The secret sauce behind the Denver Nuggets is far from concealed. It’s evident on the court in the towering presence of Nikola Jokic. As a head coach, Michael Malone gushes about the Joker. “Give him his damn respect,” he said after the three-time MVP claimed the WCF MVP honors in their title-winning season. Yet, his heart grows tender for his right-hand man, Jamal Murray.
Unlike Jokic, the Canadian has gone through a bothering spell of injuries. The most heinous included an ACL tear, resulting in him missing nearly two seasons. In that emotional moment, Malone assured him that “you’re ours”. The loyalty from not just Malone, but also the Nuggets has been evident ever since. Even after a colossal playoff and Olympics run, they didn’t waver from offering him a max, worth $208 million.
“They have this really deep abiding loyalty towards each other. This is the guy that what’s the expression? Dance with the one who brung you. That’s what they are,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said of their relationship. However, as far as the extension goes, Brian Windhorst feels the Nuggets had no choice.
Jamal Murray, no matter how drastic his output is still the key to keep the Nuggets competitive. And Shelburne suspects they might be looking to repeat the blueprint set by the Golden State Warriors. It is devised from the Spurs’ philosophy to develop their young crops to takeover. They did so with Kawhi Leonard.
The Nuggets in the same vein have budding talents such as Christian Braun, who has essentially been touted to replace the services of Kenatavious-Caldwell Pope this season. Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther seem next in line. The fear though, is it really possible. “The Warriors tried that. It didn’t really work. They had all those lottery picks and you can say Kuminga is the success story there, Podziemski right. But I don’t know if either of them were primed to be the next Steph the way that Kawhi was primed to take over,” Shelburne noted on Hoops Collective.
Can the Denver Nuggets carry on the Spurs’ blueprint?
As far as the Spurs dynasty was, Windhorst did note that even they failed to sustain their strategy. Just as Kawhi Leonard began to take the leap of becoming a superstar, internal friction led to his abrupt trade to the Toronto Raptors. With the Warriors, there still is no successor for Curry that can truly base a system around himself.
The same applies to the Denver Nuggets. So far, their entire core is young. All of their starting five are under 30 years old. So at least for the foreseeable future, they can rely on their model of playing around the Joker and Murray. But how often will a Nikola Jokic replacement come? Furthermore, how much reliance can be put on the development unit to create a riveting guard such as Jamal Murray?
With the current landscape, it seems almost imperative to make trades and bring the right talent at the right time. Or the other alternative is achieving wins in the draft, which the Nuggets have done successfully. However, in their case, with all the major players of the same ages, when the time does come to replace them, it will have to be a complete shift.
To avoid such a circumstance striking Denver, the front office will have to make some difficult decisions, Based on performances, aching trades will need to be made. Harboring a younger talent for their celebrated franchise player at varied points will be key. The process is obviously tricky and susceptible to flaws. But when looking at the long run, it seems to be an efficient strategy.
It’s still unclear whether the Nuggets want to achieve that. They could very well try to harness what they can get from their current well-coordinated squad led by Nikola Jokic. But if they are thinking about the next decade, systematic and timely management is where the key lies. Remember, with the core they have, landing a lottery pick in the coming years is unlikely.
Do you think the Nuggets can become the first team to successfully implement this strategy? Let us know your views in the comments below.
The post Not Nikola Jokic, but Michael Malone Has “Deep” Loyalty to One Nuggets Star as Denver Pursues Warriors’ Path appeared first on EssentiallySports.
from EssentiallySports https://ift.tt/1SQCD9Z
0 Comments