did not agree to a long term contract extension despite Jokic becoming eligible on July 1st. There were questions about his commitment to the team from fan bases and sources outside of the Nuggets, but internally the Nuggets weren’t worried.

It appears they had good reason to be comfortable.

Jokic was asked today by the Denver Post about the contract extension talks for next offseason, and Jokic had this to say:

“I don’t think about that. I think those contracts, extensions come as a reward, as something that is natural to the sport, especially in today’s NBA with where you see the salary cap is going.”

Jokic emphasized: “My plan is to be with the Nuggets forever, so that’s my answer.”

It’s clear that Jokic and the Nuggets aren’t worried about the particulars, and that level of confidence in the relationship between player and team is extremely important. Fans of course want to see pen to paper and for Jokic to be locked into a deal for as long as possible, but the Nuggets and Jokic appear comfortable with how things are playing out so far.

There’s pressure on the organization to capitalize on this season and ensure that the relationship with Jokic remains as rock solid as ever. To make sure the team is as competitive as possible, the Nuggets brought in some new faces. Cam Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas, Bruce Brown, and Tim Hardaway Jr. provide a new layer of competition, competence, and veteran leadership to this year’s Nuggets roster.

The new faces are something Jokic is excited for:

“Somebody asked me last year did I think the team could win a championship, and I said no in that moment because we lost…this year is another opportunity.”

“Of course, there’s a bunch of my friends that left, DJ, Russ, Vlatko, Dario, so I need to find some new friends,” Jokic joked.

Jamal Murray had a great summer

After Jokic, the most important player on the roster is Jamal Murray. The levels he can reach are matched only by the best player in the world, and the Nuggets need him to be at his best to make noise in the postseason this year.

The word about Murray, across every player and coach that’s been around, is that he looks great and has put in the work.

“[Jamal] was in [the gym] a lot this summer, and it will definitely show,” shared two-way player Spencer Jones.

“I saw more of a leadership emphasis from the players, whether that be Jamal, [Tim Hardaway Jr.], [Cam Johnson], and others,” Hunter Tyson shared.

These are players that were around the Nuggets before last offseason and this offseason. Murray seems to have made an impact as a leader on that front.

“Your best players have to demand what the vibe will be daily,” head coach David Adelman shared. “They can’t go into a shell and only worry about how they’re doing…they have to maintenance the team as much as I do.”

“Jamal had an amazing summer,” Adelman emphasized. “He looks good, I think mentally he’s great. I give him so much credit, the guys got together in Los Angeles…it was cool to see Jamal take the lead on that.”

The burden of expectations Murray faces will always be high. It’s difficult to be the second best player to Jokic because the level he reaches and the level that is expected becomes magnified. Murray has handled it reasonably well throughout his career, and perhaps that’s reaching an even higher level moving forward.

The first thing Murray said at the podium today: “I’m just rested. After Team Canada, my body not having time to get back into running shape, that really affected me. So just having time off, being able to build back up…I just feel a lot better than last summer.”

“I’m just focused on November. You guys have to talk about all year long, but it’s September 29th. Training camp hasn’t even started yet.”

New Faces, Great Expectations

It wasn’t just externally that the Nuggets front office was credited with great moves this summer. David Adelman gave his stamp of approval as well.

“I feel really good about the start because of what the front office did this summer…they killed it. They went out and they provided things for us to be a better team.”

Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace, co-executives running different aspects of the front office in Denver, straightened things out on the roster and helped out Adelman in a big way by adding some veteran talent.

Cam Johnson is a player the Nuggets are excited to have.

“He’s all-around. He can shoot, he can dribble a bit better than I thought he could,” Jamal Murray emphasized about Johnson. “I think he’ll be our leading scorer a lot of nights.”

“I think the brilliance of Cam is that he won’t have to [have a specific role],” Adelman shared. “He fits the style that we’ve played over the years…Cam’s an exciting add, such a high IQ basketball player.”

Off the bench, all three of Jonas Valanciunas, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Bruce Brown are expected to be high impact contributors. Adelman shared he’s not worried about the starters finding their stride this year but is more concerned about finding a group that makes sense off the bench.

“We’ve gotta figure out which group works best together. And there’s the next layer of that which is which starter can flow back in with that group and be successful?”

“It doesn’t have to be Jamal or Nikola. It could be [Cam Johnson].”

Among key concerns for the Nuggets to figure out this season are the bench minutes and the defense. It appears that Adelman and the Nuggets coaching staff are approaching those problems head on, and the Nuggets players are following suit.

Overall, this was a very exciting day for Nuggets fans as Media Day often is. The team will fly to San Diego this afternoon, have a team dinner, then get to work in training camp tomorrow. The overwhelming expectation is for a different, more holistic experience from last year to this year that emphasizes a hands-on approach for everyone involved.

Everyone’s saying the right things. How it all works out will be another matter entirely, especially if that means sacrificing minutes and opportunities for the good of the team. Can the Nuggets get real, genuine buy-in from everyone involved? That’s the ultimate question.

For now, it was a great first start.