The Denver Nuggets now have a front office, finalizing their structure on Monday by promoting interim general manager Ben Tenzer and adding Timberwolves’ executive Jon Wallace, according to ESPN.
Tenzer had been temporarily leading the Nuggets’ basketball operations since the team fired general manager Calvin Booth in early April alongside head coach Michael Malone. Denver keeps it in-house for both hires, going with the interim man as the head coach in David Adelman and now creating the title of executive vice president of basketball operations for Tenzer.
The longtime Nuggets staffer will be joined by current Minnesota Timberwolves Director of Player Personnel and GM of the Iowa Wolves, Wallace. The new man is a former Nuggets employee who followed Tim Connelly north. Walalce worked in Denver from 2019 to 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile. Wallace, a former starting point guard at Georgetown, led the team with Jeff Green to a Final Four. After a strong international career, Wallace went back to school, where he worked as a special assistant to coach John Thompson III.
Then there’s Tenzer, who has been with the Nuggets since 2005. First, as a minor league coordinator for the Nuggets from 2005-09. Then he worked as a legal extern and then a legal analyst. He functioned as a cap guru and spent nearly a decade in the official role of director of basketball operations. In 2023, Tenzer was promoted to vice president of basketball operations. He had also served as the general manager of Denver’s G League team, the Grand Rapids Gold.
Both Tenzer and Wallace will be on equal footing, reporting to Josh Kroenke. Longtime Nuggets voice Jeff Morton believes the setup will be similar to when Mark Warkentein and Rex Chapman ran things from 2006-2010, working as co-VPs. And it’s what the boss hinted at last month when he talked about internal and external voices.
Tenzer and Wallace have some big work to do this summer and starting quickly too. Denver’s delayed announcement of management comes just two days before the NBA Draft. The Nuggets do not have a pick, but Kroenke had hinted earlier this spring about trading into the event, perhaps in the second round.
That’s just the beginning, as Nikola Jokic is extension eligible, as are youngsters Christian Braun and Peyton Watson, who make for big decisions. The two will have to decide if breaking up the core four is the path moving forward, as everyone knows Denver needs more depth.
Already deeply over the salary cap, with limited assets and up against the second tax apron, the Nuggets will have few avenues and roster spots to improve their roster, which lost to the NBA champion Thunder in seven games during Round 2.
Now it’s finally time for the Nuggets to get to work.
A big offseason in Denver
* Nikola Jokic extension
* Christian Braun and Peyton Watson extension options
* Creativity improving their depth: $5.7M tax ML, vet minimum, internal or trades pic.twitter.com/fyyZhmrPJK
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 23, 2025
