Can the Denver Nuggets still win a championship without KCP? | DNVR Nuggets Podcast



Can the Denver Nuggets still win a championship without KCP? | DNVR Nuggets Podcast

let’s do it on today’s show we’re going to be talking about kcp he is gone how big of a deal is this for Denver how did it all go down what’s next for the Nuggets we’re also going to talk about rumors about Russell Westbrook and then take a look around at the teams that made big splashes in free agency this is dmvr nuggets [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh that old intro there we go what is up everybody and welcome into the dmvr Nuggets podcast let’s go let’s go that is 1,000% the energy right now as the Denver Nuggets lose gavius calwell Pope we’re going to break that all down we’re live from the Toyota Lounge driven by your Front Range Toyota stores Toyota the official vehicle of dmvr not actually in the Toyota Lounge because it’s emergency podcast season and who better to talk emergency podcast with then Harrison wind wind thanks for joining me on this gloomy dark and gloomy day yeah man happy to be here my three uh three-week old has been crying hysterically the last 30 minutes I don’t know if it’s because she’s mad at me or she’s mad about kcp leaving yeah I don’t know the details really got to her my entire Twitter feed has been people crying and rightfully so I’m just gonna throw it out there rightfully so this doesn’t feel good the news came out today we Harrison we knew this was coming I mean I shouldn’t say no you feel like you know but you don’t know for certain until the the shoe finally drops but we’ve known for a while that kcp was very likely not going to come back it didn’t take long for him to sign a three-year what was the terms threeyear $66 million deal with the Orlando Magic a player option on the final year so he took off when you first saw the news what was your first thought well I mean Orlando it makes sense as a destination for him um they had the money they had the cap space I always felt like Philly was the most likely landing spot but with them getting Paul George like they’re clearly going to take Paul George at a Max over getting kcp at this deal so Orlando you know the next best team with the ample cap space and um you know 22 million a year that actually seems about right for kcp I agree I agree I think three years market value two years guaranteed with a player option that’s actually about the type of contract track that I thought he would get and look um like you said I wasn’t surprised I have definitely gotten the sense over the last couple days that this is the way things were headed it felt like to me that the Nuggets had just come to terms with the fact that kcp was leaving and had very quickly made plans on how to fill their roster after that decision was Final um and look it’s a huge loss a massive loss there’s no way around it and um I mean if you’re a nuggets fan like yeah there you have every right to be upset because like kcb has been a huge part of this team he was a great nugget an absolute integral piece of the 2023 championship team and um 2400 minutes last season he’s G to be tough to replace like there’s no way around that that’s where you have to start with this I think well I actually want to start just with pure value here because I think before you do everything like there’s always the you know is a guy need and then what are the market economics of it the first part of this is first of all Orlando Magic perfect spot for him I saw a great tweet today I don’t even remember who put it out but said this new CBA the new um second apron is designed to take players like kcp off of you know teams that have three max contracts and put them on teams like the Orlando Magic who are the Orlando Magic they’re the Nuggets of I don’t know three or four years ago they’re a team on the upswing they’re they’re becoming very good but but they’re not quite ready and they have money before all of their big contracts come due so for me it’s like kcp has done this a little bit gone and been the missing piece for a team and now he is sort of a missing piece they needed defense and shooting Orlando did so he goes to a place that needed him as desperately if not more desperately than the Denver Nuggets and had the money you know cushion to kind of do this so part of me thinks this is how it’s designed but the other part of it it to me is Denver also needed him and that money Denver could have matched it just would have taken them into that second apron but it would have been fair market and I always think to myself Denver needs kcp in 2025 in my opinion yeah they might not need him in 2026 I don’t think they need him in 2027 and that was the hard calculation here so that that to me is how this whole thing goes down Denver clearly didn’t valuee that same way but to me I look at this and I go if you just think in pure economics one team two teams had equal need one team significantly more positioned to assume the long-term risk than the other and that’s part of how this went down yeah and you’ve got the whole second apron component of this as well and like of course if the Nuggets would have resigned kcp they’re in the second apron and look there’s a lot of restrictions that come with it you know you know the the Top Line ones can’t aggregate salaries can’t really sign anybody in the buyout Market can only sign guys for minimum contracts I think one of the things that’s hurting the NBA right now is the salary cap and this new second apron and new CBA is so complicated nobody understands it yeah no fans understand it and most media don’t understand it either I probably understand like 50% of it and I feel like that’s a lot I feel like I know the ramifications of the second apron but really the only people who have done the work on what it actually means if you go into the second a if you retain a guy like kcp next year and the year after are the teams are the nuggets and like I would love to have that type of understanding about it but I just don’t um but man do I hate the second apron I know I think that was it’s funny that was the other thing that I saw a lot on the timeline today not just from nuggets fans but from a lot of different fan bases which are like man a lot of these teams are really seem to be in a pickle where they’re not making the moves you would anticipate they make cuz trying to figure this out and I’ll just ask you this because do you do you agree with my framing of it that Denver unquestionable if this was a one-year $22 million deal it’s like Denver have to pull the trigger on that the question was more can you put yourself in that position for the next three years second apron and everything included in that and it’s not even about the spending the money part it’s the would this actually hurt us would this put us in a spot that makes us worse not you know whatever and I kind of think that’s where they’re at but with all of that being said should Denver have made the same deal and I know that we’ll talk about the report that they did make that same deal but should Denver have said three for six six year 66 million over three years no problem based on what I know about the second apron yes and I feel like that goes back to what you just said and it’s do the Nuggets need kcp for next season yeah yes should that be the entire Focus right now winning a championship next season yes would kcp and signing him for whatever amount of money it might be be worth it to win a championship and then from there you can find a way to move off it or trade it and duck the luxury whatever it might be you figure that out at a later date sure that makes sense to me then again there’s clearly a reason why the Nuggets did not want to do that you know there there clearly is they obviously have their opinion of what it looks like if they would have given him that contract and their maneuver ility and flexibility over the coming years they factor that into it they factor in Christian Brown and what the roster looks like around him so like on a surface on the surface yeah it feels like they should have signed him to that deal and then worried about all that stuff later um but I do trust the Nuggets to like have the high level view on it and to to view you know the forest through the trees on this and like do what’s right for this Championship win I feel like I’m I’m on both sides of it there I feel like I am too although I am going to just come out and say it because I don’t I want everybody kind of know where I stand even though because I want to talk about both sides of this I think it’s the most interesting way to do it I think the Nuggets need kcp I think he’s an incredibly Valuable Player the economics are what they are but I think they needed kcp so I’ve said this a month ago I said it two weeks ago I said it a week ago because I felt like this was coming and I just thought nope I don’t like it I don’t know if I love that plan that being said I do understand it and I’ll give you let’s play a little Dead’s advocate here number one two years ago they match up with the Phoenix Suns and you think where who’s kp4 who does he need to guard he needs to guard guards in particular scoring guards and I would say especially scoring guards who come off of screens whether it’s pick and roll or off ball movement that’s what he is best at on the team Devin Booker absolutely torched him in that series until he got hurt rolls an ankle kcp makes an adjustment starts full court pressing him and starts to slow him down in game five and six but if you just watch games one through four you would you would say kcp has made zero impact on dein Booker he’s absolutely torching him over and over and over again you go into this last series with Anthony Edwards zero impact on him there was no impact on Anthony ERS with forever in fact Christian Brown later in that series was got put on him because it was like that’s our best bet and he actually did a pretty good job so I think you could make an argument that in a playoffs which is really all that matters the two times kcp has faced in Elite shooting guard he’s kind of gotten torched again I’m just playing deil’s advocate here but what do you make of at least that line of thinking well I put out a tweet this afternoon that said Anthony Edwards abused kcp and that how poorly kcp looked defensively in the playoffs this year I think was a real factor in the Nuggets calculation about if we should pay him or not like I really think that’s something the Nuggets thought about how he looked defensively in the playoffs and like people killed me for that and are like still going at me for that but like that’s what happened Anthony Edwards abused him and like Anthony Edwards cooked a lot of good Defenders he didn’t cook Christian Brown as badly as he cooked kcp and I just think that’s something the Nuggets had to have been thinking about when they came to the table in these negotiations and had to decide if they were going to extend them and like look kcp also turning 32 next year we’ve talked about this a lot in leading up to this free agency he’s got a lot of miles he plays you know 75 80 games every year 30 minutes a game he had a lot of injuries last year that snowballed and um really compiled and I feel like caught up to him in the playoffs and I feel like the Nuggets probably looked at all of that and that also probably nudged them to the direction that they went um but all that being said I’m going to jump back to the other side again and say I’m with you kyp is so valuable he’s just a better player than Christian Brown I feel like the nuggets are just gonna lose so much offensively with that swap they’re gonna have to be more imaginative and more creative with lineups and stuff um it just leaves a massive massive hole and again I can see you know why they made the decision still nicoa nich makes a point here well I’ll be a very rude one he says Adam if they faced OKC or the Mavs you would need him to guard Kyrie SGA I don’t actually know about SGA he’s got he does not make a big impact on SGA he’s too tall he’s too tall for him but certainly Kyrie Steph Curry like there’s a ton of players that the point still stands of you’re smaller off ball guys you’re guys that get around a lot of screens kcp is one of the best in the entire NBA at this so there’s no question that there’s a certain type um Devin Booker though to me is interesting he’s kind of tall as well he elevates well in a shot I that series to me is more the one where I was surprised he didn’t make an impact but as noted in the chat as noted by me he did start to full court press him and made an adjustment that made an impact later on in the series so I do think he gets partial credit for that I think Denver is gonna miss him on offense though more than defense and I think they’ll miss his defense don’t get me wrong but I actually think I have more faith in Christian Brown than most people I’m higher on him I think than most people because I think his defense is kind of insane and I think he’s a really smart low mistake player even on offense but offensively he doesn’t come close like kcp can shoot a lot better he’s more uh trusted shooter like the defenses are afraid of him more and you know I think that’s the part where you look at Denver’s roster you go they already weren’t great at shooting and kcp was top three in shooting and now he’s gone so I actually think that’s where they’ll miss him most oh absolutely I mean defensively they’re they they play the same position you know they defend the same types of guys but they’re a little bit different as Defenders like kcp obviously L way more wiry he’s so good at getting around screens like staying pressed up against guys off ball and stuff really smothering guys that way and then Christian Brown like you saw in the timber wol series more physical he can guard bigger guys he can hold his own more in that type of way I think he’s more versatile uh in terms of different offensive matchups um but yes I’m with you three-point shooting in offense is where I think the nuggets are going to feel this the most I mean the Nuggets last year already didn’t take a lot of Threes they shot 31 threes per game that was last in the NBA the Nuggets shot the least amount of Threes per game last year and now you’re taking away one of your top couple Shooters in kcp now kcp did not shoot a ton of Threes last year like I always felt like he could shoot more threes than he shot here um which is something else but bottom line is you’re removing one of your best Shooters just one of the more knockdown guys in the league and it’s just going to change the entire dynamics of your gravity on the court like the Nuggets when they’re at their best late games in the clutch it’s the yach Murray Twan game with Michael Porter in one corner kcp in the other corner you sub kcp for Christian Brown there that changes everything j27 in the chat says ain’t in way kcp was top three in shooting last season am I missing somebody is Michael Porter Jamal murri and then him what did you say is there another guy I’m missing off the Nuggets roster as a shooter uh DeAndre Jordan one of one well okay maybe that’s maybe that’s what it was 100% I think he was yeah top three of their douget Shooters so I don’t I’m I’m trying to figure out if I forgot somebody there I think it’s a tough I I don’t like it man and I think more importantly it feels like Denver could have entered the second apron this year and gotten off kcp in the offseason yes it would have been difficult because you know you talk about being in that second apron how do you make moves you have to get really L you know you have to be really smart and shrew and it there was a risk that you couldn’t but I just think that risk is lower than the risk of well if you don’t have them now your depth changes and I think that’s where Denver is so I don’t like the move I understand nuggets nation’s frustration the move or with with the loss I should say um I don’t think it is as dire as most but I don’t think there’s a world where you can look at this and say it was a positive like oh that they’re actually better now I think if you’re you’re almost they’re the same they can replace him they’re slightly worse which is where I’m at or you think that the sky is falling and they’re horrible and this is the beginning of the end I’m not there I’m just not I don’t feel that way way but we’ll talk about why people do feel that way what The Replacements are what some of the options are in segment Two Toyota the official vehicle of NVR uh trucks have always been a part of Toyota’s DNA for Generations Toyota has built durbo Legends destined for greatness perfect for Colorado uh whether you are conquering off-road trails or if you’re just driving around the city Toyota is the perfect car truck SUV for you check found today Harrison there’s not just a Highlander now they have the grand Highlander third row you you big papa you’re going to have to get the grand Highlander I know probably a couple years until I got to get a third 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favorites and I’ve been a nuggets fan my whole life my my nuggets love goes back you know several different iterations of the Nuggets it goes back decades and yet kcp is one of my absolute favorites so I think that I don’t want to do the thing like when I’m playing Devil’s ad and talking about trying to be rational and say okay well let’s look at it from this angle let’s look at it this angle I don’t want you to think I’m cold on this I love kcp I will remember him extremely fondly I famously on this show said I hope that he retires a nugget that he is known as a nugget that’s not going to happen now um but for me aside of the fit and all this stuff I just like kyp he was a phenomenal piece of the story of the Denver Nuggets well totally and a reason for that is because it felt like he got Denver and immediately just totally embraced the city embraced the team embraced the culture like kcp fit in so well with this team obviously on the court you know he was the perfect guy at shooting guard next to Jamal Murray Michael Porter a Nicole yic and Aaron Gordon in the locker room he was great as well um a calming vet influence he did lie a little bit when he said nuggets for life to Katie wiy last season that’s that was rough I’m not going to forget that but um he was everything like the Nuggets hoped for when they signed him or and when Calvin boo made that trade so um he will be looked back as a great nugget and man did he have like some alltime moments for this team absolutely do you have a favorite kcp moment I I saw one there’s a couple really good ones one of the ones for me personally was game four against the Lakers down down all those points the bucket that I believe pulled them ahead was a kcp and one and that comeback if you recall just happened slowly you kind of felt it like oh my God they’re going to sweep they’re going to get this game here it comes and kyp gets it yoke dime kyp goes up I think Anthony Davis fouls him and he just flexes and it was like that was the moment where I was like it’s gonna be a sweep they’re gonna sweep the Lakers I mean he always had just seemed to come up big in the biggest moments too yeah so many clutch shots yeah he had a great performance at the parade didn’t he like Stone Cold Steve Austin a couple be or something he’s so likable man he’s honestly just such an extremely likable player um he’s just lovable man I’ll miss him a lot I’ll miss him uh as much as any role player that has departed Denver I I’ll miss him like that because he was fun to root for in addition to being great yeah and it’s also why him leave that’s also why him leaving hurt so much and like why I am upset about this and why like nuggets fans should be upset about this he really did no wrong yeah during his time here yep you’re right it was hard it was hard to ever get mad at kcp during a game because you were like oh he’s just busting his ass on the defensive end of the floor oh it’s tough to get mad at him for missing this shot because he’s hit so many clutch shots before he played his role perfectly unselfish never complained about anything shots how much playing time he got just the consant professional and that’s why I joked I think it was whenever we were talking about kyp’s free agency maybe right after the season ended or if it was even during the season I was like if I’m a San Antonio if I’m a Detroit if I’m a bad team I might like sign this dude to a Max because he is exactly the type of Veteran that I would want around a young Corp yeah I I 100% that’s why I think it makes so much sense for Orlando and that’s what I was trying to frame this in terms of economics where you just say who is he much as he’s so important for Denver he probably is more important for Orlando and that’s what it came down to that’s why they could assume that risk so I 100% agree Bruce Brown and kcp two just iconic Denver Sports athletes in my book in in only two years one year for Bruce two years for kcp and they pulled that off um if we go now oh first of all I want to ask you about Tony Jones and I don’t know if I have it in front of me here but I know to oh here it is he replies to CT faio and says uh CT fio asked us on Twitter of course unless kcp told Denver he didn’t want to return nuggets not matching for 22 million a year is disheartening Tony Jones replies they did um are you buying this this is the Jeremy Grant play Jeremy Grant leaves Denver offered him hey we offered him the same amount of money he didn’t want to be here are you buying this I’m not by way is clear I’m not saying do you buy Tony Jones I’m I’m buying the idea of they offered him the same deal and he just said no thinks I’d rather go to Orlando I’m not buying it I’m not and I just feel like the reason I say that goes back to what I was saying earlier I just feel like the Nuggets kind of accepted the fact that he was gone and had come to that conclusion and were okay with it when it happened yeah I mean I don’t know for sure but my first instinct is no they weren’t paying him 23 million a year right that’s that’s 100% as well and that’s why I think we set the table the way that we did is I I think there was just so much of like okay you can see how this is going to play out the Hope was okay is there oh surprise signings and now there’s no market for him and you know there wasn’t a team for him to go to and Denver gets lucky and the price gets lowered short of that that was the only way the door in my opinion was going to be open and so when I hear oh the Nuggets offered him that and he left that indicates that he was upset didn’t like there was there’s something wrong here and then I know some people said well Calvin boo so publicly talked about him leaving and that’s the reason I just in my personal opinion and maybe I’ll get we’ll learn some more you know after every the dust settles you pry a little bit you try to get some more Intel maybe we’ll learn but I just don’t believe that to be true I think Denver had a price for him the price exceeded that and it was pretty simple for kcp to make his decision yeah that’s where I fall on it too the thing I have been coming back to and I’m sure a lot of people are thinking this as well is the press conference from the end of the season where you know Josh Kony sat up there and said like we have Nicole yic our job is to go all in every season yeah you know and and try to win a championship every single season I know that wasn’t like the exact quote but he said something to that tune and you know Calvin booth has said this as well like you know I’m a steward of Nicole jokic’s Prime like we have to put this team in position to win every season like that’s my duty and you know to hear that a few weeks ago and then you to lose kcp potentially because you know you’re not going to overpay for him right I could see why people would be a little turned off by that I I absolutely can’t yeah let’s get into the replacement players though so to me here’s the part there’s two parts of this when you Game Theory it out there’s who replaces uh kcp and then there’s who becomes the backup so for me the replacement is very obvious I hope it’s I think it’s obvious to everybody but Michael Mone and my hope is that Michael Malone is ready to join at least what I believe to be the case which is I think Christian Brown slots in there extremely nicely as Calvin boo himself has stated if you look at the net rating when joic and Christian Brown are together it’s phenomenal when you look at the defense I know a lot of people are rightfully wondering kcp was so good around screens is joic in the pick and roll not going to look as good now because that’s where kcp was so good he helped joic in that pick and roll recovered quickly all those things statistically they were even better defensively with Christian Brown on the floor not perfect data because you know you’re playing more against bench lineups or what have you but they were really good I think I that’s not the part of this I worry about I actually think Denver can have a net rating they’ll have to find a new identity but I think they can be just as good more or less with Christian Brown in that lineup the part I worry about is what’s behind him because Christian Brown was the backup now who’s the backup defensive guard I don’t know who that is actually Harrison uh Russell Westbrook sorry that’s that’s segment segment three that’s segment three hold on but also spoiler alert it’s not him he’s not the defensive stopper well I don’t know if there is one um I mean if you just think about what the rest of the rotation roster looks like they’re not adding another guard other you know than Russell Westbrook which we think is going to be the next move here um they have one other open roster spot I believe that’s going to a big man backup center um I feel like there’s going to be a huge responsibility potentially placed on Julian strw next year like he is a massive X Factor heading into next season I agree I’m a big I’m a big strawther guy I’m a Believer uh I’m a Believer in his three-point shot even though he shot it pretty terribly for a guy who you label a shooter uh last season but you know from everything I’ve heard he’s looked great in open gyms and practices since you know coming back from that injury and over the summer as well in regards to his shot um I’m a Believer in just like his off the dribble game I think he’s got something there and he can get to you know that floater when he wants to I think his skill set fits how the Nuggets want to play with Nicole yic I really like Julian strw um I feel like best case scenario he’s playing a similar role that Payton Watson did this season you know in that spot in the lineup in the rotation uh playing like 15 minutes a game sometimes more on nights when he’s playing well um but if you’re talking about like guys in the back court back court only right now I feel like he is next up so for me I look at it last year is you had four backcourt players you had Murray and Reggie Jackson and you had Christian Brown and Casey P that’s two very good defensive players and you know two offensive players I think you look at it right now and throw the Russell Westbrook part aside I mean with if it’s him you got him Murray Christian Brown and Str that’s one defensive player the other three are offensive players including St so I look at that and I go you don’t have a ton of defensive depth in your back court and you don’t have a ton of defensive versatility like what is your two you want to go all defense in your back court you know what what what is the lineup you do there I don’t even think you have an option there so unless they end up bringing in another guy a Chris dun type in the Westbrooks thing doesn’t end up happening unless they brought somebody like that in I just don’t know that you would have a stable of back Court Defenders that you should feel confident again what happened if you play Phoenix in the in the playoffs and you have to match up with a Bradley Beal and a Devon Booker I’m not saying that the whole series I’m just saying how do you match up with a team in that one regard one of your good your offensive players at all times sometimes two offensive players will be on the court trying to guard them so that part to me I don’t I just don’t feel comfortable with and I am not the biggest draw their believer to be honest with you of all the young guys and I hope I’m wrong he’s got great size and he does have a lot of positives but I’m just I like to see a guy shoot the way I expect them to shoot before I believe that they’re going to be able to shoot that way and that’s why I’m a skeptic if he starts making them I was lower on pton Watson until I started seeing him defend until I see Str making his threes a little bit more I’m just going to be a little more skeptical I think that’s fair you know he was labeled as a very good shooter in the draft and then you know came in as a rookie and like was one of the worst Shooters on the Nuggets uh just statistically um I mean last year Julian Str he shot I’m looking at it right now under 30% from three 29.7% from three I mean that’s got to go up 10 percentage points would be great you know if he’s a 39% three-point shooter next year feel like that’s the type of shooter he should be um but yeah like he’s got to have a massive summer um you like we’ve got to start hearing stuff this offseason about how oh Julian st’s in the gym every day Julian stw’s put on 15 pounds of muscle like he’s gotta get stronger I don’t even know if he needs muscle to be honest with you that’s not I kind of want to see the before and after picture of him in the waight room blacko chanard level just where you were like what did he s tell us the size of a refrigerator yeah um but no like it’s a massive summer for him and it’s just like the Nuggets don’t have they’re not going to have any other options off their bench um I don’t expect Justus as holiday to come back I reported that over the last couple days like I don’t think he’s going to be resigned by the nuggets in the back court they still have Jaylen picket on the roster as of now but I think part of the reason and thinking in bringing in a guy potentially like Russell Westbrook or another veteran is that I don’t think the Nuggets front office trust Michael Mone to play jayen picket next next year right so there’s just not a lot of other options so it’s I feel like kind of just going to be Beyond strw yeah um so I’m rooting for STW I hope he’s great I but and I think this summer league will be big for him like he’s a guy that I really want to see of all the other guys you get bring in a rookie donon Holmes has a bad summer league it’s a rookie you all this stuff whatever STW to me is a guy where you’re like he represents the Nuggets being a top three seed if he’s good then you can still have hope that the nuggets are a top three seed if he goes into summer league and struggles I think it’s going to be hard to talk yourself into oh but he’s ready for an 82 Game season of significant ific better competition so that’s the piece I will say with Christian Brown there’s also a pressure on him he needs to shoot the ball really well this year I the other stuff I think he needs to finish at The Rim but he needs to shoot the ball better I think he can do the slashing I think his confidence will get a boost we’ll talk more about this later on in the week but he has to improve as well I just have more faith that he will look really good next to the starters um than I do that strw will look good in non-starter minutes let’s take a break on the other side kcp was the headline story but there was a story that 99 times out of a hundred would be the headline story in nuggets nation and that is the nuggets are targeting a former MVP Russell Westbrook talk about that on the other side Miller Light man I could go for a Miller Light right now A lot’s 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you think about it what’s happened Paul George is eating a cheese steak aign twet or he wants to eat a cheese steak so is that is that this year’s version of the Emoji from uh whatever that was with DeAndre Jordan and all of them that was an alimer for sure it’s funny how everything’s waiting and I talked to one source day not too long ago and I was like what’s the holdup is there do you expect a time frame and it was I think the whole NBA is is afraid to announce like everybody knows what’s going on but they have to like they’re like afraid of these new penalties and stuff so everybody wants to wait it’s a hilarious DeAndre Jordan wasn’t afraid he got his name out there two out of the last three years DeAndre Jordan first signing for the Nuggets of AG that’s right well that one I don’t think you know you could be worri about being called for tampering it’s your own guy you know that’s true uh but I think the whole NBA is a little like hey like Adam Silver can we can we announce that deal that we just talked we never talked about this till just now is it okay if we if we announce it Adam Silver’s like I can’t answer the phone I’m designing a new court for next year’s inseason tournament I’m too busy right now that’s actually what he’s doing too that’s the worst part too busy um all right let’s talk about the big rumor though it’s a shoe that I expect to drop I’ll be honest with you we T brought this up on Friday show there’s a reason we bring all these things up there’s a reason we always will kind of hint at things that are possible Russell Westbrook there was some movement you know that maybe he was a guy that that had interest in Denver maybe Denver interest in him he Ops into his deal but then it is reported later that he Ops in because the Clippers will trade him now to the Denver Nuggets first of all do you have any inclination of what a trade would look like that would land Denver Westbrook I don’t because my understanding you know this goes back like over the last few days was that they would have just signed him like that would have been the plan but then Westbrook reportedly opted opted into his contract so now you might have to trade for him um I don’t know the Nuggets don’t have any more second round picks to trade uh so it would have to be you know a player and I’m not sure what the Clippers cap situation looks like after um you know losing Paul George maybe they can take back a zek nausey or something I’m not sure what a trade looks like to be honest yeah um so I don’t either I think you could for MoneyWise you could probably do like a picket and a hunter or you know there I think there’s something you could do there I’ve seen some deals that include Naji and then bringing back you know some of their leftover players just to make the money work and then maybe you wave a guy so I think there’s a couple different options out there I think the best for Denver is probably Zeke Naji I’ll say this though and I know no I I think there’s a chance Zeke Naji still works out in another place I don’t think there’s any chance it works out in Denver but I think there’s a chance he lines in a place I don’t know if the Clippers is the best spot for him but you know we’ll see um Russell Westbrook in Denver what a weird fit Harrison give me your top thoughts on this well am I like being am I overreacting too much if I say it feels like the Nuggets kind of need Russell Westbrook right now oh my God hold on Kale where’s our Peppers at do we have our Peppers where we that over reaction to what happened today they need him okay we need there four peppers it’s only four um Russell Westbrook and Denver I’m a little terrified not going to lie a little terrified the the Gap in outcomes is so wide like the floor of it is pretty scary if you think about what the Nuggets need right now in terms of um where their holes are in their rotation and just position wise they need another ball handler yeah that’s probably their biggest need right now um they need another point guard they need a backup point guard and they need somebody that’s going to be better than Reggie Jackson was last year I think Russell Westbrook is both of those things he’s a point guard he can handle the ball he can get to the rim you know he can make stuff happen there and I also think Russ for all his faults and drawbacks is definitely a better player and will be a more impactful player than Reggie Jackson was last year um so those are the positives for sure and like look I feel like the Russell Westbrook experiment has been a disaster for every team that’s tried over the last couple of years okay um but here’s kind of the optimistic take I think if it’s gonna work in one place I think it could work in Denver with Nicole yic because Adam I’ve been told that Nicole yic actually has been pushing behind the scenes to get Westbrook to Denver I’ve been told that Nicole yic wants Westbrook in Denver he wants to play with him it’s not the first time he’s wanted to play with him wait a second I that’s the sound of an entire fan base trying to figure out if they want to change direction on the take here hold up a second you’re telling me this might be a yic move it’s not just that Westbrook wants to come to Denver that Nicole yic I’m told wants him here yeah and that gives me a little more belief yeah play first of all players love Russell Westbrook like Westbrook is one of those athletes and they’re in all sports where the media and analyst perception of the player is so different than the the players perception like even opposing players they like him but I think what you’re hinting at here is a friendship like a a a not just a respect a mutual respect but that there’s something is there how much more do you want to go into this when because I know I don’t want I I don’t want to like scoop your story here but I have some more details if you want to talk about them no you can go for it well you know Westbrook if people recall is possibly I think the first super star to ever Embrace niika yic yic has been an outcast honestly as recently as two years ago we all remember LeBron James not picking him like for whatever reason joic has not been the most popular amongst his peers you know it’s taken a little bit to win over Westbrook is a guy that his first ever All-Star game they developed a friendship and not just a friendship a mutual respect and I think Westbrook was one of the first guys to say like no that dude’s good he’s a good player what’s everybody acting so ridiculous about he’s great and they hit it off I remember he bought him a birthday gift you know that nicoa said was very nice like a very expensive birthday gift so these are guys that have actually s to much to people surprise have actually had something of I don’t want to overstate it because I don’t really know the depth of it but have had some kind of friendship mutual appreciation yeah and so I think there’s that but also like I’m sure Nicole yic has is a little tired of like seeing a 20-point lead evaporate when he’s sitting on the bench at the end of uh first quarter or third quarter yeah um I’m sure he’s become a little frustrated I mean anybody would yeah that the Nuggets bench has just really lacked so much juice and you know Russell Westbrook has some juice you know he can still make some stuff happen he can change the tone and the feel of a game very quickly now of course like that can all backfire in a split second as well yeah um but you know he C he does have still a a game-changing presence about him and I mean I wonder if Nicole yic likes that as well here’s another thing I think Harrison and I’ve been very critical about Jamal Murray and how he hasn’t always seemed to have a fire lit under him in December and in January and you know at different times Westbrook does that is a guy that I wonder a veteran player first of all that the whole all players seem to have a respect a healthy respect like he speaks I think the whole team listens you know he’s been around he’s won an MVP he’s been a a force but he’s also a hyper competitor that guy goes really hard in October and November and December and every month he goes hard and I just wonder if this wouldn’t be I think it could be explosive I think it’s volatile but I wonder what this does for Jamal I wonder if Jamal gets into camp on day one and Russell Westbrook is attacking him every single time and he’s talking because he’s a talker and he’s just talking and he’s getting this I just wonder if that elevates Jamal to the level we all know he can get at where it’s like all right I gotta stay on my p’s and q’s here because I gotta go against Russ every day I agree and I also feel there’s you know something with where a team can get a little stale and like the Nuggets they’re pretty much running it back next season like I know they lost kcp they’re going to bring in like a couple new guys but For Better or Worse they’re running it back you know for like the third consecutive season kind of with their main guys that can get stale for as good as you are and as many wins as you get and like how as dominant of a team as you can be in the regular season that can get a little stale um Russell Westbrook will make sure things are not stale like he will mix it up like he brings a um a very like volatile Dynamic and that can be a good and bad thing uh to your team every single day whether that’s on the practice cord or in a game um so yes there’s definitely something to that too he also plays hard plays hard man for the most part for the most I think yoke probably appreciates that honestly I think there’s something with yoke where he’s like well I’m gonna have a guy that just has it every night you know at least has the intensity and stuff and I think that’s very appealing um Westbrook is though the Nuggets haven’t had that much volatility honestly in the yic era they’ve kind of been a team that they’re so steady you know and it’s steadily very good but we talk about they don’t have these long win streaks they don’t have too many blowout wins they win a lot of games by seven points and they just keep doing that all year long I think they’re gonna be if you get Russell Westbrook just I don’t even care what the other moves are I think you’re probably gonna have a volatile year I think you’re gonna have a lot of six game win streaks and four game losing streaks I think you’re going to have some 25o wins and 20 point loss I think that’s the type of difference he brings to that’s one of the differences he brings and then you factor in you know you’re counting on guys like St and pton to make a leap I just think that Russ and and those factors lead to what could be a very roller coaster experience relative to previous years yeah and I mean you can say that because he’s gonna be playing a pretty big role if he does come here yeah he’s your six man like I don’t think he’ll be starting um at least not at the beginning of the and then you know you see how things go with Christian Brown but he’ll be start him I don’t think he should start I don’t think he into Adam at the two at the two or the three over Michael Porter it’s possible no over you never know just kidding just kidding but he’s gonna play a lot you know 25 plus minutes every night he’s gonna probably play more than Reggie Jackson did last year definitely play more than Reggie Jackson did last year and something else about Russell Westbrook he’s a very iing guy across the league in terms of fans and media but it always seems like his teammates love him and respect them yep and follow him as a leader yeah and I don’t think that would be the worst thing for this nuggets team to have another vocal leader yeah um I also think that there are skills that Westbrook has when you talk about Denver might need him or this or that and why might be different than other places first of all the Clippers are the opposite of Denver we know this they play an isolation heavy game they’re they’re very methodical and deliberate in how they score Denver does not they lean on joic I put this out there bones Highland is probably the quickest player at least a half court quick not end to end quick but just half court First Step get downhill I think bones is probably the fastest player maybe ish Smith is you could say is Smith as well really play that many minutes faku maybe I think Westbrook is a different level of explosive athlete even at his age even as old as he is I think he’s a different caliber of athlete that Denver’s had and I’ve always wonder what would it look like with that type of athlete next to yoke with yoke you have to guard up on pick and roll because if he pops or you know all of it you get switches you do all this different things you’re gonna try to go under the screen on Russ yok’s gonna be able to set those screens a little bit lower can Russ hit the ground running in a way that like joic he’s never played with a yic before in a way that it’s like that opens things up and all of a sudden Russ is really hard to guard I think there’s at least a chance of that and more importantly if that’s your stagger so Murray goes back to staggering with the bench you might be able to fill a very good Spacey lineup around Russ that works I mean Michael Porter you can throw out there Julian STW maybe you throw out there joic you throw out there there’s guys you could throw out there in a combination and say okay you’ve got a lot of room and you’ve got a joic you’ve never had those things he’s already hard to guard I just I think there’s a world where it works and they also need his dribble Drive ability too they don’t have yeah they don’t have guys that get to the rim right now um Jamal Murray gets to the rim sometimes otherwise at the guard spot like Christian Brown’s not really you know he he’s getting to the room a little bit but you know that’s not his first choice kcp didn’t really get to the room at all last year Michael Porter like for actually Michael Porter’s his Drive dribble drive game has has improved a lot over the last year um but like Westbrook that’s his first second and third option you know to get to the rim and like draw contact and make happened that way so for a team that’s lacked you know a lot of dribble drivers he’ll feel a need there the one thing he can’t do is shoot and there’s just no sugar coating that he’s a tough shooter and you talk about Christian Brown Payton Watson Don Holmes Denver’s gonna have a lot of unproven Shooters and that’ll be a Michael Malone’s challenge you know if you don’t add any other shooting uh you’re gonna have to figure it out all right let’s take a break on the other side we’re going to talk Westbrook that news hasn’t happened yet although deals are starting to trickle through so let’s talk about some of the deals that have happened and then tomorrow show hopefully some of these other dominoes will have fallen guys you can check out principal uh 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all right we are back final segment here so some teams have made some moves including very recently Derek Jones Jr is headed to the Clippers Harrison this one surprises me a little bit he was very good for Dallas over the last two years he’s been a very good player for them rehabed some of his value remember he was on that really low I think it was a minimum near minimum deal now he goes over on a decent contract to the Clippers what do you make of that one well the Clippers are pretty or sorry the Mavs are pretty much swapping him out for Naji Marshall yeah um so it changes their Dynamic a little bit there um I kind of like Derek Jones Jr a little bit more for them than Naji Marshall um but I mean the Clippers are obviously one of the big Losers of this free agency you they’re losing Paul George for nothing um and I mean Derrick Jones is a good player but still like they’re definitely a Western Conference team that you feel like is gonna take a massive drop next year by by the way real quick note on this on the Clippers man one of the things that’s weird about this Paul George wanted that four-year deal the Clippers just gave kawhai a three-year deal and for a lot of players you can’t do that there’s egos involved like you can’t give another player a lesser player a larger contract and I so just the kind of texture how hard this is it’s not even just guys on paper and does it fit the rules and all this there’s also like is it going to piss off our guy for petty reasons and I think in the clippers’ case that’s part of why Paul George is now gone it’s crazy yeah and the Clippers they’re another team very conscious of this second apron I think in their press release they mentioned like new salary cap environment like four different times in the press release I seriously did oh Adam Silver’s a wild I say I’m not try EC I’m not trying to make an excuse but I will say it is wild that the league changed its rules so dramatically and it sucks this is a terrible CBA man this second apron when your second apron is hurting teams like the Denver Nuggets I know that’s so dumb that’s clearly not accomplishing what accomplishing what you want like that can’t be good for the leag oh it’s so funny man but it’s true anyway it’s fair to it’s across the Flor everybody everybody’s try is suffering but okay so Naji Marshall is a pretty decent player though I mean that’s probably I don’t know I don’t know what to make of that Derrick Jones really impressed me defensively we’ll see um what else has happened here let’s talk about uh plumy to the Suns Mason plumbley to the Suns that’s that’s a deal that happened I mean that’s another guy another Center what just happened did we lose Harrison yeah wind’s gone I have no idea where we went we went to a graphic and all of a sudden we were gone uh uh all right um that one happened I look not that Mason plumbley is great A great get or anything but any time teams that didn’t have bigs add another big it’s just noteworthy Mason plumley’s a good player I don’t know how big of an impact he makes the guy that do you have a note on on that Suns I was just going to say it’s a good pickup for the Suns no doubt um I mean he’s a upgrade over Drew Banks I I predict the Nuggets get a center that’s better than Mason Plum though significantly better in the coming day or so what what’s a windchime that’s not happened yet is that that’s a forecasted wind Chim I think there’s a windchime in the a forecasted one yeah forecasted Windchime um the other deal I find super fascinating Chris Paul to San Antonio wow this is so weird to me Chris Paul on a on the Spurs I mean all the talk around him has been like Lakers maybe or just a good team to ring Chase yeah um now maybe he’s like maybe I’ll just try to extend my career as far as possible playing next to wemi you know first of all wmy with a great pick and roll Maestro is scary like wm’s already really good and Chris Paul is about as good as you could have hoped for it’s a one-year deal but I agree man that that could that could look pretty pretty good um so I the Spurs again I want to see what they do when the other dominoes fall is that it are they just getting him and that’s a good veteran to help wimy learn the nuances of pick and roll and that kind of stuff or is it a sign of hey they got Chris Paul they got wemi that’s two championship caliber pieces so now you’re starting to fill it out we’ll have to wait and see Paul George appears to be heading to Philly this is what everything everybody’s waiting on it seems but that one to me is the big One Max announce it on this podcast oh God can you imagine if free agency is ruined because P because the it’s actually a real world that we might be living in that Paul Jordan I’m dead serious I’m scheduled for Tuesday so everybody the whole NBA you gotta wait man I have a show it’s coming out Tuesday you’rea right man you’re probably right Adam Silver’s NBA is hilarious um but that’s it I I’ll say this I’ve been the biggest Paul George fan man I just think he’s so good and underrated and he has his flaws I hate that an eventual nugget 76ers finals that almost feels at some point it’s going to happen I hate Paul George being on that side of it I mean he’s miscast on a contender you know like as a top two option I mean you you can make the case that he’s a better player than Tyrese Maxi right now I feel like tyres Max is gonna be the number two option on that team and Paul George is gonna be the third guy yeah um it’s a perfect role for him really it’s a perfect role it’s a perfect fit you got Maxi at the one and be at the five Paul George at the three I mean you’ve said many times it’s the best way to build a big three with a point guard you know a small forward type and a center my other thought though is that if Paul George is bad or if the 76ers have a bad year uh that fan base is going to eat him alive yeah I think I mean look I’m not rooting for this because I never root for injuries but my the most likely scenario you tell me a guy like Paul George who always seems to get hurt end of year embi always hurt end of year I just look at that and I go that’s all the makings of like a 59 win team that loses in the second round because they got injured like this that just seems what it is to me de Jon Murray go into the Pelicans this is an interesting one wind I’m I have we haven’t talked about this how do you feel I mean I’m not a Deon Murray guy I’m kind of a little confused by what the Pelicans are doing they have all these awesome Young players but they’re bringing in like the jeon Murray still to play a huge role yeah um now like they definitely have to trade Brandon Ingram um they’re kind of going through like this transformation with also losing Valen junis to the to the Wizards I mean losing they probably opened the door and ushered him out themselves yeah um called called The Uber for him and everything but um I don’t know the Pelicans like I love their young Tal tent I just feel like they’re going to mess it up somehow you know it does Deon Murray to me was good in San Antonio not that good in Atlanta never great but somehow he has great value you know what I mean like in people’s heads dejonte Murray is like the best game he’s ever played that’s a people have Deonte Murray and he’s just not that guy I don’t think and you put him on a team that was already like so dysfunctional that I agree it might fall apart um and then Klay Thompson is gone I mean this is another one the Warriors who were on top for so long he obviously wasn’t good but they had an ugly split and we’ll have to wait and see what happens to the Warriors a lot of people thought maybe Paul George was a landing spot but the Warriors are another team that appears to be in some something of turmoil yeah I mean absolutely and like Warriors fan base almost as enraged as the Nuggets fan bases right now about how their offseason is gone and you can’t blame either one like there’s a lot of reason to be upset um yeah Klay Thompson leaving I’m I’m I’m still surprised like I thought those three you know regardless of like how good they actually were individually they’d still ride it out into the sunsets together I still thought that’s how that would end most likely um but yeah like it seems like he’s GNA take significantly less money to go and sign the mid-level exception in Dallas or in LA with the Lakers never thought that would happen um but as we talked about on Friday show like Klay Thompson he can still give you a lot of value and um he’d be great on the Lakers next to LeBron and Anthony Davis he’d be great on the maths next to Luca donic and Kyrie Irving those are two optimal Klay Thompson spots I feel like are there any other moves you want to talk about any other major ones I don’t I feel like we’re still waiting on a lot of the big stuff yeah we’re waiting for the uh Paul George podcast to drop so he can announce and then everything else yeah uh starts going the last thing I’m gonna say here Harrison and again like look I don’t blame nuggets fans for filling valis you want to spend 30 seconds on valent Tunis wizard Wizards are doing some interesting stuff no uh the one thing I’ll say on the trade block before we get to uh before we get to our super chats the one thing I’ll say is I just the it is the Doomer takes right the guys that think that everything’s over I just remind you the Nuggets Western Conference team from 2020 22y old Jamal Murray younger than Anthony Edwards was this year Jamal Murray 22 years old Gary Harris who was having a terrible shooting Year by the way Paul Milsap Jeremy Grant niika yic Denver even with Christian Brown that’s a better starting five than that one like this idea that Denver is now a bad team you have joic who’s still the best player in the world Murray who I think is you know has has a lot to prove this upcoming year but is a great player and I think he’s going to have a great season you still have Aaron Gordon you have Michael Porter who’s still on the ascent I just that I understand that there’s more risk and more volatility but this idea that the Nuggets weren’t good before kcp and therefore lost kcp and now are gonna be terrible look I don’t like the move I think it’s bad I think the nuggets are worse than they were last season and the season before but they’re not going to be bad you have joic you’re just not going to be a bad team um let’s get to these super chats kale yeah if I could just speak to that real quick I I agree like I think the nuggets are a worst team today than they were yesterday absolutely and like their championship odds I think have gone down y for sure no question no question in my opinion um how I see this season going though is I think there will be an adjustment period at the beginning of the Season moving Christian Brown into the starting lineup working out some of the Kinks there reshaping the offense a little bit um and I also think like we didn’t even talk about this but if the starting lineup gets a little worse which I think it will if you’re Michael Malone you have got to mix up your rotations and start staggering more starters with bench lineups like you just cannot rely on your starting lineup to save you every night like it has over the last couple years there’s got to be some change there um but I see this season like being a little bit Rocky at the beginning and then I can definitely see a path to nuggets being just as good of a team um if not like slightly better by the time the playoffs start like that is on the table still yeah um it’s going to take you know some internal Improvement it’s going to take some um development from everybody to get there but um the nuggets are are still Bonafide contenders yeah I agree and I love the piece you’re reporting about yoke you know liking the deal that’s the funniest part about knowing kind of behind the scenes is I think there’s this sense of like you know yoke yoke likes Westbrook and thinks he could contribute to the team whether he’s wrong it’s at least a funny detail all right let’s get to the Super Chat scale Mile High sing he says can Denver sign clay even if they trade for Westbrook throw that one away crumple it up and throw it away I don’t think that’s happening they cannot unfortunately David talks Buffs he says if Calvin moves on from AG because of Holmes angry face um I I would be very angry if that happened as well because of Holmes I will say this I you know what though on that point I will say this Calvin to me the move with kcp and the way he’s handled it what he said indicates to me that that will happen eventually and I don’t know if it’s Holmes but that Calvin probably views Aaron Gordon as a guy that will come through Denver spend some time here but eventually will’ll leave Murray yic that’s your team everybody else is like they serve a purpose but can be replaced and if whether he’s right or wrong we’ll find out yeah no I think in two years we could have the same convers ation that we’re having right now about kcp about Aaron Gordon 100% Cedric Exquisite says kcp forever a nuggets Legend helped us B La win the 2023 chip my favorite player I’ll miss him and love him still wherever he goes one love dnvr I agree man that’s the that’s the toughest part about this there’s an emotional connection there that just sucks to lose yeah he was a great nugget Cedric exquisit PG left the Clippers any thoughts if he was with Denver uh oh he left the clippers but he’s going to Philly guys that’s not that’s not happening we talked about that on Friday like we both thought Paul George you know in theory for Michael Porter Jr like that swap makes the Nuggets a better team full stop yeah doc samama says so no bench unproven picks no kcp not good um all all true I mean the no bench part who knows Denver has actually not had a bench ever um but I agree a lot of unproven I mean to really the Nuggets takes a level of I think a leap of faith that I don’t think you owe you know like if you don’t believe in it it’s fair David is it telling that the rumor about mpj and PG came out would they actually move him or do we think that was just smoke um I think just like the clay rumor I think it’s a conversation the Nuggets had um I feel like anytime those ideas are out there you have to have that conversation I don’t think it was that long of a conversation um so I think it was mostly smoke but um I bet they talked about it yeah no question about it I think and also Cal clearly an aggressive GM like I think he probably makes more calls just test things out the clay one the clay one I know was a very very brief and and short conversation it was like should we do this uh I don’t think we can I think that was it doc samati says we know what this is Booth is holding Malone Hostage to play the picks if doesn’t work they go crazy in free agency in 2025 the last part I don’t know but the first part I think definitely true look this is the thing this is definitely I think this is part of it whether you agree or disagree I think there was that disconnect that has led to okay well we can’t can’t be trusted with a holiday and Reggie Jackson I think part it but but the thing Adam is Russell Westbrook that’s a move I think partly for Michael Malone you know if if Booth like was coaching the team maybe he’s playing Jaylen picket at backup point guard last year I don’t think he can like trust Michael Malone to play Jaylen picket a ton even if he’s like the only other point guard on the roster so I feel like bringing in Westbrook or another vet point guard that’s kind of giving Malone another one of his guys in a way yeah yeah I think it’s true David says I mean is Russ not just Brucey be on steroid anyway less shooting obviously trust and Joker always I actually think there’s something to this Russ and Bruce kind of have a lot of traits that are very similar I don’t think it’s a one toone comparison there are differences including personality differences that I have to be accounted for but there is something too he does bring the thing we said we most missed from Brucey b ball handling attacking the rim and attitude oh yeah yeah they they’ll play the same position pretty much you know they’ll play the same role in that respect and I could also see Russell Westbrook going up to ball Arena before a game in a cowboy hat I could definitely see that maybe going to the stock show the stock show what was the one bar he’d go to happy camper he might be at happy camper a time or two handing out shots Mirza husen beovic that’s a tough one I apologize can the Nugget sign clay to a mid level we talked about this nope I mean yes they can they won’t Steve Brown for $10 says kyp is replaceable Aaron Gordon is not in this system everybody should rather the team be able to retain AG after next season if he opts out for New Deal back on Parade in NC um I agree with that ER if there was a hierarchy of the starting five kcp ranked fifth I think and AG whatever way you rank him AG ahead of him so I do think I would put AG probably third behind I think I might too is that signal that that’s the end here kale Kale’s play off I’m just trying to ride the vibe of the show that has been going on the same way for four years okay no kale I I brought you on cuz thank you so much for hopping in Sunday night guys not an easy thing to do kale had a I don’t know what was it 20 hour flight home yesterday at least we yeah we were supposed to take off at 2 p.m. in Vegas and I got home at 400 a.m. so it was but a true grinder kale kale Sorbo is super producer kale so he true grinder got maybe an hour sleep and came right back to the studio to come and produce this show for everybody to get their nuggets fixed tonight and I really appreciate it Harrison appreciate you as well and appreciate all the people in the chat including the people calling us names we still love you man we’re still in this together and we’ll do whatever happens tomorrow I think we’ll have more news we’ll see you on the other side we all s like the mayor

NBA Free Agency is off and it started with a disappointment for the Denver Nuggets. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is heading to the Orlando Magic on a 3 year $66 Million deal. Can the Nuggets survive and win a title without KCP? What moves are next for the Nuggets? Adam Mares and Harrison Wind come to you LIVE to break down everything you need to know in this edition of the DNVR Nuggets Podcast!

Start – 0:00
KCP to the Magic – 2:00
Where does Christian slide in? – 12:30
Remembering KCP as a Nugget – 19:00
Did the Nuggets try and match? – 23:00
The replacements – 26:30
Westbrook to Denver? – 37:00
Jokic wanted Westbrook? – 40:30
Derrick Jones Jr to the Clippers – 52:50
ATA – 55:30
PG3 to Philly? – 57:15
Superchats – 1:05:00

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13 comments
  1. The GM has lost his mind, he thinks it's about making smart moves, not overpaying players, getting the value…sadly two spots just got worse and we lost one of our defensive strenghts…CB is worse than, KCP and I have no cofidence that whoever will replace CB will be better than him…this is criminal, any other superstar would ask out…GM is lucky that he has Jokic, hope he overpays Murray…at least talking about Jokic place in basketball history will be a niche thing, instead of him being in GOAT convos…

  2. I think what could really make Westbrook be a. nice fit is to be the main piece of the bench lineup in terms of scoring. I think he has been in really awkward spots for his play style in the LA teams

  3. Let's be honest man. KCP ain't worth 4 more mill than Malik Monk. Malik took less to stay in the place he likes. KCP money chased. He's made a 119 mill in his career. I'm not really gonna be that sad. Glad he came along for the Championship. But to screw our team for the future to keep him, not worth it. You wanna lose AG for KCP? Hell no….

    KCP defense was nice. But guys he only averaged 10 points a game….thats what Reggie did. Man i will miss those 3pt shots. But in the long run this is right decision.

    I have second guessed the Kroenkes before. But we all know. The dudes know how to win.

  4. Jokić will have to rise his 3p % to the level it was in 2023 and everything will be ok. As long as he is not tired, he will fill the gap for CB shooting.

  5. Problem is that anyone who comes and plays with Jokic looks way better then they worth. Teams then overpay thinking they will play like that in their teams which never is the case and Denver is left out of market and having to find fringe players and make them stars. We can't be mad but with 3 max contracts we can''t get depth. We were lucky that everything fell into place with everybody plus Bruce Brown. You take one pieace out and it all crashes. We need 2 max + depth or again get lucky with players like BB + KCP not being overpaye and good rookies.

  6. KCP got torched by Dbook who takes jump shots and he just hit them and then he didn't that's called variance, if we are basing stuff on what happened against MIN, Murray should get the minimum contract…

  7. Sky is not falling, DEN relevance window has limited amount of time left, Jokic gets old, it's over. Life as well as NBA is game of percentages. And percentages for DEN to win are non 0%, but got significantly lower. No other contender would do this. If they did, they star would be out of the door already.

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