Tim Connelly content with core of Denver Nuggets' roster before an offseason of trying to increase championship odds
Jun. 18—Tim Connelly is ready to run it back with one exception.
During an end-of-season press conference Friday, the Denver Nuggets' president of basketball operations looked forward to retaining most the team for next season.
"We're always trying to get better. Certainly, we have a handful of free agents that we're hopeful we can retain, but we won't have real certainty about what our roster might look like until post-draft," Connelly said of his offseason priorities. "We really enjoyed this group, and the more guys we can keep, the better."
The exception is Wes Unseld Jr. Connelly didn't want Unseld back because he's hoping the Nuggets' assistant gets a head coaching gig elsewhere. The Denver Post first reported Unseld is being considered for vacancies with the Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards. Unseld previously worked for both franchises before becoming Michael Malone's lead assistant in Denver.
"It's beyond me that Wes isn't already a head coach. I don't know what more he has to do to be in that head seat," Connelly said.
"Hopefully, this is the offseason where we finally lose him."
The rest of the roster construction will have to wait until July. Will Barton III and JaMychal Green have mid- to late-July deadlines to pick up their respective player options. The draft, where the Nuggets are expected to pick late in the first round, is scheduled for July 29 before free agency starts in the first week of August. Connelly did not expect the uncertain timeframe surrounding Jamal Murray's return from ACL repair surgery to impact the team's offseason decisions.
"I don't think his injury will have too much bearing on how we view the next X amount of months, because we know he's going to be back better than ever," Connelly said.
One thing that could come sooner is a contract extension for Michael Porter Jr., who is set to play the final year under his rookie deal next season. Porter has emerged as a historically efficient shooter of the past couple of seasons, while his lack of NBA experience has been apparent on the defensive end during two playoff runs. Still, he's someone Connelly seems to want around as the Nuggets chase a championship.
"His work ethic is an A+. It's fun when you see guys like that, guys like that who have to battle through adversity and all the injuries," Connelly said.
"We'll sit down with Michael's representation. Our M.O. is when we can, we try to lock guys up and reward them for what they've done. We've had a lot of luck in getting things done early rather than later. I think it's helped with our culture. I think these guys are colleagues. They're not assets. The more proactive we can be with trying to build a sustainable roster the better."
With Nikola Jokic and Murray wrapped up for the next few seasons, the Nuggets have a solid core to build around. Jokic's new Most Valuable Player trophy and status as one of the league's most selfless stars could make rounding out the roster with complementary talents easier, Connelly hopes.
"I don't know how anybody would not want to play with Nikola. As good of a player as he is, he's an even better guy," Denver's president of basketball operations said. "I think as more and more people have been exposed to just how genuine he is as a person, I think he's got a ton of fans leaguewide, and certainly, as a player, the MVP award illustrates he's as good as anybody in the world."
Connelly said the Kroenke ownership family is willing to pay the luxury tax to build a championship roster in Denver. Though the Nuggets hope to be replacing their lead assistant, the nucleus pieces appear in place to make a run at a title.
"We want to be, eventually, one of one. So how do we continue to make strides in that direction? I think we have an excellent core. I think we have an excellent coaching staff, which has done such a great job being flexible and nimble with all the injuries in different places," Connelly said. "I really like our foundation, but until we're having this press conference after winning a championship, we're falling short."
