Denver sports fans have had a rough playoff season.
The Nuggets were eliminated in game seven of the Western Conference Semifinals last Sunday after the Oklahoma City Thunder smoked them by 32 points.
Arguably worse, the Avalanche were also eliminated in game seven at the hands of newly traded Avs superstar Mikko Rantanen, who scored a hat trick for the Dallas Stars in the series clincher on May 3. Rantanen was traded in January after the Finnish winger could not reach a contract extension with the Avs.
Both teams’ seasons started with high expectations for tangible success at Ball Arena. The Avs were tied for the third-highest betting odds to win the Stanley Cup during preseason. The Nuggets were projected to win 51.5 games and had the third-highest preseason odds for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Both teams were coming off a player having an MVP season — only the second time in NHL and NBA history that a city has experienced this. Nikola Jokic won his third MVP in 2023-24 for the Nuggets and Nathan MacKinnon captured the first of his career for the Avs.
But what happened in the playoffs? Where did the success go? And most importantly, how do these teams rebound from here? I’ve listed out my three offseason hopes for each franchise and offered some fan-inspired advice for each front office.
For the Nuggets:
- Go get a proven GM, i.e. Bob Myers
Nuggets President Josh Kroenke will spend the early parts of the offseason finding a new general manager to replace Calvin Booth, who was fired at the very end of the 2024-25 regular season. Kroenke should focus on getting a proven figure instead of an internal hire.
The Denver Post reported Interim GM Ben Tenzer was a major internal candidate for the GM position. Alongside the interim role, Tenzer was GM for the Nuggets’ G-League affiliate Grand Rapids Gold for the last two seasons. The team had a combined 26-42 record and was one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference.
It’s hard to give Tenzer all the blame, because of the lack of a deep prospect pool within the Nuggets’ farm system. But, it’s hard not to give the guy some flak when the team hasn’t even come close to a playoff appearance since he stepped in as GM.
Instead, Kroenke needs to go big, the biggest the franchise has ever gone and land a guy like Bob Myers. Myers has spent the last two seasons doing commentary for ESPN, but rumors have emerged that he might want to get back into management.
Myers is known for building the Golden State Warriors dynasty in the 2010s — probably the best NBA dynasty in the 21st century. He won the NBA’s Executive of the Year award in 2015 and 2017 and was the architect of four championship-winning teams.
The Nuggets need a proven dynasty builder. When you have the best basketball player in the world on your roster, you need a GM who can build a roster that can win multiple championships.
- Michael Porter Jr.: Step up or trade him
Next season, Michael Porter Jr. will be paid $38.3 million and will be the 7th highest paid small forward in the NBA.
Although Porter Jr. was 7th in scoring (18.2 points per game) and three-point percentage (39.5%) among small forwards during the regular season, his playoff performance was disappointing. 9.1 points per game, 5.5 rebounds and 34.3% from 3-point land were not supportive of the Denver playoff run.
Porter Jr. is taking up too much cap space to be a tier-4 star in the NBA. It’s time for Nuggets fans and the front office to consider whether he is a realistic part of the franchise’s future. Besides Jokic and Jamal Murray, he is the Nuggets’ most valuable trade asset and could bring a decent return to Denver.
I understand Porter Jr. is a core part of this team and it is still somehow a longshot for him to be traded. But, he is overvalued by the Nuggets front office and fellow Mizzou alum Kroenke (Porter played three games for Missouri in 2017-18).
Possible star-getting trade and free agency targets I like: Kevin Durant, Demar Derozan, Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins.
- Provide better depth for Jokic & David Adelman
Jokic said it himself: the Nuggets need to improve their bench. Kroenke also told the Denver Post, he’s heard him loud and clear.
A backup center for the Jokic-less minutes of a game is a crucial need for the Nuggets. DeAndre Jordan and Vlakto Cancar were the other centers on the 2024-25 roster and are retiring or likely entering free agency. Possible big-man targets I like: Paul Reed, Clint Capella, Thomas Bryant and Goga Bitadze.
Denver’s defense was subpar this past season. They were 21st in team defensive rating, 22nd in defensive three-point percentage and overall 12th in the league in the points allowed per game. Potential depth targets for the bench: Bruce Brown, Marcus Smart, Kevin Heurter and Royce O’Neale.
David Adelman was hired to officially replace Michael Malone as the Nuggets’ head coach on Thursday, May 22. Kroenke and the front office need to give Adelman a deep set of players to give him plenty of options for his first season as the rotation maintainer.
For the Avalanche:
- Goodbye Brock Nelson; 2nd-line center hunt continues
The biggest problem for the Avalanche since they won the Stanley Cup in 2022: they haven’t had a solid second-line center since Nazem Kadri. GM Chris McFarland tried Ryan Johansen, then Casey Mittlestadt, then Brock Nelson — all three were swings and misses.
Nelson will likely leave the Avs this offseason, and once again, McFarland will be searching for a top-six forward. The Avs have some leeway as Valeri Nichuskin and Gabe Landeskog can carry the weight of the line. But the Avs need a player who can consistently win faceoffs and be inserted into the second player-play unit.
Potential targets in the offseason include John Tavares, Mikael Granlund, Matt Duchene and Sidney Crosby. Crosby is, of course, a long shot, but if the Penguins superstar gets traded anywhere in the league, it’s likely to the Avalanche.
Hopefully, the Nelson rental fiasco will teach McFarland to relax on midseason rental deals. The 2024-25 trade deadline will not be looked back on fondly by Avs fans as McFarland traded away the best internal prospect, Cal Ritchie, and several high draft picks.
- Trade Sam Girard or Josh Manson
For the past three seasons, two of the top-four Avs defenseman, Sam Girard and Josh Manson, have been surrounded by trade rumors. They both have been mediocre and far from their best versions during that time period.
Since their 2022 championship win, Girard has picked up 79 points in 208 games and Girard had a career-high 86 giveaways this past regular season. Manson has recorded 50 points in 151 games.
Both players have dealt with injuries, but in the end, it’s time to move on from one of them. Girard holds more trade value than Manson and would likely be a piece in a package for a top-six forward.
I also want to see Colorado Eagles defenseman Jacob MacDonald in the Avs lineup in 2025-26. MacDonald broke the AHL record for most goals by a defenseman in a regular season (31) in 2024-25 and won the AHL Defenseman of the Year award.
The Avs also need to prioritize re-signing Sam Malinski and developing him to make the jump into the third or fourth-best defenseman behind Cale Makar and Devon Toews. Malinski has bright offensive flashes similar to Makar and is a smart-minded player who can skate well. Maliniski had 5 goals and 15 points in his second campaign last season.
- Consider Jared Bednar on the hot seat
I think one of the biggest debates plaguing the Avs fanbase and franchise is the true value of Head Coach Jared Bednar. Is he truly one of the best bench bosses in the NHL? Or does he ride the coattails of two of the best players in the league?
Look, Bednar has been with the franchise for nine seasons, became the winningest coach in franchise history and took this team from 22 wins to the Stanley Cup. Bednar is the best coach in Avs history, whether his tenure has been inconsistent or not.
But, the lack of playoff success has cast a dark shadow over his tenure. He’s taken the Avs to one playoff run past the conference semifinals — the 2022 title run. The Avs are always preseason favorites, yet have not shown up in the playoffs during the Bednar era.
If the Avs were ever to look beyond Bednar, I believe they need to not look further than 6.1 miles southeast of Ball Arena at the head coach behind the University of Denver bench, David Carle.
If the DU Athletic Department would allow it (or if there is an out clause in Carle’s extension), I think the Avs and Carle would be a perfect match. Carle has said the only reasons why he doesn’t want to move are because of his family and the fact that he likes being in the city of Denver. In that regard, the Avs have the biggest advantage against any other interested franchise.
Carle is the biggest head coaching prospect in the sport. I would predict that after this next contract ends, more offers will come towards the two-time national championship-winning coach and he’ll take them a lot more seriously.
But in all seriousness, this offseason will be a key catalyst for both the Nuggets and the Avs’ futures. The front offices have big decisions to make that will set each franchise on a path to either win another title or remain in an era of having fringe-championship teams.
