Nuggets' front-office decision risks repeating old mistakes

Denver replaced their old general manager, Calvin Booth, with two executives both holding the title of executive vice president. Ben Tenzer, who has worked in the Nuggets front office since 2012, is in charge of the business side of basketball, while Jon Wallace, who worked under former Nuggets GM Tim Connolly with both the Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves, will be in charge of player personnel.

It's an unusual arrangement for most NBA teams to have dual decision-makers, though not uncommon for the Nuggets under the ownership of the Kroenke family. From 2006-2010, Mark Warkentien was the VP in charge of basketball operations while former player Rex Chapman ran player personnel. In that stretch, the Nuggets won 50 games or more in three seasons, reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2009.

But it's a surprising move after the Nuggets had to deal with two decision-makers — Booth and former head coach Michael Malone — who weren't on the same page. Namely, Booth tried to build out the Nuggets rotation with a collection of mid-draft selections, and Malone preferred playing veterans.

The ultimate result is that neither of the Nuggets' two new executives is truly in charge. That role falls to team governor Josh Kroenke, who made headlines this week by talking about both offering Nikola Jokic a long-term extension and the possibility of trading their three-time MVP.

Thursday, Tenzer had to walk Kroenke's comments back, telling reporters that the team "would never trade Nikola," despite Kroenke saying the opposite.

Perhaps Nuggets fans don't have to worry about Jokic getting dealt. But they might rightly wonder if a setup that puts two first-time general managers in a job-sharing arrangement is the best way to maximize their superstar's prime. Or if Kroenke, who has let numerous rotation players go for financial reasons since Denver won the 2023 title, is the right man to make the final decisions on the Nuggets' business.

If nothing else, Kroenke has two more fall guys if things go sour.