Before the Nuggets flew out to San Diego on Monday for a week of training camp, they indulged local reporters for a couple of hours on the practice court at Ball Arena. Here are five things we learned from preseason media day.
Jonas Valanciunas ‘happy’ to be in Denver
The Nuggets snuffed out Panathinaikos’s attempt to lure Valanciunas to Greece this summer by making it clear that he’s still expected to honor his NBA contract — a stance that Valanciunas hasn’t attempted to protest with his words or actions. (In at least one instance Monday, an NBA player didn’t show up to his team’s media day because of a contract dispute.)
“One thing I want to clarify is I’m here, I’m happy to be here, and I’m gonna dive in to do everything to win more games than ever,” Valanciunas said when asked about the drama that emerged after Denver traded for him in July. Offered a chance to explain any reluctance to stay in the NBA, the Lithuanian center once again quelled the topic.
“Just being here, I’m comfortable and I’m happy,” Valanciunas said. “If I’m not happy, I’m not gonna be here, right? I think we’ve got to put everything behind us. … Now we have a future in front of us.”
In particular, he repeatedly circled back to the theme of Denver’s championship potential during his first podium appearance in a Nuggets uniform. Entering his 14th season in the NBA, the closest Valanciunas has been to the NBA Finals was in Toronto, where he spent the first seven years of his career, only to be traded halfway through the 2018-19 season. The Raptors went on to win the title that season and didn’t offer their longtime center a ring.
“I’m excited to go again, my 14th season, to jump in and be in probably the best situation I ever had to win a championship,” Valanciunas said. “… I’ve learned that it’s a team sport. Sometimes, you’ve gotta put your ego aside, put your everything aside to be successful. Sometimes you need to support your teammates more than you can support yourself. Those little things come together for good teams. The teams seeking to be the best.”
Nuggets enter their double-big era
David Adelman certainly knows how to build anticipation.
The first-year head coach intends to play Valanciunas and Nikola Jokic together “at certain points” this season, he said Monday, introducing a new layer of intrigue to the Jokic viewing experience.
It won’t be the first time he’s shared the floor with another center — Denver posted a 5.1 net rating using him and Mason Plumlee once upon a time. But rarely, since Jokic rounded into MVP form, have the Nuggets explored lineups with two centers. Jokic and DeAndre Jordan never stepped foot on the court at the same time in three years as teammates.
Suffice it to say, a double-big look with Valanciunas is another variable that could make the Nuggets immensely watchable.
“I’d like to see how people guard those two guys,” Adelman said. “I think that would be a very interesting decision of who you put on who. Will you put a smaller guy on Valanciunas? He’s gonna completely destroy him on the offensive glass. And we all know what Nikola can do shooting the three and spreading the floor.”
Times have changed. Playing with two centers isn’t even a novelty these days. Minnesota made a Western Conference Finals run with Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert in the frontcourt. Houston found success with Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams playing together last season. Adelman is fascinated enough by the trend to try it himself.
“I’m just trying to see who’s gonna be four and be five,” Valanciunas joked.
Cam Johnson prioritizing durability
Denver’s newest starter missed 49 games in the last two years combined in Brooklyn — about 30% of all regular-season games.
When asked if he has a games-played goal for this season, Johnson said around 77.
“Last year, the 57 (games played), it was not ideal by any means,” he said. “Some of it was circumstantial. Some of it was unfortunate. But I’m definitely looking to exceed that 75 mark and be available. I think that’s a big thing, and I did a lot in the offseason to make sure that I’ll be in a position to do that.”
Johnson later elaborated that “82 is always the goal,” but he joked that he was “trying to give myself that little wiggle room.” When he was healthy last season, he was outstanding for the Nets, averaging a career-high 18.8 points and 3.4 assists per game.
“I think I missed a good couple weeks with an ankle injury, an ankle injury that occurred with one second left in a game against Milwaukee going after a loose ball to finish the game. I ran into a teammate, stepped on his foot, and there went that month. You know? So some of the things you can’t always control. But from the ‘things I can control’ perspective, there’s just making sure that everything’s solid, strength is in the right spot, aerobic conditioning is in the right spot, and everything that filters down.”
Jared Dudley to run defense
Adelman revealed that his new lead assistant coach will be in charge of the Nuggets’ defense in the role previously held by Ryan Saunders.
Dudley joined Adelman’s inaugural staff after having worked under Jason Kidd with the Mavericks since 2021.
“Obviously, Jared and I will work hand-in-hand with that,” Adelman said. “There’s going to be guys underneath him, answering to him. I think the hardest part of doing this as a new coach is understanding that delegation is so important, because you can’t do everything every day. You’ve gotta trust the people around you.”
New execs want star players in their ear
A subtle note from media day that could eventually be relevant if the Nuggets look to fill their 15th roster spot during the season: Co-general managers Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer have emphasized to Jokic and Jamal Murray that Denver’s front office is eager to hear input from them about the roster.
“Being able to talk to Nikola, being able to talk to Jamal, being the two kind of focal points of our organization, we told them to be brutally honest with us,” said Wallace, the team’s new VP of player personnel. “What do they need from us?”
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