First-Year GM Calvin Booth’s Vision For The Denver Nuggets Is Manifesting In The Playoffs

When Denver Nuggets executive Calvin Booth was promoted to lead the team’s front office as general manager in early July last year, he stepped into the position with formidable challenges and responsibilities ahead of him, and even bigger shoes to fill.

Six weeks earlier, Denver’s then-president of basketball operations Tim Connelly sent shockwaves through the Nuggets organization, mediasphere and fan base by deciding to part ways with the team, whose front office he had helmed for nine seasons, accepting an offer from the Minnesota Timberwolves to become their new POBO.

Connelly’s deal with the Wolves reportedly more than doubled his salary from $20 million to over $40 million over five years, and included added bonus incentives tied to organizational success as an added incentive to lure him away from Denver.

The fact that Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke was ultimately unwilling to match Minnesota’s offer, and would simply let walk away the executive who drafted Denver’s three crown jewel maximum contract players in two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., was roundly criticized from many corners as both a serious mistake and a heavy blow to the franchise, and raised renewed denunciations of the Kroenke ownership group as once again living up to its longstanding reputation for penny pinching.

For this magnitude of a shakeup to come at such a critical juncture for the Nuggets and their championship aspirations, with Jokic entering the peak of his prime, and both Murray and Porter expected to return from longstanding injury absences the following season, was by all appearances a setback that seemed harmfully disruptive at best, or at worst downright devastating. Connelly was, after all, not only responsible for assembling the bulk of Denver’s top-tier talent through astute drafting, but also played a massive role in the team setting its organizational culture of patient, assiduous roster building founded on an ethos of loyalty and family. (“Family on three!” remains the team’s mantra when the players break from huddles.)

‘He Can Make Ruthless Decisions’

At a press conference a week after news of Connelly’s departure broke, Josh Kroenke, the vice chairman of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment and Stan’s son, defended the Nuggets’ approach to negotiations between the two parties. “I fought as hard as I could [to keep Tim Connelly], he said, adding, “I felt we made a very competitive offer that would have allowed him to feel good about staying in Denver.”

Setting aside whether the bulk of fans and media members found that justification compelling (spoiler alert: most did not), what perhaps stood out more in Kroenke’s presser was his eagerness to pivot to his confidence, and that of the KSE ownership group as a whole, in Calvin Booth’s ability to adeptly assume the mantle leading Denver’s front office.

“I think that in the wake of Tim’s departure, there’s tremendous opportunity for some people here in the building, starting with Calvin Booth” Kroenke said. “I’ve always though very highly of Calvin, I think he’s going to do a wonderful job for us.”

“Calvin’s a hard worker, he’s got a great mind, and I think he’s open to suggestions,” Kroenke added. “But he’s shown me that he can make ruthless decisions when he needs to, and I think that from a talent evaluation, incorporating data, and having that ability to touch people in a positive way on a daily basis, to create the culture that you have to have as an organization, Calvin has that as well.”

And as fair as criticisms regarding the Kroenkes’ handing (or perhaps mishandling) of the Connelly situation may have been, looking at the success the Nuggets have had through Booth’s first year, both in the regular season and now the playoffs, the body of evidence that Kroenke was in fact right about Booth keeps growing stronger.

When it comes to contrasting Booth’s approach to operations versus that of Connelly, the framing that “he can make ruthless decisions when he needs to” seems a fitting starting point.

The value of loyalty in NBA roster building can be a double-edged sword. For the most part, placing a premium on loyalty to players served the Nuggets well through the Nikola Jokic and Tim Connelly era. It was in part, for example, the fostering of such a culture of loyalty which enabled the Nuggets to attract and sign Paul Millsap in the 2017 offseason, arguably among their biggest free agent signings in decades alongside those of Kenyon Martin and Antonio McDyess.

As the Nuggets have strived to build an organizational culture of positivity and trust, paying players well and early, and not turning on a dime and breaking promises (as, for example, the Los Angeles Clippers were widely perceived as doing with Blake Griffin) has gone a long way toward engendering the “family” vibe both in the locker room and on the court which has helped establish organizational coherence and continuity.

That said, a case can be made that at least in some circumstances, Tim Connelly was loyal to his players to a fault. And also that in turn, Booth quickly proved himself willing to make the tough choices that Connelly was perhaps overly reluctant to make.

‘We Need To Improve Defensively And Try To Get More Versatile’

In his first trade as Nuggets GM, Booth traded longtime Nuggets stalwarts Will Barton III and Monte Morris to the Washington Wizards for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith. Considering that Barton was the longest-tenured Nuggets player at the time, a fixture who was critical in fostering the development and integration of Nikola Jokic in the early stages of his rise to superstardom, and that Morris was among the most beloved players among teammates and fans alike, this was not an easy cord to cut – and is perhaps the clearest example of the tough choice that Connelly was unwilling to make. (The closest he came was acquiring Aaron Gordon by trading Gary Harris, who had been struggling for seasons on end by the time Denver cut him loose.)

But, as results have borne out, the move was not only necessary, but ultimately extremely fruitful. To paraphrase The Dude from The Big Lebowski, when it comes to the Nuggets’ starting lineup, KCP is the rug that ties the room together. His ability to defend Denver’s opponents’ best guards and wings better than any other starting backcourt running mate Jamal Murray has ever had not only frees Murray of that heavier defensive load, but provides Denver with an increased ability to switch that opens up so many more options to them defensively.

Which brings us to Calvin Booth’s vision for transforming the Nuggets – a vision which was consistent nearly across the board as reflected in his offseason moves last year, and one that’s now paying dividends in the postseason. He wanted Denver to get better defensively, he wanted more two-way versatility, and he wanted Denver to get bigger. And he got it.

Declining qualifying options on undersized guards Facu Campazzo and Markus Howard, and trading away Barton and Morris – both of whom were arguably defensive liabilities – was Booth’s first “ruthless” move.

Replacing them with Caldwell-Pope via trade, Bruce Brown in free agency, and Christian Braun and Peyton Watson as first-round draft picks was the next step for Booth in moving toward his vision for bolstering the Nuggets with a longer, more defensive and more versatile supporting cast surrounding Denver’s stars.

And so far, it’s worked beyond all realistic expectations, as the Nuggets have garnered a 108.1 defensive rating this postseason compared with a paltry 114.6 defensive rating in the regular season.

As Booth told The Athletic last year, “we need to improve defensively and try to get more versatile. Find that guy that can shoot and guard in the starting lineup that didn’t necessarily need the ball.”

And regarding the draft, “I knew that guys like Christian (Braun) and Peyton (Watson) and even Ismaël (Kamagate) would be impossible to obtain in a trade market or free agency. Despite us having aspirations of going deep into the playoffs, we knew we had to use some roster spots on young talented guys like that.”

Now, Booth’s three key additions who are in the Nuggets’ eight-man rotation – KCP, Brown and Braun – are all making significant two-way contributions as Denver continues deepening their playoff run.

Whether it’s Nuggets rookie Christian Braun in Game 1 of the Nuggets’ series against Phoenix, when three of Braun’s four steals came off Kevin Durant (that’s former MVP, two-time NBA champions and ten-time All-NBA player Kevin Durant, repeatedly getting his pockets picked by a rookie)…

Or free agent acquisition Bruce Brown blocking Durant…

…or throwing down big dunks attacking the rim both in halfcourt and transition…

…or KCP drilling clutch three-pointers in the fourth quarter…

…a truly significant portion of the Nuggets’ production on both ends of the court around their top-tier talent has come from Calvin Booth’s additions to Denver’s roster.

Not to mention that another one of the Nuggets’ premier defenders, Aaron Gordon, now has sufficient backcourt backup and is not getting stretched nearly as thin as he was in Denver’s last two playoff runs.

“Aaron Gordon had to cover a lot of holes, …he had to go into the backboard a lot more probably than Coach Malone or himself would have liked to,” Booth said last year. “So, hopefully with the addition of KCP and Bruce Brown and Christian Braun and some of the guys of this … Aaron won’t have to go into the backcourt quite as much.”

Booth was correct, as Gordon was able to focus on centers Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert in Denver’s first playoff series this year, and has keyed in on Durant in the current matchup with Phoenix. Strengthening Denver’s backcourt defensively has had a positive ripple effect through the Nuggets’ rotation, where every player – even granting that the Nuggets are generally switching one through four – is cast in a role more fitting to his abilities.

Reiterating Booth’s vision for the Nuggets as he stated it last year, he said, “we need to improve defensively and try to get more versatile. Find that guy that can shoot and guard in the starting lineup that didn’t necessarily need the ball.”

In Caldwell-Pope, Brown and Braun (and perhaps in the future, Watson as well), Booth has accomplished just that, and it is translating to winning contributions for the Nuggets this postseason.

We will soon find out how deep Denver’s current roster can take their title hopes into the playoffs. But at least for now, it certainly appears that Calvin Booth’s vision for how the Nuggets should be built around Jokic, Murray and Porter is not only manifesting in reality, but proving to be a formula for success.