Keeler: Nuggets-Thunder series was fool’s gold. Nikola Jokic needs new GM to shake things up

The greater part valuable thing sitting on the Nuggets bench during the playoffs was the first aid kit Until that changes neither will anything on Nikola Jokic s spring progress itinerary Another Memorial Day in Sombor Another June with no parade Another year closer to the end of the greatest career in Nuggets history So to the next Denver general manager especially if that s interim Ben Tenzer we humbly beseech three things First Be heartened by the pluck and guile the Nuggets revealed against the Thunder three weeks ago Second Do not be fooled or charmed by it Third and this is key Do not give in to insanity Do not do the same thing over and over and expect a different effect Do not run it back Please For the love of Pete Williams do not run it back Do not look at Thunder vs Timberwolves or Thunder vs Pacers and decide in your head that the job is mostly done Do not settle Do not tell yourself that rest a coaching change and schematics are the only things between you and a return to the NBA Finals You know we took the Oklahoma City Thunder which is playing particular of the best basketball in the league if not the best right now to seven games Nuggets president Josh Kroenke reflected late last month Which you know is great We took a great crew to seven games That series could have been - the other way That series could have been - us I don t think we lost Match during Competition I thought we lost Contest during Games and Related Articles Nuggets Journal Does Denver have any path into Kevin Durant business talks Renck File In championship-or-bust mode Knicks should hire ex-Nuggets coach Michael Malone Nuggets Mailbag Denver s GM search Michael Porter Jr s contract value and Carmelo Anthony s number Nuggets Podcast Taking stock of Denver s roster following David Adelman s hire as head coach Renck vs Keeler Nuggets or Avs Who is closer to a title after playoff exits These series are very fragile things and they come down to little moments in time and certain actions over the program of a few-minute span in games And so while I think we were close in specific techniques I don t think it was a - sweep for Oklahoma City It wasn t And they are close But not Nuggets-Thunder was the real NBA Finals close You don t hang banners for almosts Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets walks behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter of the Nuggets - win at Ball Arena in Denver on Thursday May The Nuggets forced a contest seven in their Western Conference semifinal on Sunday at Oklahoma City Photo by AAron Ontiveroz The Denver Post Yes the Nuggets took the best band in the West to seven games with their Core Six the starting five plus Russell Westbrook held together by guts gauze and chewing gum Michael Porter Jr had one good shoulder Aaron Gordon had one hamstring Westbrook had one good hand The Nuggets played the underdog card as if Michael Malone a terrier of a man who loved punching up had never left It was beautiful Well except for Meeting And Competition Ask yourself this question and be honest What would ve happened to this same Nuggets club if it had sprung the upset vs OKC and landed Minnesota in the conference finals Oh you know Anthony Edwards knows Chris Finch knows Russ knows The Joker knows Deep down Josh knows too We re close Kroenke announced but I don t want to be naive in thinking of how close we are But I don t want to underestimate how close we were either I mean shoot thinking back to the first round I mean we re an Aaron Gordon tip-dunk away from perhaps coming back to Denver down - And then what does that series look like Do we even have the opportunity to go out and try and chase a company as great as the Thunder So there are lots of approaches to kind of weigh how close we are But I think that as a group we feel confident that we can go toe to toe with a lot of teams around the league And now we re going to get to work seeing about how we can go toe to toe and then overtake them For a start the the bulk impactful piece sitting next to Jamal Murray can t be a heat pack The Nuggets bless them emptied the tank They gave all they had Which by mid-May wasn t much A roster that runs six deep won t last two rounds before you throw a rod before a timing belt snaps like a dry twig I think that the way that our players responded over the last six seven weeks or so really advised the world that the Nuggets job whether it s coaching or front office is a really special one Kroenke continued And especially where we are right now Hope is fine Delusion is the enemy of progress Until that bench gets addressed with more than lip institution someone s constantly going to come along by Mother s Day to steal Jokic s Thunder At this time of year a first aid kit will carry you only so far before the plaster cracks Unit president Josh Kroenke listens as head coach David Adelman of the Denver Nuggets speaks during an introductory press conference at Ball Arena in Denver on Wednesday May Adelman takes over as the rd head coach in association history entering the - season Photo by AAron Ontiveroz The Denver Post Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis