Clock Ticking for Nuggets Without Full-Time GM in Place

The NBA Draft is five days away. Free agency follows right behind. The Denver Nuggets? Still without a permanent general manager.

It’s not ideal.

As the Denver Post’s Sean Keeler notes, interim GM Ben Tenzer remains in place — but the interim tag carries weight this time of year.

With teams circling for trades and front offices finalizing draft boards, clarity isn’t just a formality. It’s a necessity.

“You want the person who’s building the puzzle to be the one making the picks,” former Nuggets executive Pete Babcock told Keeler. “The standard operating procedure is to have someone in place before the draft.”

The Nuggets aren’t operating that way. And while that may not doom their offseason, it creates unnecessary fog at a time when direction is everything.

This is a franchise on the fringe of a title window — not outside it, not fully inside either. Nikola Jokic is still arguably the best player in basketball. Jamal Murray, if healthy, is a perfect second act. The starting five isn’t likely to change, as Keith Smith of Spotrac reports. That’s the good news.

The challenge? Denver has to improve without shaking the foundation, and without much financial flexibility.

They’ll be armed with the $5.7 million Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, but that’s about it. Names like Tyus Jones, Guerschon Yabusele, or Larry Nance Jr. have been floated as potential depth adds.

Maybe one of them makes sense. Maybe not. Either way, someone has to make that call.

It also remains unclear what the team plans to do with Russell Westbrook, DeAndre Jordan, or Vlatko Cancar. None played a critical role last year, but each could affect the team’s cap maneuvering.

This is where the lack of a long-term decision-maker really matters. Building on the margins requires cohesion — scouts, coaching staff, analytics, and the front office all rowing the same way. Right now, Denver’s boat feels a little light in the water.

No one’s panicking. Not yet. But with the Western Conference as deep as it’s ever been, the Nuggets can’t afford to stand still. Or worse, drift.