Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets locker room:<\/p>\n
NBA Insider<\/p>\n
The words \u201cinternal development\u201d have been used a lot to start the summer, and that means it\u2019s a big offseason for the Denver Nuggets’ Julian Strawther.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing from Year 2 to Year 3, I feel like it\u2019s kind of like taking the training wheels off. I feel like it\u2019s the biggest summer,\u201d Strawther said last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you going to be around in this league or are you going to fizzle out? Being able to take that step as a professional, work on my body this summer, work on a little bit of everything and just put myself in the best position to have success next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
If the Nuggets aren\u2019t able to pull off a significant trade or sign an impactful player or two to a team-friendly deal, Denver\u2019s easiest path to getting better is development from a group of young reserves. Strawther\u2019s development comes with increased importance given the Nuggets\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can improve with what you have. That\u2019s going to be important for these guys, looking at their summers,\u201d Nuggets coach David Adelman said last week.<\/p>\n
When asked what the Nuggets\u2019 roster lacked last season, Adelman answered \u201cconsistent shooting.\u201d Denver attempted the fewest 3s per game last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a premium on shot making at the times you need it,\u201d Denver\u2019s new coach said.<\/p>\n
More Strawther minutes would be an easy way for the Nuggets to get more 3s up. What Strawther offers was most evident in Game 6 against the Thunder. When the Nuggets needed an offensive spark, then-interim coach David Adelman called upon his third-year shooting guard, who answered with 15 points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range in 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour skill set has to get better in the summer, but it has to be aligned to what were trying to do as a team. There is a happy medium you have to meet,\u201d Adelman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI expect guys to come back much better, stronger, more confident and understand the opportunity they have.\u201d<\/p>\n
After playing in 50 games last season, Strawther appeared in 65 games this season, starting four, and doubling his minutes per game to 21.3. After shooting 30% from 3 as a rookie, he shot 35% last season. With hopes of making more improvements ahead of next season, Strawther stuck around Denver to attend Adelman\u2019s first official press conference. It sounds like he\u2019s going to be on the Ball Arena practice court a lot this summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe take it personal, especially us younger guys. We\u2019re hungry to get better. We\u2019re hungry to put our vets and starters in the best position possible when it\u2019s time for them to close games,\u201d Strawther said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all fuel to the fire. We understand that we\u2019re going to develop and get better. We\u2019re all young. We\u2019ve got a lot of years ahead of us. \u201c<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n What should be the first move of the Nuggets’ next general manager? | Friday Faceoff<\/a><\/p>\n What I\u2019m Thinking<\/p>\n Nuggets fans get to play the \u201cwhat if\u201d game for another couple of weeks, if not longer.<\/p>\n After Oklahoma City needed just five games to send the Timberwolves home in the conference finals, no team can claim to have given the historically good Thunder as much of a test as the Nuggets. Determining what that means is a little more complicated.<\/p>\n The Thunder could claim they were an Aaron Gordon buzzer-beating 3 in Game 1 and missed jumper from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Game 4 away from sweeping the second-round series, while Denver fans will say they could\u2019ve won the series in five or six games.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re more than capable of competing with those teams,\u201d Adelman said of the Western Conference finalists. \u201cWe\u2019ve showed it. It\u2019s just about getting in the right mindset when those games come at the end of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Your daily report on everything sports in Colorado – covering the Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, and columns from Woody Paige and Paul Klee.\n <\/p>\n Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.<\/p>\n That debate might just go on all summer, because the Thunder are beating the Pacers in five.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think that we have enough in the locker room to win the championship,\u201d Strawther said.<\/p>\n \u201cA little more luck, a little more health, things might change.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Oklahoma City Thunder poised to end NBA’s parity era | Vinny’s take<\/a><\/p>\n What They\u2019re Saying<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, we\u2019re in what I would say is a very binary position,\u201d team president Josh Kroenke said at Adelman\u2019s introductory press conference last week. \u201cEither you have success, which is win the championship or you\u2019re failing and falling short.\u201d<\/p>\n The Nuggets\u2019 new coach also offered his take on what has to be better over the course of next season for the Nuggets not to fall short.<\/p>\n \u201cThe personality of the team has to be consistent throughout the season, and that has to happen. I thought last year we were up and down,\u201d Adelman said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a process-based business. You have to work every day to get to your ultimate goal, and not just expect it to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Afterward, Strawther was among the many to offer a vote of confidence in his new coach.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a great basketball mind. He\u2019s, obviously, come from a lot of places where he\u2019s been able to learn the game. We all trust him,\u201d Strawther said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was able to make adjustments on the fly in the playoffs, so we trust in him with all our heart. He trusts us, so it should be good.\u201d<\/p>\n