Health was always going to be one of the biggest questions hanging over Aaron Gordon and the Nuggets this offseason. For Denver, keeping Gordon on the floor matters almost as much as anything outside of Nikola Jokic. Early signs, though, are encouraging.
Before training camp even opened, Gordon said he was “ready to go,” and that confidence seems to have carried into the first days of work in Boulder. When head coach David Adelman was asked who stood out in the Nuggets’ first practice, he didn’t hesitate.
“Aaron Gordon. Aaron was really good,” Adelman said with zero hesitation.
It’s still early, but that kind of report is exactly what Denver wanted to hear after Gordon’s injury-plagued stretch. Last season, he missed 46 regular-season games and three playoff games because of soft tissue injuries, which made his availability a major offseason focus for the team.
The Nuggets took a different route to get him there. At media day, the team explained that Gordon was getting into pickup games much earlier this year rather than waiting until closer to camp to ramp up. Denver also used its offseason trip to Puerto Rico to get him working with teammates weeks before training camp began.
Gordon said he plans to change some of his own habits, too, if it helps keep him healthy. During his press conference, he said that “availability is the best ability.” He also talked about getting to the gym earlier and staying later as part of the effort to stay on the court.
He acknowledged that his body isn’t the same as it was when he was younger, and that his routine has to adjust with age. For the Nuggets, the hope is simple: keep Gordon healthy, keep him stretched out, and keep him available all season long.
A 50-point opening night isn’t required. But a healthy Aaron Gordon - with the kind of explosive plays Denver knows he can bring - would go a long way.
In Other News...
Nuggets Backcourt Move Just Put One Young Guard On The Bubble
The Nuggets have added another option in the backcourt, signing guard Ryan Nembhard to a two-way NBA contract after Charlotte waived him. The move gives Denver another ball-handler to sit behind Jamal Murray and Tyus Jones, a useful layer of depth for a team that has been looking to shore up its guard rotation.
KJ Simpson is the corresponding roster casualty, with Denver moving on from the young guard after he appeared in six games last season. Nembhard is expected to be around the team soon, and the next few days will determine how quickly he settles into the fold and what kind of opening there is for him beyond simply filling a depth role. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Eye Another Low Cost Guard With A Roster Spot At Stake
The post-draft shuffle kept moving in Charlotte, where Ryan Nembhard went from an offseason acquisition to a waiver casualty as the Hornets worked through roster and financial housekeeping tied to the Buddy Hield and Rob Dillingham deal. Nembhard, an undrafted guard, is now available after clearing waivers, and that has put him on the radar of teams looking for low-cost backcourt help.
Denver is among the clubs interested, with the Nuggets continuing to scan for ways to fill out the edges of the roster without disrupting bigger plans elsewhere. A two-way contract would fit that approach, and with a spot still to be settled, Nembhard has become one more name worth watching as the market for young guards sorts itself out. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Just Sparked A New Debate About What Theyre Prioritizing
The Nuggets new coaching addition is already clarifying the direction of the offseason, and it is not necessarily where plenty of people expected. Head coach David Adelman said Dave Joerger will be leaning into Denvers offense, a notable choice for a team that already operated near the top of the league on that side of the floor last season.
What makes that stance interesting is how much the outside view had centered on defense. Denvers defensive issues were a major talking point after a season in which the teams offense stayed strong but the other end lagged behind, so Joergers arrival had been widely read as a possible fix on that side. Instead, the early message from Adelman suggests the Nuggets may be prioritizing refinement of what already works, even if it leaves the bigger defensive question hanging for now. [Read more 🡒]