Until that changes, neither will anything on Nikola Jokic’s spring travel itinerary.

Another Memorial Day in Sombor. Another June with no parade. Another year closer to the end of the greatest career in Nuggets history.

So, to the next Denver general manager, especially if that’s interim Ben Tenzer, we humbly beseech three things.

First: Be heartened by the pluck and guile the Nuggets showed against the Thunder three weeks ago.

Second: Do not be fooled or charmed by it.

Third, and this is key: Do not give in to insanity. Do not do the same thing, over and over, and expect a different result.

Do not run it back. Please. For the love of Pete Williams, do not run it back.

Do not look at Thunder vs. Timberwolves or Thunder vs. Pacers and decide, in your head, that the job is mostly done. Do not settle. Do not tell yourself that rest, a coaching change and schematics are the only things between you and a return to the NBA Finals.

“You know, we took the Oklahoma City Thunder, (which) is playing some of the best basketball in the league, if not the best right now, to seven games,” Nuggets president Josh Kroenke reflected late last month. “Which, you know, is great. We took a great team to seven games. That series could have been 4-0 the other way. That series could have been 4-1 us. I don’t think we lost Game 7 during Game 7. I thought we lost Game 7 during Games 4 and 5.

“These series are very fragile things, and they come down to little moments in time and certain actions over the course of a few-minute span in games. And so while I think we were close in some ways, I don’t think it was a 4-0 sweep for Oklahoma City.”

It wasn’t. And they are close. But not “Nuggets-Thunder was the real NBA Finals!” close. You don’t hang banners for almosts.

Yes, the Nuggets took the best team in the West to seven games with their “Core Six” — the starting five plus Russell Westbrook — held together by guts, gauze and chewing gum. Michael Porter Jr. had one good shoulder. Aaron Gordon had one hamstring. Westbrook had one good hand.

The Nuggets played the underdog card as if Michael Malone, a terrier of a man who loved punching up, had never left. It was beautiful. Well, except for Game 2. And Game 7.

Ask yourself this question, and be honest: What would’ve happened to this same Nuggets team if it had sprung the upset vs. OKC and landed Minnesota in the conference finals?

Oh, you know. Anthony Edwards knows. Chris Finch knows. Russ knows. The Joker knows.

Deep down, Josh knows, too.

“We’re close,” Kroenke said, “but I don’t want to be naive in thinking of how close we are. But I don’t want to underestimate how close we were either. I mean, shoot, thinking back to the first round, I mean, we’re an Aaron Gordon tip-dunk away from perhaps coming back (to Denver) down 3-1. And then what does that series look like? Do we even have the opportunity to go out and try and chase a team as great as the Thunder? So there (are) lots of ways to kind of weigh how close we are.

“But I think that as a group, we feel confident that we can go toe to toe with a lot of teams around the league. And now we’re going to get to work seeing about how we can go toe to toe and then overtake them.”

For a start, the most impactful piece sitting next to Jamal Murray can’t be a heat pack.

The Nuggets, bless them, emptied the tank. They gave all they had. Which, by mid-May, wasn’t much. A roster that runs six deep won’t last two rounds before you throw a rod, before a timing belt snaps like a dry twig.

“I think that the way that our players responded over the last six, seven weeks or so really told the world that the Nuggets’ job, whether it’s coaching or front office, is a really special one,” Kroenke continued. “And especially where we are right now,”

Hope is fine. Delusion is the enemy of progress.

Until that bench gets addressed with more than lip service, someone’s always going to come along by Mother’s Day to steal Jokic’s Thunder. At this time of year, a first aid kit will carry you only so far before the plaster cracks.

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Team USA had pulled off a miraculous comeback to thwart Nikola Jokic and the Serbians one day earlier in the Olympic semifinals. As the gold medal game loomed for Durant, he noticed a faction of online Nuggets fans who had been rooting against the Americans. “Cornballs,” he called them during an entertaining exchange. (I understand that Durant’s social media presence is controversial, but I find his candor delightful.)

People forgive and forget fast, evidently. I’ve received emails from a few readers since the end of Denver’s season inquiring about the feasibility of trading for Durant this summer. Indeed, the two biggest storylines unfolding parallel to the NBA Finals right now are the looming trade sweepstakes for Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

We’ll see about the latter. But Durant is a certainty. Phoenix is shopping him before the last year of his contract, and seeing as he is Kevin Durant, the market is robust. Speculation has proliferated as to his potential fit alongside other stars. Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, Amen Thompson, Jalen Brunson, etc.

How about Jokic? It would be irresponsible of the Nuggets not to at least have a brief discussion. Heck, I can’t envision the Slim Reaper and Joker being anything but a natural pair. The dribble handoff game would be a thing of beauty. Durant’s one-on-one talent would ease some of Jokic’s immense shot-creating burden. Even last season at 36 years old, Durant averaged a league-leading 1.16 points per possession in isolation on the sixth-most isos in the NBA.

It bears mentioning that in that same tweet directed at the “cornballs,” Durant also gave Jokic his flowers, acknowledging that “most (players) are in awe of his brilliance.”

Let me be clear. Durant is highly unlikely to be a Nugget next season. Please remember this as you read on.

But the fact remains that Denver is a frustrated championship contender, and Jokic has never had a teammate named to an All-Star or All-NBA team. Judging by my inbox, fans are clearly interested in the possibility of Durant. So I’m happy to entertain it here, for the sake of content.

I feel pretty confident saying that under their previous regime, the Nuggets would have tried to be a suitor for Durant. Former general manager Calvin Booth believed Jokic could benefit from more star power at his side, as evidenced by his past trade interest in Paul George and Zach LaVine.

No matter who the general manager is, though, Denver’s obstacle would be its lack of draft capital. The Spurs, Rockets and dare I say Thunder each possess first-round picks to spare. The Nuggets can dangle only one. Bidding wars do not favor them.

Some other housekeeping notes to illustrate the difficulty of pulling off this type of transaction under the current collective bargaining agreement: Neither the Nuggets (first apron) nor Suns (second apron) can take back more salary than they send out in a trade, meaning a third team would have to be involved. In the two example trades below, I’ve used the Brooklyn Nets as the stand-in for a third party, because their cap space makes them the best-equipped tanking team to absorb random contracts.

Unless they find a way to shed enough salary to get under the second apron, the Suns also cannot aggregate contracts to complete a trade. That means a package sending both Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon to Phoenix is nearly impossible, and that Denver would probably have to be the team sending salary to a third team.

For this exercise, I’m using 2025-26 salaries that take effect as the league calendar resets. On the (extremely) off chance that Denver actually did this, it would make more sense in July, when a new GM is in place and certain pay raises can support salary-matching.

Jamal Murray for Kevin Durant

Nuggets receive: Kevin Durant (incoming salary of $54.7 million, outgoing salary of $56.1 million).

Suns receive: Jamal Murray, Peyton Watson, Denver’s 2031 or 2032 first-round pick, (incoming salary of $50.7 million, outgoing salary of $54.7 million).

Nets receive: Dario Saric, Denver’s 2032 second-round pick, 2030 first-round pick swap rights with Denver, (incoming salary of $5.4 million).

Breakdown: The Nuggets get Durant and get off Saric’s bad contract. They also spend pretty much all of their remaining draft resources, leaving their asset pool in rough shape to find a lead ball-handling guard who can replace Murray. The Suns might prefer to acquire a shorter-term contract than Murray, who’s a four-year commitment with an iffy injury history. But maybe they could reasonably talk themselves into building around an all-Kentucky backcourt of Murray (point guard) and Devin Booker (shooting guard), both of whom are only 28. Their cap sheet is toast for the next two years anyway with Bradley Beal taking up space. At least with this move, they be getting their core reorganized on the same timeline for the post-Beal era. Turning Durant into Murray, Watson and a compelling future first-rounder makes you younger.

The MPJ and Christian Braun package

Nuggets receive: Kevin Durant (incoming salary of $54.7 million, outgoing salary of $54.9 million).

Suns receive: Michael Porter Jr., Christian Braun, Russell Westbrook, Denver’s 2032 second-round pick, 2030 first-round pick swap rights with Denver (incoming salary of $46.7 million, outgoing salary of $54.7 million).

Nets receive: Zeke Nnaji, Denver’s 2031 or 2032 first-round pick (incoming salary of $8.1 million).

Breakdown: If Porter is the main chunk of salary going to Phoenix instead of Murray, it’s hard to imagine the Suns saying yes unless the ascendent Braun is the other key piece. For salary-matching purposes on Denver’s side, Nnaji needs to go to Brooklyn instead of Saric (a more burdensome salary dump, hence the higher asking price), and Westbrook has to be tacked onto the Phoenix return. Porter and Braun can both be valuable players, and both are younger than 28 — but the Suns can simply demand first-round picks from other teams, rather than merely a swap and a second from Denver. In all both these scenarios, the Nuggets are also confronted with an increase of roster spots to fill without much money to do it. Remember, Jokic believes they need depth, too.

Wild card play: Trading Aaron Gordon and MPJ

Nuggets receive: Kevin Durant, Noah Clowney (incoming salary of $58.1 million, outgoing salary of $61.1 million).

Suns receive: Aaron Gordon, Nic Claxton, Maxwell Lewis, Denver’s 2032 second-round pick, 2030 first-round pick swap rights with Denver (incoming salary of $50.4 million, outgoing salary of $54.7 million).

Nets receive: Michael Porter Jr., Denver’s 2031 or 2032 first-round pick (incoming salary of $38.3 million, outgoing salary of $30.9 million).

Breakdown: Is your head spinning yet? Salary-matching is, uh, difficult. But here’s one more option that works, according to Fanspo.com. It might actually be one of the most attractive returns for Phoenix, short of pick-based packages. Gordon is every team’s dream role player, and Claxton offers a 26-year-old solution at center, a position of need. The Nuggets are exchanging two for two here, but the fan base might have some choice words about the idea of moving Gordon in addition to Porter.

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But does that mean that Michael Malone can’t coach? Hardly.

He won more games with the Nuggets over 10 years than anyone in franchise history. He served as the stern father, nurturing the development of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. His abrasive style eventually wore thin — the kids were grown up with kids of their own and no longer needed browbeating and grievances aired in press conferences.

But with a fresh start and lessons learned — ditch the paranoia, stay out of office power struggles — there is no better free agent.

Would it be weird in New York? Sort of. The same complaints about Tom Thibodeau have dogged Malone. He plays his starters too much, including in routs, and is slow to trust his bench. But Malone brings an edge and competitiveness that translates to players, and he is adept at dealing with the media.

Like Malone, Tom Thibodeau deserved better. He inherited a red-faced franchise, took it to the playoffs four times in five years, and received a pink slip. The Knicks reached the Eastern Conference Finals before the Pacers eliminated them.

Whether because of friction created by assistant coach Rick Brunson, star player Jalen Brunson’s dad, or team president Leon Rose believing he could not push this team across the finish line, Thibodeau was canned.

The Knicks are in championship-or-bust mode, operating like the Yankees overnight. And for all the similarities between Thibodeau and Malone, there is one huge difference: Malone has a ring. He led the Nuggets to their only title two years ago.

Could he do it again, returning to his eastern roots as a high school graduate of Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, N.J.? Unlikely. But leading the team to the Finals is not an unreasonable request.

Rose had to have someone in mind before making the unpopular decision to fire Thibs. He is expected to interview Mavericks coach Jason Kidd. But no one is more qualified to lead the Knicks than someone who was a former New York assistant. Malone’s career, post-Nuggets, should resume in The Garden.

Dad Deion: Deion Sanders must stop creating distractions for son Shedeur Sanders. During a recent appearance on the “Say What Needs to Be Said” podcast, Coach Prime labeled reports that Shedeur was unprofessional in pre-draft meetings with teams “foolish.” The problem is, he wasn’t there. Therein lies the solution. Disappear into the shrubbery.

Shedeur doesn’t need his dad in his life this way. Not anymore. He has a realistic path to start — especially if the Browns cut Kenny Pickett in camp — and is getting rave reviews for his early work. Dad needs to leave Cleveland decision-makers alone in public and behind the scenes, and trust that his son will earn the spot. He has the talent to pull it off.

Seeing Stars: Well, the Avs received some good news Friday without making a move. The Stars fired coach Peter DeBoer, who has owned his counterpart Jared Bednar in the playoffs. When it comes to the Avs, not having to face him can only help. As an aside, it’s a tough year for pro coaches losing in the conference finals (see Thibs and DeBoer).

SEC Not A-OK: The SEC boasted the No. 1 overall postseason seed in men’s basketball, softball and baseball and none made the championship game. Is it time for a new slogan? The SEC: It Just Means Less.

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What’s the latest on the GM search? Are they just waiting to announce Ben Tenzer?

— Dave, Aurora

Tenzer and Matt Lloyd are the two names I’ve heard most when asking people around the league about the Nuggets general manager job. Neither has experience as a director of basketball operations, but both are regarded as personable, smart and strong at building relationships. Those are going to be important characteristics in Denver. The Nuggets need someone who can help establish a better culture inside the organization and communicate well with agents.

“You could do a lot worse than Matt Lloyd,” one agent told me recently, speaking fondly of the current Timberwolves GM under Tim Connelly. (For the record: Connelly indicated this week to reporters that he’s not leaving Minnesota any time soon.)

The Tenzer smoke makes sense. He has been effusively praised by Josh Kroenke for his input since taking over as interim GM in April, and the Kroenkes have a history of hiring internally. I see Tenzer as a leading candidate right now. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he got promoted to GM with an outside hire made at president of basketball operations.

There could be other names waiting to emerge still. The Nuggets should want to have someone in place by the end of next week, with the draft and free agency nearing.

Saw some reports from earlier in the season that the Nuggets were really considering trading Michael Porter Jr. Do you see Denver actually doing it in the offseason and who are some players you’d throw in return packages?

— Jed Katz, Upper Saddle River, N.J.

Does the new GM (Ben Tenzer or whomever) finally cut bait with Porter? Michael Malone had a point that the bench was weak and inexperienced, but the true weakness of the Nuggets is MPJ and his albatross of a contract. Your thoughts?

— Joe, Denver

You guys are giving me déjà vu all over again. This was the most popular question leading up to the trade deadline last season, and it’ll probably be the most popular question before the next one, too.

I don’t think the Nuggets will trade Porter this summer.

I’m never going to say it’s impossible. The Timberwolves wouldn’t have thought last August that Karl-Anthony Towns would be traded by training camp.

But Josh Kroenke’s public comments since the season ended have been illuminating. It’s clear that ownership is leaning toward giving the “core four” another year together, while hoping to patch together a better depth chart via some combination of player development and free agency discount shopping. “I think a lot of our answers are internal right now,” Kroenke said.

Read those tea leaves and consider that Porter’s importance to Denver’s current roster — Positional size! Volume 3-point shooting! — exceeds what his value would be on the trade market. To 29 other teams, he’s still a questionable contract with a dubious medical record. What you have is a likely outcome where, even if the Nuggets entertain MPJ trades, they don’t find one that satisfies them.

Teams have to plan out their salary cap sheets for multiple years. The Nuggets are positioned to narrowly avoid the second apron next season, even with Jamal Murray’s extension taking effect. But the following year, they’ll be accounting for Aaron Gordon’s $9 million raise and Christian Braun’s new contract, assuming he and Denver agree to an extension this fall. (I expect that to happen.)

The team might have to do some serious salary-shaving in the 2026 offseason if it wants to stay out of the second apron. Porter will have one year left on his deal at that point, making the dollar amount more palatable to other teams. Common sense says next summer is the appropriate time to pounce on a trade after one more swing with the current starting lineup. Go ahead and mark your calendars to ask me about this topic yet again.

After the second Game 7 loss in two years to teams that were much more physical than the Nuggets, a couple of questions. Not that the outcome would have been different, but would the whistle have been different if David Adelman did not have “interim” in his title while coaching against a former Coach of the Year? Having seen Doug Moe get after the refs and change the way a game was officiated, I was disappointed that Adelman didn’t get a T or at least a fine for postgame comments during the OKC series. Do the players believe a coach has their back when he doesn’t make known his displeasure with the officiating?

— Shawn Thompson, Denver

Well, your second question is easily answered by the players themselves. Even immediately after losing Game 7, they responded with resounding positivity to the idea of Adelman being their full-time head coach. So I don’t think his willingness to be performative was top of mind.

I’ll also remind you that Adelman did call out the refs after Game 6 of Denver’s first-round series when he spoke to reporters that night. Every coach has to choose how to navigate this stuff as a public-facing figure, and I suspect he’ll be one who uses sly sarcasm when he wants to sharpen the knives.

During games, I noticed Adelman giving the crew an earful more often than I think you’re giving him credit for. He might not ever compile as many technical fouls or ejections as Michael Malone, but I wouldn’t underestimate his ability to turn up the intensity.

If you thought the Nuggets generally got an unfair whistle against the Thunder, I get it. But the reason would have nothing to do with Adelman. Oklahoma City sets the terms every game by defending so fiercely that it forces referees to reckon with the fact that they can’t call everything. There also remains the cheat code of putting a small guard on the unguardable Nikola Jokic. For years, he has been flustered by the contact an Alex Caruso or OG Anunoby can get away with in the post, relative to someone like Karl-Anthony Towns. Mark Daigneault rather brilliantly waited to play that card until it was absolutely necessary.

For what it’s worth, whatever you think about the OKC whistle, it’s not even close to the top reason Denver lost that series.

Bennett, were you as surprised as I was to see Pascal Siakam win Eastern Conference Finals MVP over Tyrese Haliburton? It reminded me of the Lakers series (in 2023) when Jamal was our leading scorer, but Jokic was still our most valuable player. In that case, Jokic got the award. Siakam had great shooting percentages, but the Pacers don’t win that series without Haliburton, in my opinion.

— Andrew, Denver

It can be true that Indiana probably doesn’t win the series without either star playing at an extremely high level. But yes, Haliburton would’ve been my series MVP without much handwringing. His play style is the basis of the Pacers’ unorthodox blueprint for an NBA Finals run. Even when his step-back 3s aren’t falling, he’s creating basketball advantage and cultivating healthy offense like few players can. He still averaged 21 points (well over his regular-season total), six rebounds, 10.5 assists, 1.7 turnovers and 2.5 steals per game. He achieved point guard nirvana with his Game 4 performance, which cemented Indiana’s control of the series.

And most notably — I would’ve used this as a tiebreaker if I had a vote and was torn — who is responsible for the most important moment of the series? Haliburton made one of the most instantly memorable shots in the history of the sport, without which who knows what might’ve happened in Game 7?

Who are we targeting in free agency this offseason? Bruce Brown seems like an obvious choice to shore up the bench. But will we finally get a good backup for Nikola Jokic, like bringing in Mason Plumlee, Larry Nance Jr. or Precious Achiuwa?

— Mike, Denver

Hard to say while the general manager position remains vacant. But I recently assembled an exhaustive list of possibilities just for you, Mike. Check it out.

Will we ever see Carmelo Anthony’s number climb to the rafters? Obviously, Nikola Jokic is the greatest No. 15 in Denver history, but could they do something similar to what the Mariners are doing with Randy Johnson and Ichiro Suzuki?

— Shawn, Westminster

I had a feeling I would get this question from someone after seeing the arrangement in Seattle. My hunch: Anthony and the Nuggets have a lot of relationship-mending to do before they can ever reach that point. Time might be the only medicine. Will it someday be normalized for Anthony to visit Denver for games, like the other franchise greats do? Will fans’ nostalgia morph into forgiveness as the years go on? Maybe by the time Jokic’s number is retired, perspectives will have changed. I think it’s only right that they both end up in the rafters, even if one clearly belongs to a loftier tier of basketball players historically.

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In the latest edition of the Nuggets Ink podcast, beat writer Bennett Durando and sports editor Matt Schubert reconvene with the NBA Finals on tap. Among the topics discussed:

• Speaking to reporters twice in the span of a few weeks, Nuggets President and Governor Josh Kroenke made it clear he thinks the answers to Denver’s problems are internal. Then he backed that up by officially hiring interim coach David Adelman as head coach. How much pressure does that put on Adelman to get the team back to title contention?
• Do Kroenke’s words mean we can expect another internal hire for the general manager opening? Who might that be? When will that decision be made? And who are some of the bargain free agents they can target?
• Are the Nuggets about to become a half-court team with a totally remade defensive strategy? Changes to the coaching staff seem to indicate that while there is an emphasis on maintaining the status quo, things won’t be entirely the same schematically.
• Bennett and Matt give an assessment of each of the Nuggets on the roster. Is their stock up, down or holding steady? And what does that mean for their future in Denver?

Subscribe to the podcast
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Producer: AAron Ontiveroz
Music: “The Last Dragons” by Schama Noel

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Keeler: The Nuggets were playing with house money last month. The Avalanche bet the farm — and lost. Avs management and Avs fans should be angrier. Because they were closer, despite that first-round exit. Even with a bunch of pieces potentially moving, they’re still closer. Let’s put it this way: If Colorado got past Dallas, this thing might’ve kept rolling for a while. The Avs had an excellent chance, on paper, of doing to Winnipeg what the Stars did (Dallas won in six). They more than matched up, also on paper, with the Oilers. The Nuggets, meanwhile, would’ve landed Minnesota in the conference finals. And we know how that chapter would’ve ended.

Renck: The Nuggets are stuck. They provided Michael Porter Jr. a max contract under different CBA rules. Now, he is viewed as untradeable until he has an expiring contract in the 2026-27 season. Plus, the Nuggets are showing signs of age. Do we really think that Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon are going to get healthier as they get older? The Avs have more flexibility to make moves, and a full season with trusted goalies will help facilitate a better start. But the most important strategy is to manipulate their seeding because every time Jared Bednar faces the Stars’ Pete DeBoer, it is guaranteed disappointment.

Keeler: The greatest danger the Nuggets pose to themselves is treating that OKC series as evidence of how “close” they really are. I mean, sure — great effort. Some good game plans. Some serious toughness all-around, especially on Aaron Gordon’s part. But they need to heed the advice of the best player in the world, who also doesn’t mince words. Nikola Jokic said this roster, as constructed, wasn’t deep enough to reach the NBA Finals. He’s right. Are you going to act on that assessment? Or just give it lip service?

Renck: At this point, it would be comical, if not reasonable, for the Nuggets to lean into their past. Why not just sign guard Bruce Brown and center Mason Plumlee and call it good? It seems misguided, but if Denver is going to run it back, run it all the way back. To 2023, to 2020, and beyond. Then replace Believe with Nostalgia on the playoff towels. So, yeah, the Avs are closer to a title.

Keeler: Love me some Brucey B, but he’s probably too expensive. Monte Morris, anyone? I even got a note over the weekend pitching for the return of Gary Harris. Can anyone talk Will Barton out of retirement? We kid, but the Nuggets’ cap situation isn’t just comical. It’s borderline tragic. There’s just no room to sign the kind of players in slots 6-9 on your bench who can match the Thunder’s reserves. Which means what you’ve got on hand either has to be swapped out for another wave of rookies — or the current second unit has to get a lot better. Like Christian Braun better. Right now.

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The basketball wonks on the Grading The Week (GTW) crew are not too proud to admit when they dig what they hear. And our hoopsters found themselves nodding an awful lot while Adelman formally offered up his platform as the new full-time head coach for the 2022-23 NBA champs.

Conditioning? Oh, yeah!

A focus on shooting? Preach!

More wacky defenses? Hallelujah! (Your most indispensable players, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, are also among your most inconsistent defenders. Junk it up, brother. Junk. It. Up.)

“New ideas are good ideas,” Adelman said. “I have to give them something to come back to that excites them.”

Team GTW is somewhat less excited about the feeling that team president Josh Kroenke is going to solve the Nuggets’ vacant GM position the KSE way — either by giving interim/in-house guy Ben Tenzer the full-time gig, as they did with Adelman on the coaching front, or by low-balling someone from Tim Connelly’s staff in Minnesota to keep it (sort of) in the family.

But if they want someone who’ll work cheap, GTW’s always happy to lend a hand. Or an ear. Or a new idea. In fact, we’d like to run this one up Kroenke’s flagpole right now.

David Adelman’s presser — A

In fact, let’s call this particular gambit a new idea with an old face. In a perfect world, the Nuggets and KSE could find a way to make a reunion work with Front Range favorite Bruce Brown, the sixth man who helped finally get this franchise to the mountaintop. But just like 90% of the proposed Michael Porter Jr. or Zeke Nnaji trades that get kicked around social media, we’re not sure if Brucey B is all that realistic. Considering that the do-everything guard had a $23 million cap hit in ’24-25, he’d have to want to take a whale of a “hometown” discount to fit Denver’s budget. Especially with extensions for Jokic and Christian Braun looming.

But we won’t give up on the idea of a Nuggets alumni reunion just yet. Because you know who else is about to hit the open market? Monte Morris.

Yes, Big Game Tae will be 30 when training camp opens. No, his twitch isn’t quite the same as it was five years ago. But the ex-Nuggets guard ticks a few Adelman boxes, especially if Russell Westbrook decides to move on. For one, Morris can still shoot the 3-ball well enough (36.0 % on 3s this past season) to spread out a defense. For another, he knows how to play with Joker, Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. He could serve as a big brother/mentor to the likes of Jalen Pickett even and Julian Strawther. And, with a $2.1 million cap hit as part of the Suns’ bench last season, the price will probably be right. If nothing else, just think how happy Jokic will be to have a friend back in the fold.

Von Miller and Broncos reunion — B

The Vonster’s got fuel left in the tank. And while the ex-Broncos great said this week that a Dove Valley reunion won’t happen now, we still think it’ll happen. Although, truth be told, it feels as if it may not happen until Miller’s NFL days are well and truly over. The GTW wise apples will bet you a Jokic energy drink the Vonster retires from the NFL as a Bronco … and does so on a one-day contract.

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The Nuggets are not renewing the contracts of at least four assistant coaches, also including Popeye Jones, Charles Klask and Stephen Graham, a source told The Post, confirming a report by Chris Haynes. All four coached for the 2022-23 team that won the NBA championship — Denver’s first in franchise history.

Contracts are set to expire this offseason for the entire coaching staff. Some other assistant coaches are still waiting to hear if their deals will be renewed, one source said.

Saunders, 39, spent three seasons in Denver after a brief tenure as head coach of the Timberwolves. The Nuggets won the 2023 title with the 15th-ranked defense in the league, lower than the usual threshold for championship-winning teams. Their ranking improved to eighth-best the following year, but it dramatically regressed all the way to No. 21 this past season.

Adelman, 44, was the team’s offensive coordinator under former coach Michael Malone while Saunders ran the defense. Adelman said in his introductory news conference this week that he hopes to implement more variety into Denver’s defensive scheme going forward.

Jones spent four years on the Nuggets bench. Klask joined Malone’s staff in 2018. Graham was a player development coach with the team since 2016.

When the Nuggets hired Adelman to replace Malone, they wanted to “give him the ability to build the staff that he really wanted,” team president Josh Kroenke said last week. “That’s on one side of it, and then also to allow direct communication in as short an amount of time as possible for the people we may not want to keep. … I think that we need to reinvent ourselves in a way but not reinvent the wheel, if that makes sense.”

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No, they can’t dangle New York nightlife or Miami beach culture or Los Angeles glamor. But the Nikola Jokic Effect should be a compelling card to play in its own right. The evidence keeps piling up. Denver might need to lean on it this summer in a search for depth that Jokic himself has publicly implored.

“It’s definitely a big part of our pitch. It has been for a few years,” team president Josh Kroenke said. “It’s not like we broadcast that out. But yeah, in a nutshell, if you’re a certain type of player with a certain type of skill set, I think if you come play next to Jok, you’re gonna look pretty good. And that ‘pretty good’ might result in you getting paid pretty high.”

Jerami Grant in Portland. Bruce Brown in Indiana. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in Orlando. Soon, Christian Braun in Denver via a likely extension.

If teaming up with Jokic is a verifiably smart business decision for NBA role players, can the Nuggets capitalize this offseason? They need to find bodies who can hang in a playoff rotation. They don’t have a lot of money or roster spots to work with. On the free agency market, they’re limited to a taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.7 million) and veteran minimum contracts.

With maybe a couple of exceptions (That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?), free agents in their 20s who’ve played themselves into popularity on cheap deals … are unlikely to end up in Denver. Think Ty Jerome. Malik Beasley. Santi Aldama. Maybe even Gary Trent Jr., who had multiple 30-point playoff games for Milwaukee on a minimum contract.

Still, the NBA has entered a bit of a cap-space recession. The splashiest moves of this offseason will be trades, rather than free-agent signings. So, who could the Nuggets target with the limited mechanisms available to them? Veteran ring chasers? Younger players looking to prove themselves?

Here are 13 names to ponder, listed with their most recent team, their 2024-25 salary and their opening-day age for next season.

Bruce Brown, Pelicans

Position/age: G/29

Expiring salary: $23 million

Let’s get this one out of the way. Brown has been passed around between three teams since helping the Nuggets win a championship, but he just can’t quit Denver. He was practically treated as a celebrity guest of honor at Ball Arena for a playoff game last month. And when interim coach David Adelman earned the full-time job, Brown posted the team’s announcement on his Instagram story. Nobody wants to wear a Nuggets uniform more than this guy. His market is difficult to predict after a season disrupted by injuries. But he already got paid once. Maybe now’s the time to be sentimental. This is absolutely a realistic potential signing.

Chris Boucher, Raptors

Position/age: F/32

Expiring salary: $10.8 million

The Nuggets looked long and hard at Boucher before the 2025 trade deadline. Now the longest-tenured Raptor is coming off his second-most efficient season, having averaged 10 points in 17 minutes. Boucher can space the floor and defend out on the wing pretty well for his size (6-foot-9, 200 pounds). Convincing the Montreal-raised veteran to leave Canada for less money could be challenging, but he makes sense for Denver as a TMLE candidate.

Tyus Jones, Suns

Position/age: G/29

Expiring salary: $3 million ($2.1 million cap hit)

Jones went to Phoenix on a vet minimum deal for a prove-it year, hoping to replenish his value by filling a positional need on a playoff team. He was durable, posted another impressive shooting season (41.4% from 3) and remained one of the steadier assist-to-turnover point guards in the league (4.7). He was also a defensive mark who did not impact winning. As the Suns regressed from sixth to 11th place, he was removed from the starting lineup late in the season. So, do the individual stats make Jones worthy of the paycheck he couldn’t obtain last summer? Or is he better off finding another short-term relationship with another contender? If it’s the latter, he’s precisely the type of player the Nuggets should be trying to pitch the Jokic Effect. They can also pay him almost twice as much as he made in Phoenix.

Mason Plumlee, Suns

Position/age: C/35

Expiring salary: $3.3 million ($2.1 million cap hit)

Another expiring vet minimum in Phoenix, and a sneakier reunion candidate than Bruce Brown. Plumlee can still be impactful in a limited role, and he might satisfy the Nuggets’ never-ending appetite for consistency at backup five behind Jokic. He played 74 games last season and averaged 12.6 rebounds per 36 minutes. One of the lessons from Denver’s last two playoff runs should be that while Aaron Gordon is perfectly capable of handling those minutes at center, overextending him is unwise. He’s already responsible for so many other roles. By the end of 2023-24, he was admittedly exhausted. By the end of 2024-25, he was injured.

Larry Nance Jr., Hawks

Position/age: F-C/32

Expiring salary: $11.2 million

One fundamental flaw of the Jokic Effect as a pitch is that it doesn’t generally apply to backup centers. They’re the only dudes on the roster who are expected to play essentially all of their minutes without Jokic, and while their teammates benefit from the boost, they often appear even worse as a result. That’s just the nature of the job description. So maybe Denver’s best bet is to locate another small-ball five, along the lines of Gordon, who can dip into other roles. Nance couldn’t stay healthy enough to stay in Atlanta’s rotation, but when he did play (24 games), the 6-foot-8 big man was able to stretch the floor and knock down shots. The Hawks might want him back, but the Nuggets are better-suited to provide him more playing time.

Clint Capela, Hawks

Position/age: C/31

Expiring salary: $22.3 million

Alternatively, the Hawks might let Capela walk this offseason instead of Nance. He’s coming off his first single-digit scoring season since 2015-16. As he ages into his 30s, he’s probably due for at least a marginal decrease in pay, especially given the lack of cap space teams. The taxpayer mid-level exception might be the absolute low end for him, but depending on the market he attracts, Capela represents another possible path if Denver wants to nab a more traditional center.

Luke Kennard, Grizzlies

Position/age: G/29

Expiring salary: $9.3 million

Kennard was quiet in the Grizzlies’ brief playoff appearance this year, averaging 4.5 points in 20 minutes. But he’s still the sort of 3-point deadeye Denver needs more of in order to supply Jokic with space. In his last four seasons, Kennard is 45.6% from outside the arc on 5.1 attempts per game, mostly off the bench in Memphis and Los Angeles. If the Nuggets want an experienced backup shooting guard behind Christian Braun who can stagger with starters, they could do a lot worse than Kennard at the mid-level.

Jake LaRavia, Kings

Position/age: F/23

Expiring salary: $3.4 million

Another shooter with size who could fall in the Nuggets’ price range. He shot 42.3% from 3 on low volume last season, including a 15-point performance in Denver. Due to a declined team option when LaRavia was in Memphis, he’s about to be an unrestricted free agent. Sacramento cannot offer him more than about $5.1 million.

Jae’Sean Tate, Rockets

Position/age: F/30

Expiring salary: $7.6 million

As the Rockets rounded into form as a contender this season, they ran out of room in the rotation for Tate, a staple of their rebuilding years. His perimeter defense and hustle could be additive for a team like Denver that has struggled at the point of attack. The downside is that he’s never been a productive shooter, and he’s only 6-foot-4 despite being listed as a forward.

Dennis Schroder, Pistons

Position/age: G/32

Expiring salary: $13 million

Schroder has suited up for seven teams in the last four seasons, and that doesn’t even include his glorious cups of coffee with Miami and Utah, where he was rerouted on his way to Detroit all in the last 24 hours before the trade deadline this year. Schroder is a legend for the German national team, but the closest he’s been to an NBA title is the conference finals. His teams were swept there in 2015 and 2023. If he doesn’t renew with a burgeoning Detroit squad, and if the Nuggets and Russell Westbrook go their separate ways, perhaps Schroder could ring-chase in Denver.

Justin Holiday, Unsigned

Position/age: G/36

Despite former Nuggets coach Michael Malone wanting to re-sign him, according to league sources, Holiday has floated in the wind for a year. When Denver last saw him, he was making a major impact early in that fateful Timberwolves series of 2024 … until he went scoreless in 38 minutes across the last three games.

Brook Lopez, Bucks

Position/age: C/37

Expiring salary: $23 million

Somebody will probably pay Lopez more than the Nuggets can afford, or maybe the Lakers will offer him a starting job at the same salary next to Luka Doncic and LeBron James. But isn’t it fun to envision Lopez backing up Jokic in Denver? In many ways, the former All-Star is on the decline. But he can still pick-and-pop. He can still drain 3s from the corner or wing. He can still deter some shots at the rim. He’s still 7-foot-1.

Taurean Prince, Bucks

Position/age: F/31

Expiring salary: $3 million ($2.1 million cap hit)

A more realistic candidate out of Milwaukee? Pro: Prince shot a career-best 44% from 3-point range last season on 4.2 attempts. Con: After starting almost the entire season, he wasn’t able to stay on the floor in Doc Rivers’ playoff rotation, logging only three minutes off the bench in Game 3 against the Pacers and four minutes in a season-ending Game 5 loss. The Nuggets need Prince’s shooting. They also need somebody they can trust to contribute in April and May.

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Defense: Schematic variety

Adelman operated as Denver’s offensive coordinator on Michael Malone’s staff. When he took over as interim head coach, he took a more involved role in the defensive scheme as well. Nikola Jokic played drop coverage in a crucial win rather than his usual up-the-floor positioning, and the Nuggets went to a zone throughout their second-round playoff series to thwart the Thunder. Expect them to continue trying an assortment of strategies.

“I think we have to be much more creative throughout the season. … I think it gets guys through the year healthier,” Adelman said. “You can demand a very aggressive man defense, but I think you can change things up. I think we have high-IQ players. That allows you to (have) more variety defensively.”

Denver’s base defense against the pick-and-roll typically deploys Jokic at the level of the screen, a more aggressive arrangement than playing him closer to the basket. The idea is to provide a buffer for the defender tasked with navigating the screen, and to ultimately deter the ball-handler into a reset. The consequence is that if the ball-handler can thread a pass to the roller in the middle of the floor, Denver is stuck defending 3-on-4, chasing their tails to close out on shooters. The rotations demand intense effort. When it doesn’t work, opponents drill open 3s. When it does work, it’s exhausting.

The Nuggets regressed from eighth in defensive rating to 21st in the league last season.

Offense: Half-court precision

At their championship heights, the Nuggets were notorious for walking you down and patiently pummeling you in their half-court sets. With Jokic pulling the puppet strings, they always generated an open shot.

They still ranked fourth in offensive rating last season, but rather notably via an uptick in tempo. Denver was the eighth-fastest team in the NBA, one year after ranking 26th.

Adelman wants to get back to the team’s roots.

“Our transition game was very impactful throughout the season, but some of that does not translate to the playoffs,” he said. “So that’s a major goal for us. We have to get back to being an execution-based team. If that takes away some of our PACE numbers or whatever the analytics want to say, I think that’s OK if that wins you a game in May, as opposed to playing a game in December. It’s a very different style of basketball. And we have to think that way throughout the whole season, so when we get to that point, we can morph into that team.”

Adelman made sure to marvel at the appropriately named Pacers and their anomaly of a playoff run this year — emphasis on run.

“But I think most of the time, the vast majority of the time,” he said, “if you want to win big, you’ve gotta play slow. You’ve gotta be efficient. You’ve gotta be clean.”

Player development

When Josh Kroenke posited last week that “a lot of our answers are internal right now” as a roster, the subtext seemed directed at Adelman, who’s taking over a largely underdeveloped depth chart loaded with late first-round picks and early second-rounders.

If changes to the roster are indeed minimal this summer, then finding enough bodies to complete a deeper playoff rotation will be a heavy burden. Adelman seems ready to embrace that, understanding he’ll need to give young players more in-game experience during the regular season — but also preaching that “to grow into a role, you have to earn a role.”

“We have people in this building that are more than capable of creating the depth that we need. It’s also me creating a different kind of relationship with these players,” he said. “Being the head coach as opposed to lead assistant is a lot different. Those expectations have to be defined for them. I need to be active and go see players, make sure they understand what they can do to have an impact on this team next year. … All these guys have people they work out with away from this building. We have great people in this building. But we have to unify those relationships.”

He’ll be trying to mend a disconnect that has developed in some of those relationships. Players’ offseason workout preferences became a point of contention between Malone and former general manager Calvin Booth.

Ego management

Part of being an NBA head coach, of course, is managing the fallout of your own lineup decisions. Professional athletes are prideful. They want to play. When they don’t, it inherently bruises the ego.

Adelman seemed to display a deft hand at navigating locker-room politics during his interim tenure. He attempted to pull off a pure meritocracy. There were nights when starting small forward Michael Porter Jr. was excluded from the closing lineup. Porter was still among the players to endorse Adelman for the full-time job.

So, how will Adelman navigate those situations over the course of a season?

“The last two years, we’ve lost Game 7 in the second round of the playoffs,” he said. “So when we get to December, January, February, and there’s small fires to be put out and all those things, and guys aren’t feeling it or whatever, I will remind them of that. We have to understand that if we want to have our ultimate goal, our professionalism has to be (consistent) throughout the whole season. … If guys can’t understand that, that’s an issue, and I’ll make sure they remember that.”

Coaching staff structure

Adelman has the opportunity to build his own coaching staff this summer. “Those are conversations we’re gonna have going forward,” he said. “… I do think we’ll have to take a long look at everything with the (current) staff, just like you do with your roster, your players. Because every year, you want to get better.”

In all likelihood, Adelman’s eventual staff will feature a mix of individuals retained from last season, and a handful of newcomers. He was also asked if he plans to hire an offensive coordinator for the role he previously occupied.

“I have to be willing to listen to outside opinions,” he said. “It’s different for me. It was my opinion (as an assistant) before, being given to someone else. So I think delegation will come as the staff is formed. And there are different ways to do it. What we’ve done here has been successful, with the offensive and defensive coordinators, with the head coach. But there’s other people doing it a different way across the league.”

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