Denver Nuggets

The reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets lost a key member of their rotation this offseason when veteran guard Bruce Brown signed with the Indiana Pacers. However, general manager Calvin Booth doesn't sound worried about replacing his production.

Booth told The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor (h/t RealGM) that he believes second-year wing Peyton Watson is prepared to step in and fill Brown's role.

"Some of these teams were trying to get Bruce, trying to make it worth it; it's like, just be careful what you wish for," Booth said. "Peyton's bigger. He's longer. He's more athletic. He guards better. He passes better. He doesn't have the experience, and he's not as good offensively yet, but we need defense more than we need offense on our team."

Brown signed a two-year, $45 million contract with the Pacers this summer. He appeared in 80 games last season and excelled as a source of energy off the bench, averaging 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals. He was an integral part of Denver's run to the NBA championship despite not starting any postseason games.

The No. 30 pick in the 2022 NBA draft, Watson saw limited action as a rookie and averaged 3.3 points in 8.1 minutes of action across 23 appearances. He displayed impressive efficiency, connecting on 42.9 percent of his three-pointers.

In addition to Watson, second-year shooting guard Christian Braun is also expected to have an expanded role in Brown's absence.

The Nuggets will open the 2023-24 season on Oct. 24 against the Los Angeles Lakers, who they swept in the Western Conference Finals on their way to the title.

Fresh off of winning the first championship in franchise history, the Denver Nuggets are prepared to remain a contender for the foreseeable future.

Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth spoke about the team's core and its ability to remain a fixture in the NBA Playoffs, citing "three or four" as the number of championships the team is structured for.

"Our guys are tired. It's going to be hard to repeat," Booth said, per Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer. "But if everything is optimized, we should win three or four [titles]."

The Nuggets have two-time MVP Nikola Jokić locked up through 2026-27, with a player option for 2027-28 and co-stars Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon are currently under contract through 2024-25. This means that the nucleus of the team can be worked around going forward and a similar performance to the 2022-23 season could have the team in dynasty territory.

This is easier said than done, however. The Western Conference remains talent rich, with team's like the Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers possessing deep cores as well and teams like the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings being on the rise.

The Eastern Conference is loaded as well, with teams like the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat remaining formidable challengers. This, combined with the short summer preceding this season means that Denver will need to dig deep to remain at the top of the mountain.

Still, this core has shown what it is capable of and continuing to build around Jokić, Murray and Gordon will help Denver remain a top candidate for another championship.

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone suggested Thursday that he doesn't understand why some of his trash talk directed toward the Los Angeles Lakers in recent months has made headlines.

During an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Malone addressed the reaction to his verbal barbs, saying:

"I don't get it and I don't really spend any time worrying about it. One thing I learned from my mother and father many years ago is you gotta be true to yourself. ... I'm gonna be me, I'm gonna support my guys, defend my guys and ride with my guys through the ups, through the downs, the wins and the losses. That's the only people I care about is that 17 players in the locker room, my family and all of our fans back in Denver."

The Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals last season en route to winning the first NBA championship in franchise history.

During the Western Conference Finals, Malone seemingly lamented the fact that the national media focused more on the Lakers than the Nuggets, saying: "All everybody talked about was the Lakers. Let's be honest, that was a national narrative: The Lakers were fine. They're down 1-0 but they figured something out. No one talked about that [Nuggets center] Nikola Jokić just had a historic performance."

After the Nuggets swept the Lakers, Malone took another shot, saying: "If anybody is still talking about the Lakers in the NBA Finals, that's on them. They've gone fishing. We're still playing,"

During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show (h/t ESPN's Brianna Williams) after Denver won the NBA title, Malone seemed to reference LeBron James, joking: "Speaking of the Lakers, I just want you guys to know this is breaking news: I'm thinking about retiring. Only kidding, only kidding."

LeBron, who suggested he was contemplating retirement before deciding to return for the 2023-24 season, did not take kindly to the remark, and fired back on Instagram, writing:

"In Europe for the last past few weeks minding my business and I hear I'm on your mind that much huh??? I mean I guess I see why. But wave the flag on these lames!! Please make being player cool again cause the lame machine is at an all-time high. Enjoy your light but just know I'm the SUN. I stay on forever!"

With the 2023-24 season on the horizon, it is shaping up to be a highly competitive battle for Western Conference supremacy.

The Nuggets and Lakers figure to be major players, as do the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors, among others.

A Nuggets vs. Lakers rematch in the playoffs is entirely possible, and there will likely be plenty of fireworks should it come to fruition.

Before that, the Nuggets and Lakers will meet for the first time since last season's Western Conference Finals when they clash on Oct. 24 in Denver in the regular-season opener for both teams.

Denver Nuggets power forward Aaron Gordon doesn't envision any opponent capable of stopping reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic in the 2023-24 NBA season.

"He's only 28," Gordon said, according to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. "So he's going to get even smarter at manipulating the defense [and] offense. ... I don't see anybody stopping him. They still haven't found the answer for him yet."

The former fourth-overall pick spent a portion of his summer in Serbia with Jokic, coming away impressed with the daily regimen of the 6'11" center.

"His routine over there, his way of life, very congruent," Gordon said. "I could see his peace. The peace of mind translates onto the court. That's what makes him such a good player."

Jokic narrowly missed out on his third-straight regular season MVP award in 2023 as he averaged 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game while shooting just over 63 percent from the field and 38 percent from three.

The Nuggets secured the 1 seed in the Western Conference with a 53-29 record, then defeated the Miami Heat in five games to capture the franchise's first Larry O'Brien Championship trophy.

The team lost key rotation players in free agency such as Jeff Green and Bruce Brown, but Denver is still confident that it'll remain a contender this season.

Point guard Jamal Murray is firmly on the path to a max contract extension after averaging 26.1 points on 47-40-93 shooting splits during the Nuggets' playoff run last year.

Denver will open the regular season against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 24. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Jamal Murray did not ink a long-term extension with the Denver Nuggets this offseason, but general manager Calvin Booth does not see that as a concern for the star guard's future with the franchise.

"I think (Murray) is just trying to maximize his earnings," Booth told The Athletic's Sam Amick. "Look, he's an All-NBA talent. I think he knows what the benchmark is, what he needs to achieve. I mean, obviously, at the end of the day, it's in the voters' hands, not his. But whatever is in his control to make that team, we fully expect him to do it this year. We're moving forward as if he's going to be a supermax guy because I know when Jamal sets his mind to something it usually happens."

Murray would be eligible for a supermax extension if he is named to an All-NBA team this season. It would be quite the leap for the 26-year-old given he's never made an All-Star team, let alone an All-NBA squad, but Murray's playoff brilliance in the Nuggets' championship run last season cannot be discounted.

Murray averaged 26.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists in Denver's 20 playoff games, emerging as a true co-star next to Nikola Jokić. The Kentucky product has consistently outperformed his regular-season numbers in the playoffs throughout his career, something he'll look to change by ascending during the 2023-24 campaign.

Murray is eligible for a three-year, $144 million extension at the moment. He is under contract for $36 million in 2024-25, the final year of his five-year, $158.2 million deal he signed in 2019.

The Nuggets would gladly hand Murray the $144 million extension at any moment, but he could make well over $200 million on a supermax deal if he waits it out.

Former longtime NBA coach Brendan Malone died at the age of 81, the Denver Nuggets announced Tuesday.

Malone, the father of Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, had coached in the league for 27 years and was the first head coach of the Toronto Raptors during their inaugural season in 1995-96.

Brendan Malone also served as an assistant with the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic. Per The Athletic's Eric Koreen, he received the 2023 Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact Award from the National Basketball Coaches Association in July.

Malone began his coaching career at a New York City high school in 1967. He later moved up to the collegiate level as an assistant at Fordham, Yale and Syracuse before becoming head coach at Rhode Island.

Malone transitioned to the NBA as an assistant with the Knicks in 1986. He was a member of the Pistons coaching staff that led the franchise to back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990. In all, the teams he helped coach advanced to the playoffs 20 times with four NBA Finals appearances.

Koreen noted that "Malone's teachings, particularly on defense, have informed many teams for years." His philosophy was present while his son guided Denver on a run to the 2023 NBA championship.

Michael Malone didn't travel with the Nuggets for Tuesday's preseason game against the Phoenix Suns. Assistant coach David Adelman was elevated to interim coach in his absence.

The Denver Nuggets have reportedly picked up the third-year option on Christian Braun's rookie contract, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The option will pay Braun an estimated $3 million in the 2024-25 season, per Spotrac. The young guard also have a fourth-year team option in 2025-26 for an estimated $4.9 million.

Braun, 22, emerged as a solid role player in his rookie season, averaging 4.7 points in 15.5 minutes per game across 76 contests (six starts) during the regular season. He shot 49.5 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from three.

He saved his best for last, averaging 5.8 points per game in the NBA Finals, including a 15-point outburst off the bench in the team's Game 3 win (a performance that was justifiably overshadowed by the 30-point triple-doubles registered by Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray, the first time in NBA history a pair of teammates accomplished that feat in the same game).

The Nuggets beat the Miami Heat in five games to clinch the title and Braun was trusted with 16.2 minutes per game in the series, an indication that a bigger role was in his future. Perhaps it shouldn't have come as a shock that the moment wasn't too big for him—he also won a national championship with the Kansas Jayhawks during the 2021-22 season.

That composure has him in line to handle sixth-man duties for the team. It was a role that Bruce Brown largely filled last season, though a two-year, $45 million deal lured him to the Indiana Pacers this summer.

"When you're talking about apples-to-apples replacement [of Brown], you're talking about Braun," Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth told the Denver Post's Bennett Durando. "And Christian, I think, has improved his ball-handling a ton, but he won't be playing any backup point guard. ... Braun is going to bring a lot of the same things Bruce brought, but Bruce played on the ball more."

He's impressed his head coach, too.

"He was the best player in our gym most days this summer," Michael Malone told Durando. "And you're just watching that confidence and that swagger he has, and the experience he went through last season in the playoffs, in the Finals. Not many rookies have the impact that he did."

Which made picking him his third-year option—and eventually his fourth-year option—an easy decision.

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray isn't eligible for a supermax deal with two years remaining on his current contract, but the reigning NBA champs are preparing for the possibility they will have to give him a supermax extension.

Speaking to Mark Medina of SportsKeeda.com, Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth said they are "anticipating" that Murray will be eligible for a supermax because "he'll probably make All-NBA."

Murray has two years and $69.8 million remaining on his current contract. He's eligible to sign a three-year, $145 million extension that would start with the 2025-26 season until Oct. 23.

The 26-year-old told reporters during Monday's media day his camp hasn't talked about an extension with the Nuggets yet. Booth said the impression he's gotten from Murray and his agent, Jeff Schwartz, is they would "rather play it out."

Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, Murray would be eligible for a five-year, $303 million extension from the Nuggets next summer if he makes the All-NBA team.

Booth admitted this would "be a hit to our salary cap" if it happens, but he loves "seeing people reach their potential when they play the way he can."

Nikola Jokić's five-year, $276 million supermax signed in July 2022 starts with the 2023-24 season. He will have salaries over $50 million in three consecutive seasons from 2024-25 through 2026-27 with a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28.

The new collective bargaining agreement may have a significant impact on Murray's earning potential. Since All-NBA teams are no longer divided by position, it may not be as difficult for guards to get in.

Point guard is loaded with Murray, Stephen Curry, Luka Dončić, Donovan Mitchell, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, De'Aaron Fox, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, Ja Morant, Jrue Holiday, Jalen Brunson, James Harden, Tyrese Haliburton and Trae Young among the notable players at the position.

Under the previous rules, only six guard spots were available on the All-NBA team.

Last season was a huge step up for Murray after missing the entire 2021-22 campaign recovering from a torn ACL suffered in April 2021. He had a terrific regular season with 20.0 points on 39.8 percent three-point shooting and 6.2 assists per game in 65 starts.

During Denver's run to the championship, Murray took his game to another level. He averaged 26.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists and shot 47.3 percent from the field (39.6 percent behind the arc) in 20 games.

Murray's name is frequently brought up among the best active players who have not been named to an All-Star team. He's going into his eighth season and has averaged at least 20.0 points per game in the last two seasons he's played.

The Los Angeles Lakers haven't made it a secret that they are excited to face the Denver Nuggets this season after losing to them in the Western Conference Finals.

And Nuggets head coach Michael Malone—who hasn't been shy about talking smack since that victory—had his own thoughts on the rivalry Wednesday.

"Oh, they're talking about us? That was what, like, four months ago?" he told reporters. "... If they're still worried about us, that's on them. ... If we're on their minds, then I guess that's on them."

In the wake of Denver's sweep of the Lakers during last year's playoffs before winning the title, Malone was introduced at the championship parade as "the Lakers' daddy."

Malone was also annoyed that the Lakers remained a storyline even after the Nuggets eliminated them:

The Lakers were paying attention.

Anthony Davis said Tuesday that the trash talk emanating out of Denver was "motivational" and that "there was just so much of that going on it was like, 'Alright, we get it, y'all won.' But me and [LeBron James] had some conversations like, 'We can't wait [to play them again.]'"

"You see stuff," Austin Reaves added. "Me, personally, I try my best to stay off of social media and not look at all that stuff. To me, I go play every game the way I'm going to go play the first game against them. But I think it adds a little bit of motivation to go play really well. That's really it."

One of the interesting subplots to the growing rivalry is that the two teams will open their seasons against each other on Oct. 24 in Denver, when the Nuggets raise their championship banner. That should add a bit more spice to a game that should have a bit more intensity than the standard regular-season matchup.

"I was happy to see Denver as the first game," Reaves told reporters. "It's a big night for them, as it should be. You tip your hat to them. They played a hell of a series against us and then went and won it in the Finals against Miami, so you tip your hat. But at the end of the day, we can go get a win that first game on their ring night. Obviously not spoil their day [completely], but start off our season in a good way."

Back-to-back MVPs weren't enough to get Nikola Jokić respect as the NBA's best player.

It turns out winning one ring did the job.

Jokić was voted as the NBA's best player in a poll of 15 scouts, coaches and executives conducted by Tim Bontemps of ESPN. The Denver Nuggets star received 13 of 15 votes, with Giannis Antetokounmpo earning the other two.

Jokić had not received a single vote in any of the previous four polls conducted by Bontemps. He is also considered the favorite to win his third NBA MVP in 2023-24, besting Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum.

There have only been eight players in NBA history to win at least three MVPs. Jokić is already on the list of 15 players to win at least two Michael Jordan trophies.

Despite finishing second behind Joel Embiid in voting last season, one could argue Jokić was even better than his two MVP campaigns. He averaged 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 9.8 assists while shooting a career-high 63.2 percent from the field.

While his shooting efficiency dipped a little with higher volume in the playoffs, Jokić put together one of the most impressive offensive runs in league history to lead the Nuggets to a title. He put up 30.0 points, 13.5 rebounds and 9.5 assists, foisting Denver on his back on his way to winning Finals MVP.

"It's just how he's good," one Eastern Conference scout told Bontemps. "It's sustainability."

At age 28, Jokić has established himself as one of the greatest offensive big men in NBA history. Winning MVPs clearly locked him in as a Hall of Famer, but it took hoisting a championship to put him over the edge in the eyes of the league.

We'll have to see what he has in store for an encore to determine whether Jokić will remain atop the rankings next season.