New GM Calvin Booth Made His Priorities Clear: Defense Must Be Added
Former president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly, made all of the biggest decisions for the Denver Nuggets for the last nine years. Thanks to some of the best draft nights in Nuggets history, savvy trades, and logical free-agent signings, Connelly helped form the roster that allowed the Mile-High City to enjoy their first Western Conference Finals since 2009 a few seasons ago. With Tim Connelly leaving for Minnesota’s front office, it is now up to Calvin Booth to set the Nuggets up in the best way possible to win their first NBA Championship.
In his first off-season as general manager, Booth has not disappointed. Through the 2022 NBA draft, a trade with the Wizards, and the first portion of the free-agency period, the Nuggets front office has shown that defense is the main priority. Denver is led by two-time reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic, and promising young stars, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr, who will both be returning from injuries. The trio of key players are amazing in their own respects, but one thing is consistent across all of them; none are known as elite defenders. Naturally, Calvin Booth saw the makeup of his roster and did what was needed. He brought in as much defensive talent as possible.
Building Defense Through the 2022 NBA Draft
Entering the NBA draft, the Denver Nuggets held both the 21st and 30th picks and many fans and analysts thought the Nuggets may look to use them as assets to trade for a veteran defender. To everyone’s surprise, not only did Calvin Booth keep both picks but he also traded into the 2nd round to make a third selection at pick 46. What was not surprising was the type of players the Nuggets drafted and the smart way they went about using their selections.
At pick 21, Denver selected SG Christian Braun, a potential 3 and D wing who is ready to play NBA minutes this season. At pick 30, they took a former 5-star SF recruit in Peyton Watson, who has elite defensive upside but little-to-no offense that translates to the NBA right now. Finally at pick 46 the Nuggets selected an overseas project in Ismael Kamagate, a 6’11” athletic-defensive center from France. All three picks focused on defensive ability/defensive upside and all three players selected are on slightly different timelines. Christian Braun projects to play backup minutes this season, Watson will be a likely G-league star this season and have more of an impact in 2023-2024, and Kamagate will stay overseas for at least one more year.
Building Defense Through Trade
Shortly after stockpiling young defensive players in the draft, Nuggets fans began to worry that Denver’s ownership and front office would simply elect to “run it back” with the same core-roster as last year. Calvin Booth struck a deal before free-agency even began however, and traded for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The Nuggets also received Ish Smith, while sending Monte Morris and Will Barton to the Wizards. KCP had been linked to Denver for some time and was evidently their top choice to add perimeter defense, something that both Morris and Barton lacked.
Along with the clear upgrade defensively at the wing spot, Caldwell-Pope has experience being part of a championship team when he played for the Lakers in 2019-2020. Additionally, he is a two-way player with a reliable three-point shot (39.0% last season) and has a low usage rate, which fits perfectly with the Big 3 in Denver. KCP should slide right into the starting SG spot for the Nuggets and solidify the defense on the top-line alongside Aaron Gordon.
Building Defense Through Free-Agency
With the Denver roster getting closer to completion, Calvin Booth still had a few more moves to pull off. First, he resigned Davon Reed, a 6’5” lengthy wing to a two-year salary efficient contract, after he shined last season on a two-way contract. Reed is an above average defender and a 39.1% career three-point shooter, so much like KCP, he fits into the mold of a two-way low-usage wing. Nuggets signed veteran center, DeAndre Jordan later that same day, leaving just two available roster spots left. This is when Calvin Booth made his biggest free-agent signing of the off-season.
Bruce Brown! While casual NBA fans may have no idea who this 25-year-old 6’5” wing is, the diehards will know already what a nice pickup this is for the Mile-High Crew. Brown started his career in Detroit, where he was ranked top-10 wing defender in the NBA in 2018-2019. After two seasons with Detroit, he went to Brooklyn and shined next to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving both on offense and defense. While he did not take many three-pointers, on the ones he did shoot, he made them at a 40.4% rate.
Originally, it was thought that Denver might not be able to afford Bruce Brown, but Calvin Booth and the front office were able to get Brown to Denver with a 2-year-$13-million deal. It was reported later that Brown could have made more than $6.5 million next season, but “fit was the priority” for him and he wanted to be in Denver. It also does not hurt that he and Davon Reed both went to the University of Miami (FL) together for college. Bruce Brown will likely come off the bench to start the season but he provides a great backup plan for if Michael Porter Jr misses any time next season, as he has started 181 games during his first four seasons in the NBA.
What Will the Defense Actually Look Like in Action?
Last season, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic were perhaps the only two above-average defenders in the nightly rotation for the Nuggets. Now with the additions of signing Davon Reed to a full contract and bringing in Kentavious Caldwell Pope, Bruce Brown, and rookie Christian Braun, the Nuggets have more than enough defensive talent and depth to compete for a championship next season. These additions also allow them to stagger players much more effectively and close with different lineup combinations depending on need (credit to Adam Mares on analysis):
With these key additions to the roster for 2022-2023, as well as the return of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr, the Nuggets have true potential. They have had a top 8 efficient offense in the NBA each of the last three seasons (8th in 2020, 7th in 2021, and 6th last season without Murray or MPJ). Their defensive efficiency rankings of 17th, 14th, and 18th the last three seasons are where the most improvement will be seen with the new-look Nuggets. The four defensive wing additions to the roster will allow the Nuggets to be both a top 10 offense and defense in 2022 and ultimately fight for their first title in franchise history.
