Keeler: Nuggets don’t have GM 8 days before NBA draft? Josh Kroenke better have cleanser, not Tenzer

It better be a cleanser not a Tenzer A franchise with peak Nikola Jokic deserves a Jokic-level general manager ESPN analyst Bob Myers who built a dynasty at Golden State Miami s Andy Elisburg Monte McNair David Griffin Heck even a Tim Connelly reunion would feel like a shot in the arm right about now Lord help Josh Kroenke if he s kept Nuggets Nation waiting on the front porch for two straight months only to keep the GM job in-house No offense to interim GM Ben Tenzer but this is getting a little ridiculous The NBA draft is next Wednesday Free agency begins three days after that Teams can talk to upcoming free agents beginning at p m on June That s a week from Monday Meanwhile as of Tuesday afternoon the NBA champions stewards of the best basketball sportsman on the planet didn t have a full-time president of basketball ops full-time general manager or an assistant general manager in place Fare thee well Tommy Balcetis What are we doing More to the point what the heck are we waiting on It is a little bit uncommon former Nuggets GM and president Pete Babcock stated me by phone Tuesday The standard operating procedure is to have someone in place If their job was to put the puzzle together and build the crew you want them to be in place before the draft so they d have a say as to how things are going to come down It s not that it it s never happened before But it s not typical at all Babcock spent four decades running or advising NBA front offices His CV includes a six-year stint with the Doug Moe Alex English Fat Lever Nuggets from - one of the franchise s high-water marks before the George Karl and Nikola Jokic eras These days he s an adjunct at Emory University in Atlanta Related Articles Renck vs Keeler Who wins more football games next season CU or CSU Keeler Why is this Boulder woman fighting historic NCAA settlement It s not about money It s about Title IX Grading The Week Russell Westbrook or Bruce Brown Even for Nuggets gang with interim GM it s an easy choice Keeler Broncos Riley Moss on Jahdae Barron Sean Payton Ted Lasso No one is going to outrun me Keeler Nuggets-Thunder series was fool s gold Nikola Jokic demands new GM to shake things up On the surface I would say it s a highly attractive job Babcock commented of Denver s GM vacancy Because first and foremost your chance of winning goes up dramatically when you have one of the best players in the world on your club So anytime you can align yourself with a participant like Jokic that s a really positive place to start Not every unit has a athlete of that level That s a great starting point Darn straight And we hear what you re saying The Nuggets don t have a pick in the draft What s the rush You do know teams can agreement more than just picks during draft week right In June the Nuggets got the wheels turning on a deal that sent Will Barton and Monte Morris to Washington for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith That worked Last June the Thunder acquired Alex Caruso That landed too Hey if it s Matt Lloyd Connelly s right-hand man and the general manager with the Timberwolves great Let s get this party started This association necessities a bench Jokic requirements somebody else to try carrying a franchise on their backs for eight or nine minutes on a given night If they say You can try to build around one of the best players in the world with constraints or You can try to build a club without the best contestant in the world I think you d take the best athlete in the world Babcock commented I don t know that it changes the pressure at all It s just that you d certainly rather start with that as your baseline and do what you can to complement Jokic and build around him Babcock splits his time between Georgia and New England these days yet the Mile High City still holds a fond place in his heart He joined the Nuggets from the then-San Diego Clippers in elevating to president general manager and minority owner Babcock eventually sold his shares and joined the Hawks as GM in where he spent the next seasons In terms of cap space there are very limited teams that have a lot of cap flexibility in the present day s world Looking at this job as a perspective GM I would say that s not a huge negative Babcock declared Because how a large number of teams have a lot of flexibility with their salaries That s just not the way the realm is the present day I just think Jokic the city the facility good ownership those are the things I was looking for in a job those are qualities I would look for Quality of life in a city star athlete and really strong ownership group OK ownership Ball s been in your court since April The Pacers made a agreement Tuesday They re in the middle of the NBA Finals What the Nuggets can t multitask I love watching the Nuggets play just because of Jokic and his style of play Babcock gushed When they won the championship I thought it was great for the league because they played in my opinion the right way the whole contest wasn t a -point shooting contest I was pulling for the Nuggets I thought it was great for the city I know how much the city supports its sports teams I thought it was great for Denver Babcock thinks the Nuggets can be great again But just because you don t have any picks doesn t mean you get to abandon the litter until July Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis