Is This the Best Nuggets Team Ever? How Will the Bench Bolster The Team?

Is This the Best Nuggets Team Ever? How Will the Bench Bolster The Team?

It’s official. The Denver Nuggets have Yonas Valenunis who is looking like he is going to be a Denver Nugget. Uh David Adam and Katie Wy had a conversation. David Adaman said he is looking forward to Yonas being a part of the crew. And this this move begs the question when you look at the Denver Nugget roster from one to 14. Is this the best Denver Nuggets team that we’ve had in franchise history? We got so much to get into, so much to talk about. Y’all know what time it is. This is Swiper. This is Locked on Nuggets. You are Locked on Nuggets, your daily Denver Nuggets podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. your team every day. What’s going on y’all? Welcome to Locked on Nuggets. This is your host Swiper. This is your team every day. I’m so glad to be here with you all. This is going to be an incredible episode. We’re in an incredible part of the year. uh Denver Nuggets fans when it looked like things weren’t going to go super well when the team didn’t look like they had a lot going on free agency happened opened up and within two days the Denver Nuggets completely rebuilt their team trading for Cam Johnson getting Jonas Valenunis and the Dario Sard deal getting Bruce Brown in free agency getting Tim Hardaway Jr. in free agency. And now the Nuggets going into this next year, they might have more talent than they ever had before. And by the way, y’all, today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can get $150 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. Y’all, let’s get into it. Again, this is Swiper. So glad to be here with you all today. Matt Moore in deserve welldeserved vacation that he is enjoying currently. Uh Ryan Blackburn and I will be with you tomorrow. Then you will get a solo episode from Ryan on Friday. So we got great content coming for you all week. But y’all, this is a very interesting situation. I think if you’re a Denver Nuggets fan, you should be more encouraged now than maybe you ever have been for this team. Now, what I mean by that is this may not right now for some people feel like the best team that they’ve ever had, but I think if you give if you look at the team and you give the context to what the team is right now and you give the context to where they were this last year, it is a night and day difference, night and day difference than where the roster was. I mean, just incredible. Just incredible the amount of talent that left the Nuggets in 2023 with KCP and Bruce Brown, uh, KCP and Bruce Brown leaving in back-to-back years. Jeff Green lo leaving in the same year that Bruce Brown did. They lost a lot of veteran leadership. They lost a lot of really good players that I think contributed at a very high level to this team. You know, even Jeff Green, who was in an advanced age at that point, he still did a lot of really, really good things. A lot of really good things. And I think that really allowed for the Nuggets to have some versatility in the playoffs. And one of the things that I I said at the time that they missed after Jeff Green left, it wasn’t that Jeff Green was some transcendent bench player or that he had these incredible one-on-one moments where he took over four quarters or third quarter. No, that was actually beyond Jamal and Joic. That was actually Aaron Gordon. That was KCP. Bruce Brown, he did that in game four of the NBA finals. Bruce Brown got the offensive back uh board in game five of the NBA Finals. play the g the go-ahehead free throws to end the game. So there are many moments that you got from a lot of players, but the thing that you lost in Jeff Green is that size at that backup four position. when you would put Aaron Gordon out there as a backup five in the playoffs, you would be able to put Jeff Green out there and have a 6’8 220 230 pound body that you could put on LeBron James that you could put on Jimmy Bowler, like you could put on Anthony Davis, you could put on Kevin Durant, you could put on Carl Anthony Towns, and especially in that Timberwolves series, not having that made a big difference. But now, if you look at the roster and you look at the things that have changed over the last just four weeks, I think the Nuggets have more versatility now than they had even at that point. And the team is better. The team is outright better and they’re deeper. And I think there’s going to be a lot of real opportunity for everybody on the roster to eat and to play really good basketball. Now, it’s going to take some time to get the continuity and everything in order, but I want I want to read y’all this. So, the other day, I put together a in and-out of who’s left the Denver Nuggets and who’s brought in. I want you to hear these names, and I want you to hear them in context of of how this is going to change up the rotation. If you remember last year, the Denver Nuggets, they were running out uh Jamal Murray, Christian Brown, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Nicola Joic. They were then running out Russell Westbrook, Julian Strother, Payton Watson, Zeke Naji, Blackco Chanchchar, Dario Sarge, and DeAndre Jordan. That was their rotation. And if you step outside of that framework and then you try to look at it as a non-Nuggets fan, even as a Nuggets fan, but really a non-Nuggets fan, you can tell that is not a good rotation. That’s not a good team. That’s not a team with talent. Now, Calvin Muth had a vision where he wanted to get the young players to grow and excel in their role. And the way you do that is by not having veterans that get in the way of their growth and development on the roster. But the issue is they were still so far away from what the Nuggets needed them to be that they weren’t able to provide any consistency. And maybe again, maybe a Julian Strawther, maybe if he was year four, year five Julian Strawther last year, it could have been different. But he wasn’t and he was year two. And it took a lot of it took a lot of things to go right, I think, for the Nuggets to be successful over the course of the year. You know, I rewatched a lot of the games they played versus Washington, that they played versus uh the uh the the Raptors, that they played versus the Nets, and it was just like, man, they’re struggling bad, but the one of the reasons they’re struggling is the starters just can’t catch a break. There’s no way for the starters to really truly get any grease to just relax for five, six, seven minute stretches cuz the bench is going haywire or just having moderately well good play. They were one of the worst benches in the league bar none last year. So when you look at this, so the players that have left the Denver Nuggets roster, this is what I have listed. Michael Porter Jr., NBA champion, really good a good starter for the Nuggets. He’s gone. Russell Westbrook was their sixth best player last year. had a lot of really high moments. He’s gone. Dario Sarge, who played 15 games really last year and made the six most money on the roster last year, he’s gone. DeAndre Jordan, who obviously is is a veteran. He’s been in the league a long time. He’s in his late 30s. He’s no longer like a real true rotational big. He’s gone. Blanco Chanchchar, again, injured player on and off over the years. Had a couple good moments in the regular season. really didn’t offer anything to the team on courtwise, but was a good locker room presence and obviously a friend Joic. He’s gone. So, Porter out, Russell Westbrook out, Dario Sars, DeAndre Jordan, and Blanco Chantard to replace these players. The Denver Nuggets have brought in Cameron Johnson, who I went over with Ryan Blackburn, and I think is a clear upgrade at the three spot as a ball handler, playmaker, creation player in terms of their own shot and for others, a defender. They’re going to take a step back in the rebounding, but they’re going to be a holistically better team with Camp. And then you bring in Bruce Brown. I think Bruce Brown, who’s still so athletic, gets downhill, creates advantages, still a good offball shooter, and I mean good at league average offball shooter, and somebody who really can step up defensively to do a good job in different spots. And then you bring in Tim Hardaway Jr. who has his own shooting gravity. And I think Tim Hardaway Jr. is going to have a lot of really good games for this team next year. You know, he’s somebody with the Detroit Pistons that was doing some really good work. And honestly, things go well for him and they call a foul when they supposed to call it. They’re up 3-1 on the New York Knicks and Detroit’s they might be moving on to the Boston series. And then you bring in Jonas Valenunis who’s one, as David Adam says, it’s a starting level NBA big who is now going to be able to back up Nicola Joic. And also when Joic isn’t playing in the game, they’re going to have to run a real offense with with Jonas Valenunis and the rest of the team. And also when Joic is out and he’s taking a rest day, you got a starting big that can do a lot of the things Joic does. not close to the same level, but who can replicate the same kind of value to the team in ways. And then Don Holmes, and read I’m including Don Holmes. He was their first round pick last year at 23 overall. They traded three second round picks to acquire him. He didn’t play at all last season. I think this is another player. They’re adding to the rotation. That’s going to have impact on what they’re doing. He’s going to have impact on the team. He’s going to have an impact on where the way they’re going to be able to run the rotation off the bench. like he’s going to add things to the team athletically as a shooter. If you’re watching summer league at all, his shooting has been his biggest thing right now. He’s still getting where he needs to go. But by the time you get to late October, he’ll be 15 months removed from the Achilles injury. By the time you get y’all to January, we’re going to be 17 18 months removed and he’ll be fully healthy, fully locked in. I think he’s going to get better as the year goes on. So, you’re bringing in talent at the guard position, talent on the wings, talent in the big man spot, and a tween four or five big that can do a lot of really special things. And on the other side, I want to talk about Bruce Brown in particular because David Adam and uh John Wallace, uh John Wallace talked about this idea on Altitude on the radio show that they’re still looking for another point guard, another ball handler, but I actually think Bruce Brown, man, I think he can do a really good job in that spot. But we’ll talk about all that and more on the other side here. Lockdown Nuggets. Summer sports are in full swing and whether you’re all about baseball under the lights, golf on the green, or high stakes soccer action, FanDuel is the best way to make every game even more exciting. Now, you’re already following the action. Why not make it a little more thrilling? With FanDuel, you can get in on the game while your friends are getting sunburned at the beach. Now, I’ve been using FanDuel to track my favorite matchups, and the app keeps it fresh with new daily promotions and fun ways to bet. It’s an easy tool to use, fast to pay out, and makes even regular seasoning games feel like much events. Right now, again, I think you can get the Denver Nuggets for their title odds. They’re looking really good. They’re not the favorite. OKC is like a plus 200. You’re going to get a lot of value looking at even the title odds for the Denver Nuggets this next year. Uh, Jokic is is a is a go-ahehead favorite, I believe, to win MVP at a plus 200. Still plus money there. Now, whether I’m placing a sand game parley or watching a bet ride into the ninth inning, FanDuel makes it feel like I’m a part of the action. So, new to FanDuel, new customers can bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. That’s amazing, y’all. Open the FanDuel app today or visit fanuel.com to get started. We’ll be right back for segment two of Locked on Nuggets. We are back here for the second segment of Locked on Nuggets. Great to see you all. Hope you’re having a spectacular day. Uh y’all make sure if you’re watching this on the YouTube side, give us a like, give us a share, give us a subscription. Yo, we’re on the way to 15,000 subscribers. I believe by the end of 2025, we’re going to get there. This community is booming and we are giving you some of the best content in the NBA. Also, if you’re listening to this on Spotify or Apple iTunes, do you hear these majestic voices every single day from Matt Moore and Ryan Blackburn? You want to hear more of the great content they’re making? Give us a fivestar review. That way people can listen to all the great stuff we’re doing in an even wider network, y’all. Now, Bruce Brown, there’s been a lot of speculation, friends and family, about Bruce Brown. There’s been a lot of conversations, friends and family, about Bruce Brown. Now, one of the things that I’m very curious to see, I think Bruce is going to be a good player for this team. I think there’s a lot of stuff that he’s going to offer to this team. And very similarly, and I won’t do as it won’t be as long-winded as it was with Ryan the other day, but I want to remind people and I want to give some of the basketball index the the the numbers around who he is as a overall player. Bruce Brown, y’all, he’s a good secondary ball handler. He is He’s a 6’4, 200 lb really good athlete. Like his ability to get to the rim and use his explosion is still really good. He’s only 28 years old, y’all. There’s an argument I can make. There’s an argument I could make. Bruce Brown is headed to the prime of his career at 28 years old. Him and Jamal Murray are same age. They’re the exact same age. And Bruce in a new amplified situation with a better team around him. People got to remember the Pacers got him in order to be a trade ship to advance their team. So once the trade deadline came around and once they were able to use his Bruce $22.5 million as a trade piece they traded him to Toronto for Pascal Seakum and then he went from the Raptors to the Pelicans and both of those situations for him were not ideal at all in any way shape or form. Those weren’t good teams and so Bruce’s I think his value around the league it plummeted but it was it plummeted with the Nets too. Remember when Bruce had ended his tenure with the Nets in 2022, he actually had a really good playoff series versus the Boston Celtics. He was their third best player behind Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. And then after that, the money dried up as he said when in his interview with Theo Pinson. And here come the Denver Nuggets and they said, “Look, I don’t know how you’re still available. We didn’t think we could get you, but would you want to come here and win a ring?” What did Bruce did? He came to Denver, reprised his role, rebuilt his value in the NBA, won a ring, was a defensive ace, was a great offensive option as a sixth, fifth option, and then he had some really, really key moments in the NBA playoffs versus the Wolves, versus the Suns defensively, ripping Kevin Durant versus the Lakers, absolutely stying D’Angelo Russell and finishing well on the other end and hitting threes. And then versus the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler was getting strapped. Like they were making real easy work of people because of the pressure they were putting on the ball. And a lot of that was Bruce Brown. And if you look at the basketball index numbers on Bruce Brown, y’all, he’s currently a 75th percentile perimeter defender. He’s a B+ isolation defender. That’s good, y’all. That’s really good. He’s an A minus ball screen navigator. Like, so this is not just somebody who is going to be able to hold up one-on-one versus a lot of guards in this league, but he also is going to be a good chaser. And again, if you add that to what the Nuggets do have now, he’s replacing Russell Westbrook. Russell Westbrook was a better I would say a offball playmaker than he was a strapped defender. Now, he had some really good moments like the SGA clip. I think that was game three if I remember correctly where he strapped SGA for a possession, but that’s not his best skill set. He was a defensive playmaker and you’re definitely going to miss that. But I think that the on ball stuff that he’ll be able to do, I think that’s going to have a big impact on this team and I think the team is going to feel it. Now, just for to juxtapose, by the way, uh if you look at Christian Brown, just for give you some context. So, Bruce Brown, like I said, uh he’s listed as a B+ uh sorry, let me make sure I got this right. Yeah, he’s listed as a B+ isolation defender. Just for context, Christian Brown, he’s listed as an A+ isolation defender. If you watch the playoff, man, he actually was hounding James Hart. He’s listed as a 97 percentile uh perimeter attack defender. A minus Christian Brown, ball screen navigator. A minus offball chaser. So the thing is is now you’re adding another defender to the roster that I think has a higher floor but not as high of a ceiling as Russell Westbrook. So if you include the fact that Bruce is going to be able to offer a lot defensively, think about these lineups. Jamal Murray goes out and you want to bring a backup guard in, which we’ll get to a little bit from some of David Adam’s comments and John Wallace’s comments about the backup guard position. You bring in Bruce Brown and you couple him with Christian Brown and you have Cam Johnson on the floor with Aaron Gordon or Cam Johnson on the floor with either Payton Watson or with D uh Don Holmes or Zeke Naji if Zaji is in that lineup. You’re going to have some really good defenders. And one of the great things that exists in this era now is that now because Michael is not here and again this is no slight. This is just facts about what Michael is. Okay. Christian Brown, he he’s an A+ isolation defender. Bruce Brown, like I said, listed at a B+ isolation defender. And for a wing, Chris Cameron Johnson is listed as a B+ isolation defender. And then now y’all, if you keep going from there, and then you want to add Aaron Gordon into there, and again, Lord willing, a healthy Aaron Gordon who’s kind of back on his grind, back on his athletic grind. he’s able to be what he was uh in the playoffs in the regular season where he can bring that level of intensity to the game. Okay. Well, now you’re adding another positive defender and a really good wing defender. So, you’re going to have four positive four positive defenders that are going to be hanging out on the perimeter around Jokic. That’s a big big big deal. And I think that’s going to enhance the Nuggets value overall. And if I go to the year before when Aaron Gordon was fully healthy, uh Aaron Gordon was listed as an A minus rim protector in that year. Now KTP was obviously on the team, but teams shot uh 4.6% worse with Aaron Gordon as the rim protector, which y’all is really freaking good, especially for a player of that caliber. Aaron Gordon was listed as an A value wing defender as well. And again, y’all remember the Nuggets finished eighth in defense that year. They were as high as three for a portion of the season. So, you’re adding so much to the roster. And I think now with Christian going to be in his fourth year, let’s say he continues to develop, he gets smarter, understands his role even more, he gets better. Bruce is there, Cameron Johnson is there, Aaron is there, Don Holmes, he’s able to in to to participate defensively, and then Pton Watson continues to take steps. They got a lot of defenders on the roster. Again, you know, Joic, I think Joic gets a bad rep for when Joic is like Olays and stuff. And again, that’s he definitely has his moments where he can not look great. But I think as these playoffs show that when Joic has to commit like time, like real effort to doing the job of playing defense, he did it at a really good level. Like a really good level. And I think that this is going to be an opportunity for this team to fully be able to lock in and take advantage of what’s on the roster. And I think Bruce Brown is going to be a real anchor for them. And I’m so excited. So excited to see how they make all of this work together. Uh on the other side, I’m gonna speak very lightly to Tim Hardaway Jr. because I want actually do a a whole segment on a later date about Tim Hardaway, the things he’s going to add to this roster. But I think even him, there are going to be some special things they can do with him now on the roster. We’re going to talk about that, all that and more here at Lockdown Nuggets. Let’s be honest, meal planning and grocery shopping can be overwhelming. Between busy schedules, picky eaters, and trying to eat healthy, it’s a lot. That’s why I love Hungry Root. They take the stress out of planning by filling your cart for you with personalized groceries and meal options based on what you like and need. Now, Hungry Root uses their smart car technology to recommend groceries, recipes, and even supplements tailored to your preferences. Whether you’re dairy free, gluten-free, focused on gut health, or just trying to eat better, Hungry Root got you covered. Now, here’s the great thing. Crazy busy schedule. You know, the summer for if you work in the NBA space, this is kind of our downtime. Summer league is happening right now. So, you know, you’re still working, making shows, writing. But in the in the NBA season, y’all, it is an absolute grind. Morning to evening. The hours are crazy. Sometimes I’m up till 3:00 a.m. making content, making videos, getting ready to get make sure you have all that you need. And you can use Hungry Route if you’re a busy dayto-dayer like myself. And you can plan your meals. That way you don’t have to worry about cooking and doing all this other stuff as well. So take advantage y’all of the exclusive offer for a limited time. Get 40% off your first box plus a free item in every box for life. So go to hungryroot.com/lockdown NBA and use code lockedNBA. That’s hungryroot.com/lockdown NBA code lockdown NBA to get 40% off your first box and a free item of your choice for life. We’ll be right back for the final segment here. Locked on nuggets. We’re back here for the final segment of Locked on Nuggets. You all I am so excited about this upcoming NBA season. I hope you are. I I matter of fact, I hope that with everything you went through last year, for all the grind of what last season was, I hope that you’re truly going to enjoy the moment. I hope that you enjoy the path that we’re we’re headed on because I think there’s some special stuff ahead, man. I think that this team there’s a lot of things to look forward to. I think there’s a lot of really good basketball, Lord willing, everybody’s healthy, that we’re able to point to and be expecting of and I think that this is just the start. So, obviously, I’m very glad to be doing this with you all. So, here we are. The Denver Nuggets, man, adding Tim Hardaway Jr. I think it’s been one of the undersold stories of the NBA season. And you know, we’ve heard a lot about his, you know, open shooting percentage, shooting 64% on wide open threes last year. And look, that’s all really great. Like I think that’s valuable, but I think Tim Hardaway, man, having another option, another option that’s going to be able to offer true gravity and space for this roster and for this team, man, that is going to be so good and necessary for this roster. adding somebody with a positive shooting gravity that has a very very highly rated three-point shooting talent that’s a good off the dribble three-point shooter that can shoot the dri uh shoot the three uh and pull up from as well somebody that’s willing to get up the volume like I said last year was his lowest volume but that was I think contextual to the team he was on but he’s been taking seven threes seven threes a game for really some time now and I think having a player that’s willing to get them that up that much and on top of that because of the way that he’s guarded that I think is going to also make a big difference for the rest of the roster and especially for a lot of those bench units. There’s just going to be I think a different feel to the team. And I actually think Jamal Murray is the one that’s going to maybe benefit from this the most. And the reason why I say that you all is because Jamal Murray, I think that the non Joic minutes for Jamal this year potentially could be the best that they’ve ever been. Could be the best that they ever been. I think that Jamal is he’s going to be in a situation where we’re going to be able to deploy him and other players that I think not just fit his skill set, but that they’re also veterans that know what they’re doing. And I think last year really in the David Adelman era, you got a chance to see I think uh some of the progress from Jamal like in the nonic minutes where they were actually working and in the playoffs I think they worked to a degree as well. But Jamal just build this lineup with me real quick. Jamal, Bruce Brown, Cameron Johnson, Pton Watson or Don Holmes and Yonas Valenunis. You give Jamal Murray a legitimate pick and roll DHO big that he loved. You get a Jamal an option with big that can shoot the mid-range shot and can get a post and score. You give Jamal an offball shooter and Cam Johnson or Aaron Gordon in that lineup. You get him somebody that can rim run with Watson Holmes and a spacer in Don Holmes. And then you also give him Bruce Brown who can take the primary defensive responsibility in those lineups as well. That’s their own slasher and ball handler in their own right. Like even Jamal Murray, like you want to run some some down screens for him, some off ball screens for him. You can do all that in these lineups. And I think the Nuggets are really gonna be able to set a lot of really good actions for Jamal Murray. And I think that there are some opportunities for him to take another step at his game. uh especially and I don’t mean like he’s already shown to be a good playmaker, but I think that Jamal is really going to have opportunities to even expand on that this year. You know, we’ve seen him average as much uh in the NBA playoffs as seven assists a game, and he’s obviously shown that like he’s a willing passer. Jamal Murray, he’s a shooter, like he’s a scorer, so he’s going to put up a lot of shots, but Jamal Murray’s proven to be a willing passer, somebody who’s talented enough to get the ball really almost anywhere on the floor. But I think Jamal this year, you know, 20 21, seven assists on even better efficiency. I mean, that’s probably what you can expect from him. Really, the last four years that he’s played in he was 21.2 20 21.2 and 21.4. Uh the three point I think the number in the last four years, 41% from three, 39.8% from three, 42 and a half percent from three, and 39.3% from three. This is another year for Jamal to get back up over 40%. Now, I know a lot of people are going to talk about him like, you know, coming into the season in shape and all that, but look, I’m going to give him the benefit that Jamal’s working on his game. He’s working on his craft, and I’m excited for the next step he can take. He’s 28 years old, y’all. I think a lot of the reason why I think everybody’s high on the Nuggets, right? every I think most people are saying they’re probably for them the second and the lowest the third best team in the Western Conference next year. I think a lot of people feel that way, but I think that we can agree that if Jamal Murray, if he were able to take a step as a basketball player where his shot creation numbers are even better, that his defense is even better. I think there would be a lot of people that’d be willing to say that this team is on the same par as OKC. You know, I think for people like me, if you’re looking at matchups and you’re looking at the way that the Nuggets play and the amount of bodies they’re going to have now, they’re my favorite to win the title next year, again, barring health. But I think that Jamal, if he takes a step and his ceiling is higher as a player, man, I just think that a lot of people are really going to start to turn on what this team could be. And if you just even remember, man, like, you know, I think in the playoffs, he showed that he can get there versus any team. He had a 43 point masterclass versus the Clippers. Uh he had a couple performances really one in particular uh versus the OKC Thunder that I think the OKC Thunder were really struggling with him. Now he was one of these games he shot 28 times wasn’t super efficient. That was game five. But through the first three quarters man I’m like man Jamal and Jokers are going nuts. I they might close this out. They can bring this back to Denver 3-2. I and I want to remind people how close they were. The Nuggets were six minutes of good basketball. one more rotation player of good basketball, an injured Porter, an injured Russell Westbrook, a Porter that was getting seven points a game, 20% shooting because he couldn’t shoot the ball. They were one more player in six minutes away from going up 3-1 in game four, from going up 3-2 in game five. They just couldn’t find the bodies. So, they’re adding the bodies to the roster. And if Jamal Murray, if he really steps into who he is, who he truly is, a 6’4 dynamic player, I’m willing to bet that I think that he can make a real difference, a real difference for this team. And I think he can have a career season this year. And you know what? I’m even willing to bet on it a little bit. And I think that for Jamal, I know he wants to be great. I know he wants to be one of the very best players in the league, but I think that right now this is going to be the best opportunity he’s had so far. The thickest step. I think Jokic, crazy as it sounds, is probably going to have a career year next year. Not from a points per game standpoint, it might go down to 25 26, but 26 points a game, 12 rebounds, 10 11 assists, maybe 70 true shooting again, and we’re rocking. But the team, they have what they need, y’all. Now, it’s just about taking care of business. And I’ll make these last two comments. David Adam, he mentioned the other day, um, that there’s going to be real competitiveness now with this team. That’s something they’ve lacked for the last two years. That’s a big deal. Like, that’s a big deal. I think a lot of people are underelling when you have this many bodies in the room that are this good. I think they’re going to be in a situation where they’re going to be more ready to go to open the year because of the sheer amount of bodies that they have and the competitive that’s going to be existing behind the scenes. Could Peyton Watson, Julian Straw, Jaylen Picket, Tim Hardaway Jr., Deron Holmes, you want to play, you got to compete. You got to fight every single possession. And I think that tenacity plus that renewed spirit. He David Adaman said he talked to Jamal, talked to Aaron, talked to Jokic since the trades. They’re all excited and they’re looking forward to this season. Man, there’s something that could be brewing, y’all. Uh, and then he also talk about Yonis Valenunis. Like I said, having another player you can start and having another player that you can roll with. I’m really excited to see how they use Yonis Valenunis, both without Joic and with Jokic. Like I said, I’m already I already predicted it. The Nuggets will roll out that same zone the Houston Rockets did with Alfred Shenon and Steven Adam. They want to find out what Yonis and Joic look like together. But that’s going to do it for this episode of Lockdown Nuggets. What do you think Bruce Brown will offer to this team next year? What are your expectations for Jamal Murray? How do you see the Nuggets kind of configuring uh these bench lineups? And are you excited for what you’re about to see from this Nuggets team? Y’all, this is Swiper. This is Lockdown Nuggets. See you on the other side.

The Denver Nuggets have officially acquired Jonas Valanciunas from the Sacramento Kings and with that the Nuggets are likely deeper than they’ve ever been. How will the Nuggets use all of the players on their roster? How can Bruce Brown reprise his role with the Nuggets? Also, David Adelman made some very poignant comments about this Nuggets team that should mean something for Nuggets fans.

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

OpenPhone
Streamline and scale your customer communications with OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/lockedonnba

Hungryroot
With Hungryroot, it’s like having a personal shopper and a nutritionist all in one. For a limited time, get 40% off your first box and a free item in every box for life! Just go to Hungryroot.com/lockedonnba and use code LOCKEDONNBA.

Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnba for 50% off your first year

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

FanDuel
Right now, new customers can get ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)