OKLAHOMA CITY — When the Denver Nuggets let Tim Connelly leave for Minnesota, they promoted from within to fill his role as the lead executive.
The Nuggets may be doing something similar just three years later, a few months after firing general manager Calvin Booth.
A postgame report from The Athletic detailed that interim general manager Ben Tenzer “has a chance to win the job full time.” Tony Jones and Sam Amick share that the Nuggets have not yet moved forward in their GM search.
This means Tenzer is currently the lead non-Kroenke, or Kevin Demoff, voice for the Nuggets. Or in other words, Tenzer is leading basketball operations at the moment as Denver begins what many are calling the biggest offseason in franchise history.
The Nuggets have to get more talent on their roster, either by swinging for a big name or by adding more depth. Doing either might require breaking up the team’s elite starting five for a second time in two years. There are big decisions about who leads the team’s front office, the coaching staff and how to fill out the roster with limited resources. There are also several extension-eligible players the Nuggets will have to make tough decisions on.
Tenzer has been with the Nuggets since 2005. First as Tenzer 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.
There was no real rush to hire a GM during the playoffs since the Nuggets couldn’t make any trades or signings to impact the roster. At the same time, they also don’t have a draft pick this year, so the need to scout is less pressing.
That patient approach now immediately flips to need as the Nuggets begin their summer on Monday.
