DENVER — Nikola Jokić was still rocking the beard he started growing this summer at the Paris Olympics. Russell Westbrook looked surreal in a Denver Nuggets uniform but happy to address the media. Head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth spoke of the need to take advantage of opportunities.
Jamal Murray spoke in quiet monotone on signing a lucrative contract extension , while Aaron Gordon talked of the possibility of signing one. Advertisement On a packed and slightly condensed Media Day at Ball Arena, an early Thursday session leaked a significant number of topics and storylines to follow for a training camp and preseason opener against the Boston Celtics that’s somehow only a week away. At the core, this will be the same Nuggets team we’ve come to know so well over the years.
Jokić remains the best player in the world. He and Murray are the heart and soul of the team and will again be one of the best duos in the NBA . Gordon remains the workhorse on the heels of a traumatic offseason that saw the death of his brother and close friend, Drew.
Michael Porter Jr. remains the shooter and will be more important than ever this season, given the overall lack of shooting on Denver’s roster. That being said, this will be a different Nuggets team in many ways from the one we’re used to seeing.
Westbrook’s presence gives Denver a wild-card element it hasn’t had in recent seasons, and his acquisition is like a chemistry experiment: It can go well, or .