Discuss the review | Nuggets management is committing a crime! I want to learn from the Spurs but waste Jokic's peak

From a dozen to five

2024-07-01 09:34Creators in the field of sports

On the first day of free agency, the news related to the Nuggets was incomprehensible to the Nuggets management.

Judging from the two news stories "Nuggets lose Pope" and "Nuggets are intent on power", you will feel that the Nuggets management is committing a crime and wasting Jokic's peak.

Last season, the Nuggets stopped in the Western Conference semifinals due to management inaction in the offseason, and it looks like Nuggets management hasn't learned their lesson this offseason, and the Nuggets' so-called plan to "build a new era of Spurs" continues, and this plan looks a little too idealistic.

contradiction

Last offseason, the Nuggets lost two key rotation players, Bruce Brown and Jeff Green, and only added a few rookies, retaining Reggie and Jordan Jr., and bringing in Justin Holiday for the rest of the season. With the new collective bargaining deal creating a huge team-building challenge for teams that far exceed the luxury tax, adding a sense of young players is a reasonable approach, but the Nuggets' lack of depth is also a fact.

Sure enough, in Game 7 at home, the team lost by 20 points in the second half and lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Nuggets only had one bench player play more than 10 minutes, and the Nuggets have five players under the age of 25 who have been on the bench throughout the game. It's the theme of the whole season, not just the playoffs. Throughout the season, Grumpy Malone repeatedly complained about the team's lack of consistent depth.

"When there are so many young, unproven players on the bench, that's the challenge," Malone said in late November after losing to the Rockets at the start of the season. "But we still have games to win and this delicate balance is like walking a tightrope. But we need to win and I'm going to use the players who can help us win. ”

"Last year we played until June," Malone later complained. "This season, we had to play the 82nd match to secure a place as the No. 2 seed, whereas last year we were able to rest at the last minute. I think our players are mentally and physically exhausted. ”

There is a conflict of ideas between Malone and general manager Booth, and Malone has performance pressure as a coach, and he must want to win in the moment and use experienced veterans. But Booth focused on long-term sustainability and brought in a group of new talents.

Too idealistic?

Booth has said: "I've done a lot of research on past trends and history, how do you try to do what Spurs did? You have to learn to block out the noise, and the outside world will question why you don't build an experienced team and keep trying and trying,"

In Booth's view, the Spurs have never won back-to-back championships, but that doesn't stop the Spurs from becoming a dynasty. Rather than winning consecutive titles, they would rather win multiple titles in a few years.

However, Booth's vision was too idealistic, as Spurs' success itself was like a fairy tale. Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili have all accepted pay cuts, which is first and foremost a prerequisite that the Nuggets don't have. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, Jokic, Murray, and Porter Jr.'s max contracts put a lot of pressure on the Nuggets.

The Nuggets owner is not without money, Kroenke is worth $16 billion, ranking in the top five in the NBA. Kroenke is also not a door-picking boss, and he is willing to pay the luxury tax.

However, the release of the second local tyrant line made Booth choose to control costs. So when Pope jumped out of his final year of more than $15 million contract to become a free agent and strive for a reasonable price with an annual salary of more than $20 million, Booth chose to let Pope go, and Pope went to the Magic for $66 million in three years. Is this price expensive? It's not expensive for a championship 3D, but Booth believes that it's not worth it to trigger the second local tyrant line because of the forced retention of Pope, and Braun and other young people can top it.

Booth got rookie center Holmes in the draft to bolster the No. 5 spot. After sending Reggie to free space, Booth targeted Willis to fill the second team. But these operations can't quench their thirst, and the Nuggets need a huge improvement from young players, including Porter, and they also need veterans who can play and contribute in key moments.

Perhaps in Booth's view, the second local tyrant line does not affect the Nuggets team. The Clippers lost George, the Warriors lost Paul and possibly Thompson, superteams are difficult to emerge under the new collective bargaining agreement, and some teams are subtracting due to salary pressures. But with the Nuggets' current depth, are they sure they can wrestle with the Celtics?

Booth must not think that Jokic is still young, and Jokic will turn 30 next season in the blink of an eye.

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