The official Denver Nuggets thread.

[famicommander]

Game 2 reaction:
Watson: good offensive game, invisible on the glass, still more fouls and turnovers than you want
Pickett: played a good game for the most part. Still mostly playing shooting guard, doesn't seem to have NBA PG.
Gillespie: still a bit out of rhythm but in command of the offense, better on defense, shot lights out. Looked like the floor general for the most part.
Tyson: worst defensive player on the floor tonight, not enough rebounds, very good offensive game
Strawther: nightmare shooting game, actually good everywhere else
Kamagate: still invisible

[DenverBlood]

Not sure who needs to hear this but all championship gear is listed on the NBA store for half off. Surprisingly a lot still left.

[famicommander]

Tyson:
19 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 4 turnovers, 3 fouls

Pickett:
12 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 0 steals, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls

Strawther:
21 points, 3 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 0 turnovers, 0 fouls

Gillespie:
10 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 0 blocks, 1 turnover, 4 fouls (2 intentional)

Much better showing across the board for our kids tonight.

[Spice 1]

Good job on the Strawther pick. Good pick. Two way player who will be able to play 2 or 3. Shooter who can put it on the deck. Athletic enough to finish and should be really good in transition as well. Seems like a really high IQ player, and the three consistency should only improve playing in Denver's system.

What's cool about the Pickett pick is the potential offensively. Normally everything you do is based on Jokic, and he plays around 34 minutes a game now. When he's out the offense completely changes. Pickett is a passer who can apply the same kind of pressure inside if he's guarded by smaller players. Not saying it'll play out that way, but you could do similar things offensively with the second unit if you utilize Pickett that way. And it creates matchup problems otherwise. Down the road, of course.

But Strawther's the pick I really like. I think you guys got a good one for where you took him. Right now I'd say the steal of the draft though is Keyonte George, and hopefully the ankle isn't too bad. I've been saying it for years. Can't stand Danny Ainge, but he's one hell of a GM.

[famicommander]

Strawther is the most raw of the kids but he has the highest ceiling. Has some dog in him.

Tyson is a highly developed offensive player but he has a long way to go on defense. Still, he can shoot so he can play in this league.

Pickett finally looked like a point guard last night. The first two Summer League games his handles looked shaky and he mostly deferred to Gillespie and Watson. He also let the other team stop his dribble way too far behind the three point line several times. Last night he looked in control, calm, and like a floor general for the first time. Excellent progress.

Gillespie is making great decisions and looking better with each game, but he's still got a long way to go before he's 100% back in game shape. Just like Murray at the beginning of last season. Gillespie broke both major bones in his lower leg and dislocated his ankle and missed the entire year from the end of last Summer League to the start of this one. In a few months Gillespie's shot will be falling consistently and he'll be a step quicker on defense. But his playmaking is already really good; it's not his fault we bricked every open three he created for us last night.

[famicommander]

Nuggets have signed 6'8" PF Braxton Key to a two-way deal. He has played 14 NBA games across 2 seasons and spent time in the G-League and playing pro ball in Puerto Rico. He won championships in college and in the G-League and is considered a defense/rebounding specialist.

[Houshmazode]

Nuggets have signed 6'8" PF Braxton Key to a two-way deal. He has played 14 NBA games across 2 seasons and spent time in the G-League and playing pro ball in Puerto Rico. He won championships in college and in the G-League and is considered a defense/rebounding specialist.

Watched his highlights from the last SL game with the Mavs. He looks like good bench depth / developmental potential.

[famicommander]

Excellent performance from all four guys tonight, earning their first Summer League W

Tyson:
31 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, +43

Strawther:
23 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 0 turnovers, 1 foul, +33

Pickett:
11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, +33

Gillespie:
3 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 1 turnover, 1 foul, +27

[famicommander]

Nuggets have signed 7'1" center Jay Huff to their last two-way spot. The 18 man roster is now set.

PG: Jamal Murray, Reggie Jackson, Jalen Pickett, Collin Gillespie
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Christian Braun, Justin Holiday, Julian Strawther
SF: Michael Porter Jr., Peyton Watson, Hunter Tyson
PF: Aaron Gordon, Zeke Nnaji, Vlatko Cancar, Braxton Key
C: Nikola Jokic, DeAndre Jordan, Jay Huff

[famicommander]

Torn left ACL for Vlatko Cancar. Hurt playing in a meaningless warmup game for the stupid World Cup.

Awful, awful news. Now we're betting a lot on Zeke Nnaji's health and that dude is always hurt.

I hope we make a trade. Send out Zeke Nnaji and Justin Holiday for the best big man they can get, then use the extra roster spot that opens up to upgrade Braxton Key or Jay Huff to a full spot or re-sign Jack White if the Thunder cut him.

[famicommander]

Not exactly Nuggets related, but whatever.

It looks like we're gonna get a WNBA team.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert was in town yesterday to meet with a potential ownership group, alongside the mayor of Denver and the governor of Colorado. The ownership group took her on a tour of both Ball Arena and DU's Magness Arena (seats 7200 for basketball).

The group
Robert Cohen - Chair and CEO of IMA Financial Group, a brokerage firm that had over 1.3 billion in revenue in 2022. The dude is heavily connected, serving on the boards of like 20 local charities as well as on the Visit Denver sports committee, alongside Kroenke Sports rep Matt Bell.

Navin Dimond - Founder and CEO of Stonegate Companies, a chain of over 65 hotels. Member of the Board of Trustees at DU.

Ashley Dimond - Navin's daughter and chief strategist

Bill Hanzlik - nonprofit partner. Former Nuggets player and coach, current Nuggets broadcaster, well known for his many youth-sports oriented charity works around town.

The group is actively seeking minority investors and celebrity backers.

The fact that these people have their names out there and are meeting with the Commissioner makes it seem really likely we'll be one of the two cities that gets a 2025 expansion franchise.

And, thankfully, they didn't mention the Denver Coliseum as a potential venue. It'll either be Ball Arena or Magness.

My guess is they'll play at Ball if they can entice the Kroenkes to buy a minority share, or if there's unexpectedly huge ticket demand.

If not, it seems rather likely that a DU Trustee could get a sweet deal to lease Magness. It would be the 4th smallest arena in the league, but most teams still average less than Magness holds anyway. And there are a couple teams playing in tiny barns (Atlanta's building seats 3500, Washington's 4200).