Why THIS Nuggets Team Will be the BEST in Franchise HISTORY

Why THIS Nuggets Team Will be the BEST in Franchise HISTORY

This could very well be the most important off season in Denver Nuggets franchise history. Uh neither one of you or I thought that the Nuggets would push the Thunder to seven games. They ended up doing that. Almost beat the Thunder despite essentially having four and a half players out there with what Michael Porter Jr. was dealing with. But it feels like there’s a big breath of fresh air around this Denver Nuggets team right now because of the additions of Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr. soon to be Yonas Valenunis. And obviously getting Don Holmes back from the injury feels like, you know, an addition in and of itself just being that he didn’t play last year. Let’s start it out this way. How much better are the Nuggets right now than when they ended their season against Oklahoma City in game seven? This is going to be the best team in Denver Nuggets history. They are stronger. They are deeper. I don’t know what you would consider the best team in Denver Nuggets history. Maybe you have to go back to the ABA days. Maybe you say it’s the NBA finals team. I personally thought it was the year after they were in the finals. I thought that 23 24 team was just a machine in the regular season and then they run into the Wolves in the playoffs and they kind of fell apart and they were too tired. I think this team is better than either that championship team or the team that was trying to repeat. It’s deeper. It’s stronger. The pieces fit better. And that’s one of the things I’ve learned in covering the NBA is it’s not always just about going out and getting names. It’s about getting guys that fit. Sometimes trading two starters for a guy that fits your situation better works out for your team like Contavius Caldwell Pope with Will Barton and Monte Morris. Cam Johnson is a perfect fit for this team. I love Michael Porter Jr. I think Michael Porter Jr. is a better player than most people think Michael Porter Jr. is. Cam Johnson fits the Denver Nuggets a little bit better than MPJ. On top of that, Jonas Valenunis is the best backup center the Nuggets have had since Nicole Joic was the backup center for the Denver Nuggets. When you factor that in, and it’s the number one problem the Nuggets have had in the Nicole Joic era, is the backup for Joic. They’re going to be so much better just at that. Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway on minimum deals. And by the way, they still have about $10 million they can play with and add an additional rotation player. We’re talking about Julian Strawther, who won the Nuggets game six of the second round, being a guy who’s going to struggle to get regular season rotation minutes this year. The team got so much better from last year to this year. When you did, you know, better, faster, stronger, you you kind of, well, not that song, but you channel a little Homelander, right? I’m better, I’m faster, I’m stronger. That clip that goes around viral on social media. That’s exactly the energy that I feel with this Denver Nuggets team because to your point, they get better with the starting lineup and Cam Johnson. Okay, maybe the ceiling isn’t quite as high from a scoring perspective with Cam Johnson, but you’re going to get the consistency. Yeah, you lose out on the rebounding of Michael Porter Jr., but you’ve got a Jonas Valenunis. You’ve got a Don Holmes who can step in and grab some boards as well. I I I think to your point, the vet minimum contracts of Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr., I mean, those are both got to be 10 out of 10 signings. And I know there’s some people, Zach has been a little weary on the Bruce Brown front. Danny Williams, my co-host last week, a little worry weary on the Bruce Brown front. I don’t have any concerns about Bruce Brown. And everyone wants to talk about, oh, look what he did after he left Denver. Look at this. Look at that. Well, you and I know exactly what happened with Bruce Brown. He signed with Indiana thinking that he was going to play for a team that had a chance to win a championship. Happened to be in the NBA finals in the conference finals the year before that. You know, gets shipped off to where? Toronto, then bounced to New Orleans. Two teams that are completely out of business. Bruce Brown was mentally checked out. And Bruce Brown, I I am of the belief that he was checked out, but Bruce Brown coming back to the Nuggets is a breath air breath of fresh air for the organization, but also a breath breath of fresh air for Bruce Brown. Because you know what Bruce is probably thinking, Jake? Bruce is probably saying, “Okay, I made my money on my last contract. Let me go sign this one-year vet min ball out, do what I did on the championship team, try to win another championship, and then reset my market for myself and cash in on another three or four year deal on the open market in which he’ll be in his mid-30s, early to mid-30s. Contract year, Bruce Brown is a menace, as we’ve seen before. And the thing is, even if Bruce Brown doesn’t work out, it’s a minimum contract. Exactly. It did not harm you. And there is no way better than Dario Sarich who was on the MLE last year. he is worse than Hunter Tyson or that he is worse than Jaylen Picket. So my question to you really with Bruce is can he be better for the Nuggets than what Russell Westbrook was last year because they’re in a similar situation kind of probably going to play backup point guard. Um Bruce is a little more versatile. Russ last year averaged 13 points per game. Bruce in his year in Denver averaged 11. Uh Russ last year for the Nuggets averaged six assists per game with five rebounds. Bruce in his lone year in Denver averaged uh four assists a game and four rebounds. So, the statistical profile doesn’t jump off as much, but Bruce Brown in his career has made way more corner threes than Russell Westbrook. And Russell Westbrook made a lot of corner threes last year. But Bruce is going to be someone they’re going to have to guard. And Russell Westbrook, yeah, he hustles. Yeah, he gets some steals. He can’t play defense. Bruce Brown can play defense. And his size is going to impact things whereas Russell Westbrook didn’t. So, if you believe that Bruce Brown can be as good or better than Russell Westbrook last year, then it’s a home run signing, which I think he can be because Bruce Brown can also play the role of the Energizer Bunny without being as loco for lack of a better phrase. Bruce Brown’s not going up for that layup against Minnesota or or two days later against San Antonio. Russell Westbrook plays at one speed and one speed only. That’s red line, right? Bruce Brown can play different es and flows. He can pick up the pace when he needs to, but he can also slow it down and play within the Nicole Joic offense. So, I I love the Bruce Brown signing. I’ll be honest, though, I’m actually more excited about the Tim Hardaway Jr. signing myself. You want to talk about a perfect fit for the bench? We mentioned Cam Johnson, the three-point shooting, the high level IQ that he brings to the table. Having a vet guy and Tim Hardaway Jr. to come off the bench and help shoulder the load with that second unit is huge. So, the Nuggets had the fewest three-point shot attempts in the NBA last year. They need to shoot more threes. There’s not even a debate about it. And they’re never going to be a top five, top 10 three-point shooting team as long as Nicole Yokic is here because, you know, he’s just such a good interior score. It makes no sense to hoist that many threes, but they can’t be dead last and getting lapped the way they were. Uh I think Boston shot twice as many threes as the Nuggets did last year, or maybe even more than that. It’s absurd. So, the Nuggets need to shoot more threes. Cam Johnson shoots seven threes a game. Tim Hardaway Jr. shoots seven threes a game at a high level. Jonas Valenunis shoots one and a half threes a game. Even your backup center. Um Bruce Brown when he was with the Nuggets shot three threes a game. These guys can shoot. And Tim Hardaway is the best shooter of this bunch. He’s been a little erratic at times for his career. And if you look at the overall profile of his three-point shooting percentage, it’s a little bit lower than maybe you’d like, but that’s because he’s shooting so many a game. A lot of them are pull-ups and because he’s being guarded. And on what teams? A lot of bad ones. This is the Nicole Joic effect. And and I understand that some people like don’t want to just chalk it all up to that, but look what Bruce Brown did in his lone season with Nicole Joic. Imagine what Tim Hardway Jr. Cam Johnson’s probably the player I’m most excited to see with Nicole Jokic naturally because he’s going to get the most minutes being that he’s a starter. But you have to expect, you know, those seven three-point shots a game from Cam Johnson, the seven from Tim Hardaway Jr., the three from Bruce Brown, the one and a half from Yonas Valenunis. Those looks will be much higher quality looks because of who is going to be on the court around these guys as well. And this is part of it as well. You know, you could say Bruce was checked out and it it it impacted him. I agree. Look at what Tim Hardaway did for Detroit last year coming into Detroit. He was part of the reason that turned around and getting veterans. What was Tim Hardaway Jr. doing two years ago? He was playing crucial minutes for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. What was Cam Johnson doing the last time he wasn’t in Brooklyn? Playing a crucial role for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals. These are three of these four guys have proved it in the NBA finals. The only one that hasn’t is Jonas Valenunis who was traded from a championship team in the middle of that season. So, he’s going to come in extremely hungry. I think all the the noise being made about Valenunis and him not wanting to be here or whatever, that’s who once he’s here. He’s a professional and I think he’s going to give it all he’s got. So, I’m really excited about these moves and I think they perfectly fit exactly what the Nuggets needed. And again, they can still add one to two more pieces depending on what they do with the back end of their roster, which may play Payton Watson and Julian Strawther just right off the court. To kind of circle back to the conversation, you and I are both unanimously in agreement. The Denver Nuggets are not just better than when they ended their season against Oklahoma City. They are much better. Much, much better. second best odds to win the Western Conference, top three in NBA Finals odds as a whole. I said it on the podcast, I’ll say it here again. There is no single team in the NBA after these moves that the Denver Nuggets should fear. Oklahoma City, Minnesota included. And one thought on Yonas Valenunis real quick, it can’t be any worse. The backup center position could not be any worse than it’s been in Nicola Joic’s prime. So, anything is going to be better than what we’ve seen the last few years.

Why THIS Nuggets Team Will be the BEST in Franchise HISTORY!

Get ready to dive into why the 2025-26 Denver Nuggets are poised to make history! From Nikola Jokić’s MVP-level dominance to a stacked roster with unmatched chemistry, depth, and versatility, this team is built for greatness. Aniello Piro and Jake Shapiro break down their elite offense, stifling defense, and key additions that could lead them to an NBA Championship sch as Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr.