The Denver Nuggets hired Jonathan Wallace to be their new executive VP of player personnel on Monday.
He didn’t get the title of GM, but between him and Ben Tenzer who’s now the executive VP of basketball operations, the duo forms Denver’s reimagined front office.
And of course, Josh Kroenke will be involved as well.
The three men spoke with the media on Tuesday, and provided a lot to digest. One of the most interesting things was Wallace getting asked about what this roster is currently lacking. Considering many think he’ll be in charge of building the Nuggets moving forward, his answer was an interesting one.
“Not necessarily lacking, you have to look at what you’ve done, where you are now. The West specifically has gotten younger and it’s gotten deeper. So obviously depth is one of those things you have to address,” Wallace said.
The Nuggets have looked exhausted in Round 2 exits each of the last two years since winning the championship in 2023. Superstar Nikola Jokic said after the Game 7 loss to the Thunder that Denver needs to get deeper and it sounds like Wallace agrees.
Plus, new head coach David Adelman can’t play his starters as much as Michael Malone did. These guys need to get off their feet more and Wallace agrees.
“I think the IQ is so high here, the positional size is so high here. I think you’re further along than what you think you are. I think now it’s just adding a few more pieces that can give these guys, honestly, some rest,” Wallace said.
That will be music to the ears of Jokic and guys like Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Braun.
But considering the Nuggets don’t currently have a pick in this week’s NBA Draft, plus a tight salary cap situation, Wallace is going to have to get creative.
And as the championship window remains open, Denver fans are eager to see what he does. We learned a little more about his philosophy on Tuesday. Now, it’s time to go execute it.
