{"id":43555,"date":"2025-05-19T18:38:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T18:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/43555\/"},"modified":"2025-05-19T18:38:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T18:38:14","slug":"who-wins-another-title-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/43555\/","title":{"rendered":"Who wins another title first?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Renck: There was hope this spring would change the narrative surrounding the Nuggets and Avs, but not like this. After both were bounced from the playoffs with a thud \u2014 the Nuggets in the semifinals<\/a>, the Avs in the first round<\/a> \u2014 an old question moved back to the front of our minds: Are these franchises wasting the prime years of former MVPs Nikola Jokic<\/a> and Nathan MacKinnon? The Nuggets were not expected to go on a run after the seismic shakeup of their coaching staff and front office, but the Avs were. So, the pangs of disappointment are real. And an uncomfortable query hangs in the air like an anvil: Who will win another championship first, Jokic or MacKinnon?<\/p>\n

Keeler: Oh, it\u2019s the Joker. But it\u2019s not in Denver. Unless the Nuggets undergo a serious revamp around him \u2014 as we\u2019ve both suggested they do<\/a> \u2014 over the next 4-12 months, the NBA\u2019s best passing big man since Bill Walton<\/a> is most likely destined to land his second ring in Walton-like fashion. And that\u2019s as an older, \u201crole\u201d big, many, many years from now, on one of the NBA\u2019s marquee franchises. I\u2019d sooner pluck out my left eye than see Jokic as a 37-year-old in Celtics green or Lakers purple. But with the way the Nuggets are constructed, and with the way the NBA loves to tilt the continent to get its stars moved to either coast, I can\u2019t rule it out. Dude, I want to. But I just can\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Renck: The Nuggets showed the resilience and chemistry of a champion, but not the talent. The Thunder is better. So is Minnesota. Still, Jokic feels closer to another crown than MacKinnon. Though it\u2019s easy to squint and see neither winning another championship in Denver. The first priority is to sign Jokic after the NBA Finals to a three-year extension that puts him in Denver through the 2029-30 season. Next is the hard part: How do you reshape a team with a top-heavy payroll, no draft picks and few tradeable assets? It starts with moving Michael Porter Jr. The Nuggets need to improve defensively on the perimeter and give Jokic a legitimate backup. Christian Braun can reasonably address the first issue, while last year\u2019s top pick DaRon Holmes II must become a surprising defender and 3-point shooter.<\/p>\n

Keeler: The Kroenkes, Tim Connelly and Calvin Booth shared paint brushes and pinned the Nuggets into a corner with the contracts they doled out. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. have to be stars, because now they\u2019re paid like them. Zeke Nnaji has to be a viable seventh or sixth option for the same reason.<\/a> And thanks to health, or in spite of it, none of that\u2019s happening. When a GM says \u201cWell, (this guy) just needs to play better, and we\u2019ll be fine,\u201d that\u2019s code for a front office that knows it screwed up \u2014 and knows the only way out is to either shame or motivate said player out loud.<\/p>\n

Renck: It has become hard to trust the Avs when it matters most. No team has shown a willingness to make more moves, but they fizzle in the playoffs. MacKinnon was left on an island in the playoffs as Cale Makar failed to produce. Maybe the dim view comes from coach Jared Bednar\u2019s inability to ever beat Dallas\u2019 Peter Deboer. And will Bednar even be the coach next postseason if the Avs get off to a slow start? As such. Jokic boasts a better chance of putting on another ring in the next two years, then the advantage swings to MacKinnon.<\/p>\n

Keeler: The Avs have tried. Really, really, really tried. But it\u2019s starting to feel as if MacKinnon\u2019s \u201cdynasty\u201d window in Denver snapped shut two years ago. That it sailed away from a port in Seattle.<\/a> And I\u2019m starting to fear the hockey gods are about to deliver us a Stars-Hurricanes Stanley Cup Final.<\/a> Hide the sharp objects.<\/p>\n

Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis.<\/a><\/p>\n

Originally Published: May 19, 2025 at 11:47 AM MDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Renck: There was hope this spring would change the narrative surrounding the Nuggets and Avs, but not like…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3781],"tags":[4089,7,8736,4187,561,437,436,2288,301,187,3943,5042,762,12029,165,764,307,152,252,8737,6,1106,253,302,179,4098,8869,66,198,4099,3994,3788,8870,4714],"class_list":{"0":"post-43555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-nuggets","8":"tag-avalanche","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-cale-makar","11":"tag-calvin-booth","12":"tag-christian-braun","13":"tag-colorado-avalanche","14":"tag-dallas-stars","15":"tag-daron-holmes","16":"tag-denver","17":"tag-denver-nuggets","18":"tag-denvernuggets","19":"tag-hockey","20":"tag-jamal-murray","21":"tag-jared-bednar","22":"tag-latest-headlines","23":"tag-michael-porter","24":"tag-minnesota","25":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","26":"tag-more-nuggets-news","27":"tag-nathan-mackinnon","28":"tag-nba","29":"tag-nhl","30":"tag-nikola-jokic","31":"tag-nuggets","32":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","33":"tag-sean-keeler","34":"tag-sean-keeler-versus","35":"tag-sports","36":"tag-sports-columnists","37":"tag-stanley-cup","38":"tag-tim-connelly","39":"tag-troy-renck","40":"tag-troy-renck-versus","41":"tag-zeke-nnaji"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}