Denver Nuggets: 3 Reactions to Monday’s Media Day

The team is not satisfied.

As we’ve mentioned, this team is driven.  Driven by the disappointment of last season’s loss to Minnesota in game 82.  Driven by the perceptions of them and Denver as a contender.  Driven by personal, internal integrity that’s hard to come by.

This is the basis for the argument against the “Denver should sign/trade for every name that surfaces” mentality.

Let’s put the current one to bed:

The Denver Nuggets should not want nor do they need Jimmy Butler.  All of that camaraderie and cohesion that we saw on Monday?  That can all be torn down by one personality, one wrong move.  Not only does this team’s on-foor skill set match and compliment, they are the right mix of personality and leadership, now that Thomas is in-the-mix.

To be clear, Jimmy Butler is supremely talented, a top-10 NBA player.  That doesn’t by any means mean he fits the Nuggets. Butler has demanded a trade from Minnesota and has clashed with Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins.  It would be unreasonable to expect him to come to Denver and take a backseat to Jokic, Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Will Barton, etc.  Butler would need touches and that would take the ball out of Denver stars’ hands.  That is a recipe for disaster, wrecking the chemistry of this team would be a travesty.

This year Denver should make the playoffs and win at least the first round.  While I think they are capable of a Western Conference Finals this year (We tabbed the Nuggets as the second-best team in the West) there’s a lot to prove before that’s a thing.

Next season, with a healthy Michael Porter, Jr. and with a year of growth and playoff experience under their belts, the Nuggets should be in the Western Conference finals.

In 2020-21, NBA Champions.  This team, as-constituted, without LeBron or Butler or KD.

Champions.