Denver Nuggets propagating an impressive culture

After the Denver Nuggets re-signed and re-structured the contracts of Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari I took to social media to see how those transactions were viewed across what I like to call “Basketball Twitter.” Most of what I saw were pundits wondering exactly what the Nuggets were doing and re-calling how this franchise is still stuck in the mud of the last two years.

Those sentiments left me puzzled because for the first time since George Karl was fired in 2013, I can confidently say that the Denver Nuggets have a “plan” in place to rebuild and move in a more positive direction.

This plan first came to light when team president Josh Kroenke and general manager Tim Connelly hired Michael Malone as Denver’s next head coach. It continued to percolate as Denver drafted Emmanuel Mudiay and re-signed and re-structured the contracts of Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari. And it reached the end of phase one when the Nuggets re-upped Jameer Nelson and parted ways with embattled point guard Ty Lawson.

The Nuggets plan is simple. It was hatched as the NBA playoffs were coming to a close and as Kroenke laid out his plans for the upcoming summer:

“What we want are guys that want to be here and want to get better,” Kroenke said. “Those are two pretty good traits for us to start from.”

Then, two days after he was hired as Nuggets’ head coach, Malone went on Denver’s ESPN radio affiliate and expanded on the vision he and the front office had for this roster:

“We’re going to have a culture of trust, discipline, hard-work and accountability,” he said. “You can resist it or embrace it.”

Kroenke and Connelly could have hired Mike D’Antoni, who offered a quicker return to relevancy, or Melvin Hunt who was already familiar with the current roster and had their approval and respect. Instead, the Nuggets front office went with someone they knew would change their players attitudes and the culture of this organization, not just on the court but off it as well.

That culture began to take shape in last month’s NBA draft when the Nuggets selected Emmanuel Mudiay, and even though the point guard surprisingly fell to No. 7 overall it was clear he fit the vision of the Nuggets’ brain trust.

The maturity and professionalism Mudiay showed throughout his Summer League stint — likely a result of his upbringing in the Congo and living last year in China — immediately rose to the surface.

Mudiay also donned a retro Dikembe Mutumbo jersey as he sat out Denver’s final Summer League contest, a tribute to the Nuggets’ great and fellow Congo native. It was a stylish move, but also one that shows how he has already ingratiated himself into his city like few rookies have.

Next, by signing Chandler to an extremely affordable four-year, $46 million extension, (which pays him significantly less than Thaddeus Young and Robin Lopez and just $6 million more than Iman Shumpert) Denver keeps a consummate professional both on and off the court in their locker room and someone who can mentor Mudiay in both of those departments.

Chandler also wants to be in Denver. He made that apparent in an Instagram post soon after the signing became official:

“I could have played out my current deal and tested the waters next year when the TV money will sky rocket the salary cap,” Chandler said. “However life is bigger than that. While the Nuggets organization was very generous and I’m extremely happy with the new deal, I made this decision because of the city of Denver, the Nuggets fans and my teammates. I tasted what it was like to win in this great city, and I’ve never been more focused to recapture that feeling.”

After locking up Chandler, Denver turned their attention to Gallinari and soon finalized a new three-year $45 million deal which will start this coming season. Much like Chandler, Gallinari represents another player who wants to be in Denver, loves this organization and is committed to seeing this rebuild through:

“Denver’s such a wonderful city,” Gallinari said in a post on his Facebook page after the signing became official. “A great place to live, wonderful weather and my team has always been by my side.”

Extending and restructuring Gallinari’s contract was done with generally the same line of thinking as was Chandler’s. Why not keep a role model like Gallinari in town, someone who like Chandler can be a mentor to Mudiay, Gary Harris, Jusuf Nurkic, Nikola Jokic and the other young core Denver hopes is their future.

Gallinari’s injury history is a concern, but he’s still just 26 years old and the Nuggets’ brass feels confident he’s turned the corner after two 40-point games within a month’s span to end last season. Additionally, Denver was able to lock him into a very reasonable contract which pays him roughly the same as 2015 free-agent signee DeMarre Carroll — who is two years older than Gallinari — and significantly less than Wes Matthews who tore his Achilles five months ago but still signed a max-contract with Dallas.

The Nuggets’ plan moved another step in the right direction when Denver inked reserve guard Jameer Nelson to a three-year extension worth $13 million. In doing so, they locked up yet another asset who can help nurture and develop the young core that is currently in place.

Nelson, who is already known around the league as a rock-solid locker-room presence, is exactly the kind of player you want to mentor and tutor Mudiay. He can give the rookie first-hand knowledge on what it takes to make it in this league as a point guard as well as the effort and dedication you have to display day in, day out.

The first stage of the Nuggets’ plan concluded when they shipped troubled guard Ty Lawson to Houston and finally rid themselves of an off-the-court nightmare that only would have impacted their young core in a negative manner. Lawson needs help and guidance and I think I speak for all of Nuggets Nation when I say I hope he gets it.

Finally a plan that was so muddled and mysterious the last few years is now clear as day and the architect behind it, Tim Connelly, deserves a lot of credit:

“I’m excited about some of the guys that have chosen to be in Denver. When you see a Wilson Chandler extension, or a Jameer Nelson, a couple other guys we hope to get done, Will Barton, these guys have effectively chosen to be here and shown their affinity to the organization and the city. It’s exciting,” said Connelly while addressing the Denver media after the Lawson trade became official. “We have a long way to go, but we have a good foundation to build on.”

So now what?

By locking up Chandler, Gallinari and Nelson, Denver’s re-build can go in a lot of different directions and according to salary cap and overall NBA guru, Bobby Marks, Denver is in great position salary-cap wise for the next few years.

After the Lawson trade Denver will be slightly below the cap in 2015-16 when a healthy but possibly overrated crop of NBA free agents hit the market. The following summer, the Nuggets will have approximately $46 million in cap space to work with and a free-agent list that puts the previous summers’ to shame.

Two years from now the Denver front office hopes Mudiay is flashing his All-Star potential and the culture the Denver front office and Malone set out to employ takes shape. Then, Denver can sell itself as a destination for free agents.

Take the Milwaukee Bucks for example.

Within a span of a year the Bucks went from a 15-win team who finished with a worse record than Philadelphia to almost getting a meeting with DeAndre Jordan and signing first-tier free-agent Greg Monroe this summer.

They did it by not only drafting Jabari Parker and hitting on Giannis Antetokounmpo, but by building a defensive identity and professional culture under their head coach Jason Kidd.

Denver can attain and keep acquiring assets like Chandler, Gallinari, Nelson, Will Barton, and presumably Darrell Arthur, who are all on moveable salaries and could get traded to playoff contenders or packaged for a star if the right situation presents itself. It’s similar to what Boston and general manager Danny Ainge have done over the past few years and with both teams sporting a bevy of draft picks, the Nuggets may follow a similar strategy.

Boston had a successful season behind their 2014 lottery pick Marcus Smart, a bunch of assets like Isaiah Thomas, Evan Turner and Jared Sullinger, and a few veterans like Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley who they re-signed to long terms deals this summer.

The beauty of Denver’s situation is that with the youth currently on the roster, the salary cap space that is coming and the arsenal of draft picks they have stockpiled, the Nuggets can follow a pattern similar to Milwaukee or Boston, or incorporate bits of each into their own rebuilding plan.

The above, what Denver is perhaps attempting to accomplish, is what I like to call the modern rebuild. It’s a strategy that starts with building a culture and identity with a core group, stock-piling assets and waiting for the right move to come along. Whether that’s a trade, free-agent signing, draft selection or a combination of all three, the Nuggets finally have a plan in place that makes sense and places them in a position for long-term success.