Michael Malone on Nuggets Free Agency, Olympics, Jokic Update & More

Michael Malone on Nuggets Free Agency, Olympics, Jokic Update & More

well first of all I got to ask about the shirt Carolina yeah uh so my youngest daughter uh has committed to play volleyball there there you go congrats so I am now a very big Tarheel fan there you go go he so what what stood out to you now through 3 days of Camp what or who I should say well I I regarding the what I think uh Andrew mson who’s the head coach uh John Becket cam Griffin Elvis Val carel all those guys are doing a hell of a job it’s really neat cuz I I go back to when I was an assistant and you get an opportunity to coach the summer league team and how much you put into it and uh so I’m really impressed with the job they’re doing as far as the players Adam I think these guys are coming in working hard and I’ve seen improvement from day one to two to day three and uh you know you start off with dur you could tell day one it was like a lot coming at him and he he was better day two and he’s better day three settling down simplifying some things and getting used to our terminology and how we play uh Trey I’ve been really impressed with him his ability to play on the ball off the ball get by people make his teammates better shoot the ball he’s been really well coached obviously at kraton as as d uh Darren and uh at Dayton so and then PJ Hall man how can you not love that kid big strong physical skilled shoots the ball extremely well kind of neat that him and Hunter Tyson were roommates I’d love to hear some of those stories cuz I know they got some good ones um and then all the other guys that are here are just uh working hard understanding how we’re trying to play and it’s been a real joy to be in the gym with these guys so what’s this time of year like for you are you in full coach mode is it just kind of be in the gym and be around the guys or what’s what’s the balance for you yeah the balance is you know uh giving the coaches and the players space right uh but also like it’s really hard for me to be in a gym and not coach sure so going back and forth today today was a scrimmage day going back and forth between the huddles throwing up plays correcting guys on defensive mistakes grabbing guys to have one-on-one conversations cuz I want them to know yeah I’m not coaching the summer league but I am invested in this summer league and I I am going to be a part of it uh you know compared to last year we won it and I had very little interaction with the summer league team and I wanted to go the other way I wanted to be a part of it so the players and coaches all know that I’m here and and supporting everything they’re trying to do TR are looking out to Jamal Murray have you see any similarities in their game I mean Jamal is a special player I mean so I I always hate comparing young players coming in to players that are as established as Jamal and have the resume that Jamal Murray has with that being said um the comparisons are you know Jamal is a true combo at Kentucky he played off the ball for the national team he plays on and off the ball for us here was our backup two guard coming in and now he was our starting one their ability to handle the ball create for themselves shoot the ball from Deep make their teammates better there are definitely similarities you know but obviously Trey as an incoming rookie has has a lot of room to continue to grow but he has been impressed with these first three days and I really enjoyed watching him play have you seen anyone really step up as a leader so far over these past few days um know the guys that have been here you know I have to give a lot of credit to uh Julian St you know rolled his ankle a little bit today so didn’t play a lot he’s been in our gym every day Hunter Tyson they’ve been he’s been in our gym every day way before summer league practice they’ve been putting the time in working with that coaches working with our strength coaches and those two I think are setting the tone Jaylen picket he’s been in that gym a bunch uh those three guys returning players familiar with who we are what we’re trying to do I think are helping all these other new players coming in to get acclimated to get comfortable um but that’s what it’s about we want our young players in our gym working hard getting better and uh the guys that have been here have done that coach I know family is very important for the team the organization can you tell us a little bit about Parker Brown and and Walter Ellis just how they sort of became a part of this yeah well obviously you know uh Parker uh see Christian Brown’s family was at Santa Clara transferred to Kansas and um we’ve done that over the years as you know we’ve Mike jonte Porters with us we’ve tried to if guys can play uh have them have a home W Barton’s brother back in the day when I first got it was on a some elite team so you know uh and we don’t just give anybody a spot like Parker can play he was at Kansas for a reason he’s a very good player uh and then Walter Ellis obviously have a huge respect for lonso his dad have met his mom as well they’ll be in Vegas um he did a hell of a job coaching the uh TBT last year lanso did um and Walter has been a part of our G team up in Grand Rapids so uh I I think anytime you can bring people in who are part of the Nuggets extended family that that only helps continue the culture that we’ve tried to create here in my nine going on 10 years Julian he’s been working on his playing what do you want to see from him in this second yeah I mean obviously uh he’s not just a scorer we saw during the year he has the ability to put the ball on the floor uh he attacks close outs uh when we drafted and we knew that he was a great mid-range shooter Runner um but we want to expand this game we feel that he’s a guy in today’s NBA that can play the one you think about this past year we had so many different guys try to fill that position of being being a backup point guard and uh we think Julian has all the tools as he continues to work on that not to be a full-time point guard but be a guy that we can play second side pick and roll with be a secondary ball handler cuz we do not have a lot of that so the more we can develop within have more ball handling playmaking bars out there that’s only going to help our team it’s that different than like how Christian was kind of developed especially at the beginning of last year I feel like some of the stuff that Christian was like taking the ball BS setting up the offense that way yeah I mean similar obviously you know CB was our backup one a time this year and obviously when you’re out there with Aaron and ni you always have a backup power fold and backup center in those guys but um the more guys that can initiate the more guys that can play pick and roll make a pocket pass make the right reads um you look at Boston and how many guys that they have on the four they had four guys at times they could all handle break their man down off the dribble play pick and roll and uh I I think that’s only going to help not just Julian and CB but just our entire offense what do you if you can narrow it down to one or two things what do you most want to see from Jaylen yeah I want to see his ability to play with Pace you know uh make her miss you know not walk the ball up get that ball over half court attack the clock get downhill be more vocal run his team as a point guard and you know he’s so used to having the ball in his hands a ton and obviously had a hell of a career at Penn State doing so but with us in our style of play um getting off the ball and when he gets it back looking to make plays get downhill but you know anytime you’re a point guard man I think the most important things are can you run your team can you make your teammates better can you make open shots and then defensively you know can you be a guy that is guarding oneon-one and containing and uh in picking roles making sure you’re doing your job of getting into the ball and being physical he’s so strong you know we want him to be to use that physique and his strength to uh to his Advantage out there you touched on it but how the stepped up and kind of adjusted I guess just over these basketball games yeah I give him credit you know what because what I love about him is that you can tell day one I had to grab him and pull him because he was putting so much pressure on himself to be perfect not make a mistake and the message was simple I want you to make mistakes you’re a rookie coming in um don’t worry about making mist Stakes every day you’re going to get better and better you’re going to get more comfortable and you have a great coaching staff around you that is here to help you so I think I said take a breath man relax enjoy this and you’re here for a reason we wanted you we love that you’re here and uh you know it’s going to be an exciting summer league for him and all the other players but I’ve seen a noticeable Improvement cuz I think he’s relaxed he’s letting the game come to him he’s not trying to do too much and just playing his game and if he does that he’s going to have a chance to have a very big impact this summer are you guys still trying to add pre agency to try to add to this team for next year dep Etc yeah yeah I mean I can’t really get into all those names and conversations because there’s a lot of things still in the works but um yeah we still have a couple of roster spots open that we’re looking to um add some players that can help you know help us try to get back to being in the championship how much do you rely on current players kind of talking about guys they want yeah I think you know for us know we have guys that have been here for Nicole’s going on 10 years Jamal’s going on 9 years uh they’ve been a huge part of us going from a team that was a non-playoff team to being in the playoffs 6 years in a row winning a championship and six years in a row making the playoffs so um we always talk about trust in this building so we trust our players ultimately obviously Josh KY our owner Calvin boo our general manager myself as a head coach uh will make those decisions but you’d be foolish not to have conversations and input from your players I I think our players understand what this team needs and they have feel for for players that we’ve competed against many years now can I get back to your first about the target you reach the high to high for you for what you do what’s what’s that feeling like when want accomplishes something like that I mean talking about family mat had yeah no well this is a she committed there last summer so last summer was like a summer of dreams like you can’t you can’t make it up we wion a championship which is incredible uh I go to Chicago for Volleyball nationals my daughter’s team Colorado Juniors based at a Monument Colorado they go to Chicago and win the Nationals uh and my daughter was named MVP uh my father was honored at Summer League um so there were so many great things and then thereafter she she had some great decisions uh opportunities scholarship offers but she felt that UNC their coaching staff and um the academics the school so it was a dream come true and uh very proud of her and all she’s done as a coach obviously your basketball how much advice do you give her or you just want Dad rooll for her well I I’m glad that my daughters chose not to play basketball cuz I would have had a really hard time going to their games and sitting there and being the dad that just kind of claps I’m uh I get a little emotional at times they say uh but my wife played volleyball in college and I’ve started to understand the game but I’ve I’ve relaxed I’m there to support my daughter and uh she’s put so much time and effort into it my oldest daughter Caitlyn is up at C Boulder she plays Club volleyball up there so I’m just proud of them both for being great kids and uh they’ve made uh my wife and I very proud obiously Olympics coming up DK white going to compete uh we found out today what’s your relation with him do you know obviously Colorado yeah what a great story you know I have gotten to know him a little bit he was in our gym a few summers ago when he was back home playing with our guys and you look at his story you know going to UCCS then to CU going to San Antonio and then winning a championship in Boston you’re always root for HomeTown kids that things didn’t come easy he had to work for everything he’s got so I have a tremendous amount of respect with Derek and uh what he’s been able to accomplish I know he just had a camp down at Parker looked like it was a packed house so he’s given back to his community which is always great to see uh so yeah I mean always group of guys like Derek white and wish him continue success Katie wi’s got to ask a question or would this not would not be a complete media session uh since for us Nicole off the gr have you talked to Nico can you give us an update on how he I I have not had many conversations you know I want to he’s involved with our national team are fully engrossed in that um I get updates from people over there but summertime I try to give these guys some room uh to breathe uh but everything I’ve heard he’s doing well he’s healthy and I’d say these Olympics are going to be incredible you know uh I watched the uh the Greek Croatia game the other day and then you look what Jose Alvarado and Puerto Rico did um so excited to watch the Olympics and how they unfold obviously rooting for Jamal and Canada rooting for Serbia and Nia and just hoping and praying that everybody is healthy when the Olympics are over great to see you everybody I got

Michael Malone Press Conference after Denver Nuggets Summer league practice about Denver Nuggets’ NBA Free Agency & More.

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