David Adelman is a wizard on the whiteboard.
In charge of the Nuggets’ offense since 2017, Adelman creates transition buckets and motion to exploit opponents. But, at its core, Denver’s foundation is simple.
“If you are on our team and you play selfishly, it sure as (heck) shows up,” Adelman said last week. “We move the ball and play the right way.”
It is, if we are being honest, the Jokic Way.
Therein lies the secret of what could be a milestone year for Nikola Jokic. He should win his fourth MVP award, but nothing would cement his legacy like a second championship.
For the first time since 2023, the Nuggets have aligned the pieces to his liking.
Jokic bemoaned the team’s lack of depth after Oklahoma City eliminated the Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals — the team’s second straight early exit — and co-general managers Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer got the message.
The result was a makeover worthy of HGTV. Michael Porter Jr. was traded for the more versatile and less expensive Cam Johnson. They added an actual functional backup center in Jonas Valanciunas via another trade, and signed free agents Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown at bargain basement prices.
The result? This team, no wait, this organization has been refashioned in Jokic’s image. No drama. All ball.
The paranoia and pettiness between coach and general manager can no longer infect the locker room with Michael Malone and Calvin Booth long since fired. The overreliance on prospects to build out the bench is also a thing of the past.
It is easy to translate the message Wallace and Tenzer received from team president Josh Kroenke: Win now while Jokic remains in his prime.
The Nuggets recognized it was time to stop making excuses about untenable contracts and time to start adding the right veterans to reinforce the team’s culture.
So, it comes back to Jokic.
The Nuggets cannot take his happiness for granted anymore.
So they’ve given him everything he needs. Now, all the Nuggets need is for him to produce another historic season. He must not only deliver nightly triple-doubles but also assert his leadership on a regular basis.
This isn’t Jeff Bridich asking Nolan Arenado to start waving pom-poms to camouflage the team’s horrible pitching. This is the Nuggets creating an environment that brings out the best in Jokic on and off the floor, leaving him comfortable investing like he did with Serbia during the Paris Olympics.
“The expectation is through 82 (games) that he is more vocal. But 82 is a lot. It’s those moments when things get tough, I’d like to see Jamal (Murray), Nikola, Aaron (Gordon), the guys who have been here and through the wars in basketball terms, speak up in film sessions and timeouts,” Adelman said. “I don’t think you will see it every night. Everybody has to take a step in that direction. You are a year older, a year smarter. Use your leadership the best that you can.”
Because of his established greatness, seeing differences in Jokic is nuanced. But teammates have taken notice. And they love this version of Joker.
“That is the message from ownership on down — for us to take control and take ownership. And having Joker be vocal, having Jamal be vocal, having our marquee guys really lead not only by example but also verbally is huge. I think it’s helped everybody out. And it’s made the other guys more serious about it,” forward Peyton Watson said.
“When you have new guys coming in and they see Jokic talking and playing hard and running the floor and beating everyone down the floor on a fast break … when you see Joker doing that, you look yourself in the mirror and ask, ‘Why can’t I do that?’”
There is no reason. Jokic sets the standard for everything, starting with the Nuggets’ style of play. He plays a beautiful game, his spatial awareness stunning. He recognizes players are open before they do.
Now, he has extra parts around him to amplify his strengths. Johnson could be the next Gordon, his numbers shrinking while his ego-free play enhances the group. Hardaway will never get more open 3s than this season. And Brown might have paid to play alongside Joker if the players’ union let him.
The more guys who get Jokic, the better.
That was not the case last season, when we witnessed Jokic boil over in frustration on multiple occasions.
“It’s not easy, not easy going against him. He makes me step up and bring my ‘A’ game every day. Sometimes I am not feeling as well, don’t want to go as hard. He keeps me 100 percent,” said Valanciunas, who should lighten Jokic’s minutes load this season. “… I don’t know (how to) express how good he is, his passes.”
After ignoring signs of dysfunction for too long, the Nuggets fixed things around their centerpiece.
For Jokic, it is never about his floor vision. It is the way he sees everything. He is a basketball savant. And if this season goes as expected, it will be clear why he is one of the greatest players ever.
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