You Can't Always Get What You Want

“But if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need”
– The Rolling Stones

I always thought I’d be the weird person who might actually enjoy solitary confinement. I wasn’t willing to commit the crime that might get me there just to figure out the answer, but my fairly introverted and non-social self always figured I would probably be able to put up that sort of punishment better than most. And like so many of my early assumptions in life, it turns out to be wrong.

After several months of being with either one person or in solitude, I want people. Not lots of people, and – nothing personal – not most people, but… Holy crap, do I want a few of my people back. That realization has been a very healthy want that has developed in me over these unexpected moments.

I also want a few… less healthy things. I want a gallon of chocolate ice cream. And a pizza that has everything plus bacon on it. And to stay up until 4am watching Marvel movies. And this paddle ball game… That may be all I need…

Oh, I did want one more thing, just one more little thing. But what I can’t decide is if it’s a healthy want or not.

I really want to see the Denver Nuggets win a championship this year.

If you listen to pretty much any pundit who’s not a dyed-in-the-wool Nuggets homer, I won’t really have to worry about this possibility, anyway, with everyone but the Nuggets faithful relegating them to scant odds. But given this team’s ability to routinely subvert expectations, I can see a very strange 2020 getting just that little bit stranger with a Joker sitting on the throne by the time all is said and done. But is the object of Nuggets Nation truest desires something that would actually serve the team well over the long haul?

“Early success is a terrible teacher. You’re essentially being rewarded for a lack of preparation, so when you find yourself in a situation where you must prepare, you can’t do it. You don’t know how.”

― Chris Hadfield

The team that “doesn’t skip steps” would certainly be vaulting over a one, two, or three steps, should they actually win a ring this year. The Nuggets never expected to be in this position in the first place, having vaulted into contention over the last few seasons by unexpectedly drafting a franchise bedrock in Nikola Jokic. The ability to build the young team they have from the ground up has been an amazing story to follow for those who have joined along. But because they built this via a long-term youth movement, there have been necessary guard rails along the path. Before Paul Millsap joined the team, there was always a Richard Jefferson, Mike Miller, or Jameer Nelson to be the voice of maturity as the team learned and grew.

Along that path, for every big leap they would take forward, the Nuggets almost always took a step back, as with most any young team. The squad would unlock one puzzle, such as the potential of Jokic’s offense, only to stumble at what that meant in the early going for their defense. Or an area of focus wouldn’t stay one for a full 82 games. The talent was there, the knowledge was coming, and the teamwork and choreography was slowly shaping itself into place with repetition and focus.

It’s not a unique recipe for teams in any sport. Dozens, if not hundreds of professional teams have come upon a young, transformative talent, and have seen that talent be enough to lift them quickly to a pinnacle. Whether or not they actually make it all the way to the top is a very different story. The early days of John Elway’s time with the Denver Broncos were a series of ever-closer shots at a title, with setbacks all along the way. It took a number of combinations and changes, including by Elway himself, to finally break through to a championship.

While the Nuggets are certainly not even close to being title favorites this year, the unforeseen wrinkles that have brought basketball to the bubble also mean that all bets are off as to who might succeed and fail in a very different climate. Should Denver have a path to ultimate success this season, would such a thing ultimately set them up for success or failure long-term?

Time and again, the team’s youth has shown through after their successes. It has often been a frustrating and off-putting combination. But just as often, they have followed their failures with a combination of resilience and determination that has propelled them beyond that setback. That tenacity and steady growth is what has so many observers of the league labeling the Nuggets as a team to watch in the next 3-5 years.

What about you, Nuggets Nation? Do you think a title now would lessen the team’s long-term chances at success down the road? Would the “Bubble Babies” actually see more time at the top if they leapfrogged the competition now? If you’re a Nuggets fan, you know very badly what it is that you want. But if you give a moment, do you really believe that ring is what today’s Denver Nuggets need?