The Denver Nuggets are facing their largest offseason in recent memory. They have an ample amount of draft picks for the next two years, a plethora of veteran players on affordable contracts, and tons of young talent still on rookie contracts. They have plenty of cap space and a foundational head coach set in place, with ownership that is thoroughly and completely behind their general manager.
This needs to be Tim Connelly’s brightest moment.
Connelly has been given the reins, and now the Nuggets are set to take their first steps back towards relevance, and that is where the biggest questions rest. Now that Connelly has built a roster and a culture that is fighting for national exposure, what he does with the next five months is of dire importance to the franchise.
Lots of work remains to be finished, but the steps already taken have set the foundation on solid ground. From the days of the Skywalker, all the way on through Carmelo Anthony and the 57-win George Karl team, the Nuggets have always seemed one step away from being a constant contender.
Maybe, though, it wasn’t that they were one step away but that the order of their steps was incorrect.
All year, everyone heard what a difference the culture change meant to the Nuggets. Tim Connelly has instilled a much stronger and more-cohesive front office and coaching staff, drafting a certain style of players that were chosen for their intangible additions as much as their tangible additions.
Now, the Nuggets have a group of young, smart, talented, selfless and, most importantly, coachable players. Having everybody buy into the same code creates more than just a team; it creates a family.
The main core of last year’s Denver Nuggets team wants nothing more then to stay in Denver and build something beautiful.
Now the hard work begins.
Drafting players and creating that type of culture, while difficult, is easier than what’s to follow. Creating culture builds a foundation. It does nothing to create wins. Now Connelly has to balance pushing for wins but not blowing up what good they’ve already created.
Does Tim Connelly push to trade for a Kevin Love or would it gut the team too much and set the Nuggets back like the Knicks did in trading for Carmelo Anthony? Do you continue to build through the draft and risk alienating your fan base by losing for another two years? Do you create a package of the draft selections you have built in hopes that a single player could change the course of the team for the foreseeable future? A lot is still to be determined.
One thing is for sure: The Denver Nuggets have built a foundation that few teams have. Now it falls to the Nuggets’ general manager to succeed in his brightest hour. Does Tim Connelly have the chops and the courage to push the team back into contention for an NBA title? We will soon have our answer.