Nuggets Parting Ways With Assistant GM Tommy Balcetis

The Denver Nuggets are parting ways with assistant general manager Tommy Balcetis, according to Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports and later confirmed by multiple outlets.

Per The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando, Balcetis had been working on an expiring contract that will not be renewed, bringing an end to his more than decade-long tenure with the franchise.

Balcetis joined the Nuggets in 2013 as basketball analytics manager and climbed the front office ranks steadily. He was promoted to vice president of basketball strategy and analytics before stepping into the assistant GM role in 2020, following Calvin Booth’s promotion to general manager after Arturas Karnisovas departed for Chicago.

But despite his long tenure and internal rise, Balcetis was not tapped to lead Denver’s basketball operations when Booth was dismissed in April. Instead, the organization named VP of basketball operations and G League GM Ben Tenzer as interim GM.

That decision — and now this one — might’ve signaled the direction Denver is heading.

Balcetis had been mentioned as a potential candidate for the permanent head of basketball operations role, but his departure suggests the Nuggets are leaning further into the Tenzer path, as Marc Stein of The Stein Line and others have speculated. There’s been little indication Denver is looking externally, though it’s also possible the organization has kept a broader search tightly under wraps.

As for Balcetis, league insiders expect the longtime exec to resurface quickly. A respected figure with a deep analytics background, he shouldn’t be without options for long.