Alone on the Nuggets’ practice court, with sweat still dripping from his brow, around thirty minutes after most of his teammates had already departed towards Denver’s locker room, Vlatko Cancar quietly wrapped up a solo shooting session and called it a day.
It’s become a common scene towards the end of Nuggets practice. Cancar, alone, or with an assistant coach, working on his craft long after his required time spent on Denver’s second-floor auxiliary gym, has been fulfilled.
For Cancar, the practice floor is his stage. The same goes for second-year big man Jarred Vanderbilt and the rest of the Nuggets’ end-of-the-bench players on a roster that’s two and at some positions three-deep with NBA-caliber rotation players. Once the regular season tips off next week, meaningful minutes will be extremely hard to come by for anyone outside of the Nuggets’ regulars, a group Cancar and Vanderbilt aren’t currently a part of.
“You’ve just always got to stay ready,” Cancar said.
Both Vanderbilt and Cancar have impressed throughout their first preseasons in Denver. Vanderbilt, the 41st overall pick in 2018 was sidelined during last year’s preseason due to a foot injury suffered at Kentucky, but has caught the Nuggets’ eye with how much he’s grown from year one to two. Denver selected Cancar in 2017, but he’s played abroad in Spain for the last few seasons.
Nuggets coaches speak highly of both their work ethics. Cancar played in the ACB League, which is recognized as the second-best league in the world behind the NBA, for the last few seasons and has a strong grasp of what it takes day in and day out to succeed at the highest level. Many around the team have been impressed with how mature he and his game is for a rookie.
Cancar won’t wow you with athleticism or flashy play but checks a lot of boxes. He projects as a solid three-point shooter, is an adept passer and can do a little bit of everything on the offensive end of the floor. His high basketball IQ and unselfish style play is aligned with the Nuggets’ core set of beliefs too.
“He knows how to play,” Malone said. “He’s a talented player, and most importantly, he cares, and he works, and that’s why he’s a part of our culture, and we wanted him here this year.”
It’s clear Vanderbilt fits the Nuggets’ culture as well. No player on the Nuggets’ roster logged more days at the team facility over the summer than Vanderbilt, and he estimated that he only took 10 days off from basketball all summer. Being a part of last season’s 54-win team made clearly made a strong impression on the 20-year-old.
“I learned how tough it is. This route is not easy,” Vanderbilt said, reflecting back on his rookie year. “I just learned a lot. From the spacing of the game, the details of everything, and a lot from the older guys, how important it is to stay locked at all times, mostly the mental aspect of everything and how hard you have to work not only during the season but in the offseason too.”
Both Cancar and Vanderbilt understand that their time will come, even if that means paying their dues now. And they should feel good about the prospects of eventually contributing to an everyday rotation because there’s a precedent of players rising from the end of Denver’s bench to significant roles in the Nuggets’ rotation
“They realize this is a really talented team, this is a really deep team that’s coming off the second-best season in franchise history, so there’s only so many guys that can play,” Malone said. “Two things come into that. Staying ready. I think we’ve had countless examples in my four years here where injuries have happened, and someone has stepped up and taken advantage of the opportunity because they were ready both mentally and physically.”
“Stay ready, stay hungry, keep working and that way, you’ll be able to take advantage of whatever opportunity comes your way.”
Three seasons ago, as a rookie, Malik Beasley sat on the end of the Nuggets’ bench watching and waiting for his chance, just like Cancar and Vanderbilt will do this year. It never really came. Beasley played in just 22 games his rookie season and bounced from Denver to Sioux Falls, South Dakota logging 16 games in the G League.
A year later and not much had changed. Beasley still couldn’t crack the Nuggets’ nightly rotation but appeared in 62 games and flashed the skill-set that had him pegged as a potential lottery pick in the lead-up to the draft.
Beasley had a transformative summer in 2018 and came back to Denver hungry for opportunity, one that finally came when Will Barton was injured in the Nuggets’ second game of the regular season. Injuries to Gary Harris over the next few months gave Beasley an even larger role, one he capitalized on.
“I’ve been talking to Malik, and he’s been giving me great advice on how to stay patient and just be ready for every minute you’re going to get on the court,” Cancar said. “Because everybody’s watching. It doesn’t matter if you’re up by 20 or down by 20. If you get three minutes on the floor, that’s important. That sets your mentality, if you’re ready for the game or not.”
Cancar has already canvassed the rest of the Nuggets’ locker room, too, searching for knowledge on how to handle his rookie season. The best advice he’s gotten is to be a sponge and soak up as much knowledge as possible.
“I just try to stay ready and focused and just be patient,” said Cancar. “The most important part is learning.”
He’s not just trying to master the art of the game. The 21-year-old is also more than 5,000 miles from home and immersing himself full-time in a brand new culture. Cancar admits he was homesick when he arrived in Denver earlier this summer but feels more comfortable now. He’s happily situated in a downtown apartment close to Pepsi Center and adjacent to a Whole Foods Market, and a December visit from his parents and brother will surely bring some of his favorite childhood home-cooked meals back into his life.
Vanderbilt is a bit more accustomed to his surroundings after spending last season with the team. His hard-working mentality has also made him a seamless fit in the Nuggets’ locker room. Last season Vanderbilt worked closely with assistant coach Mark Price to tweak and refine his jump shot — his biggest weakness coming out of college.
“I feel my shot came a long way,” Vanderbilt said. “To work with a legend like Coach Price, it was special. We worked on some mechanics to help with the consistency. I feel like I’ve made great strides.”
If his jumper comes along, look out. At 6-foot-9 with a guard’s handle, Vanderbilt’s versatile skill-set is tailor-made for the modern NBA. He has a lighting quick second jump and the ability to sky for a rebound, push the ball up the floor and make quick and smart decisions in transition.
Once Vanderbilt adds a bit more muscle, he should be able to spend more time at center, but right now, he’s athletic enough to guard all five positions. His game is malleable too, and you can envision him fitting seamlessly alongside several different types of big men long-term. Rebounding is still Vanderbilt’s one trait that always jumps off the screen. Players with his combination of size, athleticism, and feel around the rim don’t come around too often.
“One of the greatest rebounders we’ve ever seen,” Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said when Denver drafted Vanderbilt.
Both Cancar and Vanderbilt may be on the outside looking in when it comes to Malone’s nightly rotation to start the season. But in the NBA, injuries happen, and eventually their services will be needed.
When the time comes, they’ll be ready.
