The latest addition to Kroenke Sports and Entertainment’s portfolio is only going to make one thing louder in Denver: the frustration.
KSE has reached an agreement to buy the Los Angeles Angels from Arte Moreno, a move that will add another major league team to a collection that already includes the Rams, Nuggets and Avalanche. The deal was announced today, with the Angels set to join the group in 2027.
For Nuggets and Avalanche fans who have spent years griping about ownership’s spending habits, the timing lands hard. The complaint has long been the same: money keeps flowing toward other shiny new toys while two of Denver’s top teams continue operating without the kind of facilities their rivals take for granted.
The Nuggets are still set to open training camp for the 2026-27 season on Sep. 29th in the side gym at Ball Arena, the same setup they’ve used for the past 27 years. One court, four side hoops, and a practice environment that looks more temporary than permanent. It’s a setup that has become a symbol for fans who believe the franchise has been asked to do more with less for far too long.
The Avalanche’s situation is hardly better. They’re practicing at the South Suburban Family Sports Center in Centennial, a parks and rec facility that only adds to the sense that Denver’s top teams are not getting the same level of investment as the rest of the ownership group’s empire.
There is one big exception on the financial side. KSE appears ready to spend whatever it takes to keep Nikola Jokic in Denver next summer, with plans to make him the largest contract in NBA history if he stays as he has said he will. The same goes for Cale Makar, who already has the largest NHL deal in history.
But that willingness to pay the stars hasn’t changed the bigger picture for fans. The issue isn’t just the contracts.
It’s the lack of willingness to go deeper into the luxury tax to build the strongest possible roster around Jokic, and the decision to move on from pieces like Michael Porter Jr. and Peyton Watson instead of paying to keep the core intact. Then comes the new Angels purchase, and the whole thing feels even harder to ignore.
For a fan base that has been airing this grievance for years, the message is familiar: the Nuggets and Avalanche keep waiting while ownership keeps finding something else to buy.
In Other News...
Peyton Watson Opened Up About A Brutal Michael Malone Lesson
Peyton Watsons time in Denver came with the kind of hard-edged coaching that can stick with a young player long after the practice ends. In a recent interview with Michael Porter Jr., Watson revisited a rookie-season moment when Michael Malone called him out in front of the team, a scene Watson said was embarrassing at the time but ended up becoming part of his early education in the NBA.
Watson, who was recently sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade deal from the Nuggets, said the lesson forced him to sharpen his attention to detail and deepen his understanding of the game plan. Porter Jr. echoed that sentiment as they looked back on Malones style, suggesting the Nuggets coachs blunt approach was difficult in the moment but also a big reason young players in Denver kept growing. [Read more 🡒]
LaVar Ball Just Gave Nuggets Fans A New Jokic Debate
LaVar Ball has managed to give Nuggets fans another reason to argue about Nikola Jokic, even if the debate starts from a place that feels pretty far removed from Denvers reality. On his show, Ball said Jokic would not be a fit in his preferred fast-paced system, arguing that the reigning centerpiece in Denver is not the kind of athletic big man he wants running the floor and finishing above the rim. He did acknowledge Jokics talent, but made it clear his idea of how basketball should look leaves little room for a player built like the Nuggets star.
For Denver, the more interesting part is how upside-down that critique sounds when measured against the way Jokic actually plays. His game is built less on sprinting for lobs than on rebounding, vision and passing that can turn a defensive stop into a quick strike before most teams are set. That contrast is why Balls comments land as more than just a hot take, because they reopen the same old question about whether the best offense is the one that looks fastest or the one that keeps finding Jokic in the middle of everything. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Fans Just Got A New Reason To Question Ownership Priorities
Stan Kroenkes sports empire is getting even bigger, and Nuggets fans have another reason to wonder how ownership chooses where to spend. Kroenke Sports & Entertainment has agreed to buy controlling interest in the Los Angeles Angels from Arte Moreno, a deal reported at a MLB-record price north of $3.9 billion, adding another major franchise to a portfolio that already includes Denvers NBA team.
For Nuggets supporters, the timing is hard to ignore because the conversation around the roster has already shifted toward restraint and cost management. Denvers recent trade of Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers only sharpened that focus, with luxury tax considerations hanging over every move and the team already operating under the pressure of the second apron. The question now is whether a growing sports empire means more flexibility or just a clearer line between where the money goes and where it does not. [Read more 🡒]