INTERVIEW: Nuggets Assistant GM Tommy Balcetis Discusses Denver’s Offseason

In an exclusive interview with Fastbreak on FanNation, Denver Nuggets assistant general manager Tommy Balcetis talked about the moves the Nuggets made in the offseason, as well as what is to come for the team heading into the 2022-23 season.

This NBA offseason has been quite eventful for the Denver Nuggets, a team that is right on the cusp of being a real championship threat in the Western Conference.

Not only did the team’s President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly depart for the Minnesota Timberwolves after being in Denver since 2013, but the Nuggets added new faces to their roster in free agency, they executed a couple of trades involving the likes of JaMychal Green, Will Barton and Monte Morris and they also made back-to-back league MVP Nikola Jokic the highest paid player in NBA history with a new supermax contract extension.

To say things have been eventful is quite an understatement!

A lot of change has occurred both in the front-office and on this roster, yet the mindset remains the same for the Denver Nuggets entering the 2022-23 season – To contend at the highest level possible and prove that they have what it takes to win the Western Conference.

General manager Calvin Booth took over the reins of the team’s front-office with Connelly’s departure and right by his side helping orchestrate the moves made this offseason was assistant general manager Tommy Balcetis.

Joining the Nuggets front-office back in 2013, Balcetis has been a big part of the growth of this organization over the last several years and with what looks to be a very deep and strong roster, the Nuggets enter the 2022-23 NBA season as real threats to make a championship run.

Balcetis took some time to talk with Fastbreak on FanNation recently and he discussed the changes made to the Nuggets roster this offseason, as well as what the future for this organization looks like.

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A lot has happened this offseason for you guys between front-office changes and roster changes. How would you sum up this offseason for the organization?

Tommy Balcetis: We are definitely very happy with where we are at as a team in terms of our roster. I feel like we got better, we got stronger and more defensive-minded, so we are definitely happy about this roster. While it definitely hurts to see Tim [Connelly] leave, Calvin [Booth] is fantastic for us. Cal has an amazing eye for talent and that separates him from other executives around the NBA. A lot of this stems from his playing career and ability to see things from both a player and executive standpoint. It has been awesome to work with him and he truly is one of the up and coming No. 1 guy’s in the entire NBA.

With Tim leaving and Calvin taking the reins of the front-office, did your all’s approach in the front-office change slightly in terms of what the goals were entering the offseason?

TB: Obviously there will be things that happen a different way when there is change within the organization, but Cal knows what he is doing, he has been with us since 2017 and what we accomplished as an organization this offseason proves this. Finding ways to get better defensively and getting tougher were two key points of emphasis for us this summer and we accomplished that. The biggest thing for us over the last year was that injuries kind of plagued us. If we are healthy, I feel like we could compete with anybody in the league given the guys that we have. We just needed to sure up a few things this offseason and get better defensively by adding high IQ players that can also be defensive stoppers around Nikola Jokic.

Let’s talk about Nikola Jokic because how can we not talk about him! The best center in the league in many people’s eyes, do you think he is at the peak of his career at 27-years-old or are we just seeing the start of his ascension to greatness with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. coming back from injury?

TB: Nikola has been playing on such a high level for a while now and obviously we hope that he plays at this level for the remainder of his career. Of course it is hard to say whether or not this is his peak. It is extremely hard to top two consecutive MVPs, but every year, he comes back as a better player after his offseason in Serbia. More importantly, he comes back a better leader. I would not put it past him that we have yet to see the peak of his career, but if he remains the same though and is consistently this MVP player for the rest of his career, everyone in the Denver Nuggets organization knows that we will be in good shape.

Was there ever any doubt about offering Jokic the supermax extension this offseason?

TB: No, there was never any doubt. He deserves it all the way.

Looking at the draft, you all ended up with Christian Braun and Peyton Watson in the first-round and then Ismael Kamagate in the second-round. What excites you about each of these three young talents?

TB: Well all three players are big for their positions. They are tough and defensive-minded guys, but they also have offensive tools that are very intriguing long-term. I think that is what we were trying to achieve with this draft – trying to get smart players who are tough and physical. Christian [Braun] is one of the tougher kids from this draft class and we saw that at Kansas with him being a national champion and not coming out a single minute in that championship game. He just does everything asked of him and he does all the little thing, all the winning things, to help his team win. That is why we fell in love with him. Christian is a winning type of player and you can never have enough of those guys on your roster.

With Peyton [Watson], his talent level, length and his defensive approach is extremely intriguing to have on our roster. He has shown flashes of being polished offensively, but right now defensively, he can already guard at an NBA level and he has All-Defensive potential at this level. Ismael [Kamagate] is going to be playing overseas this year, but with him, we see somebody who can rim-protect, play big for their position and also guard opponents out on the perimeter. He’s one of the best young prospects that played in France last year and he was the Defensive Player of the Year in his league. We felt like with these three guys in the draft, we got tougher and stronger defensively for sure.

Going out and trading for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was not a move many may have anticipated this offseason. What about his game do you think stands out on this roster?

TB: Getting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown are both moves that really stand out for us because they are two players who understand their roles and are "tailor-made" to play with someone like Nikola. It hurts having Monte [Morris] and Will [Barton] leave because they helped us win so many games over the years and they were huge pieces of the puzzle for us, but with Kentavious, his abilities to shoot and defend at a high level are what separate him from others who play his position. Bruce is a versatile guy on both ends of the floor that will fit into any role we need him in as well. Both of these guys have played with superstar level players in their careers and they were extremely impactful in their own rights, which is why they fit right in here. These two just know how to play, they are ultimate professionals and they play on both ends of the floor. We felt like we needed those types of guys to add to our roster this summer.

Zeke Nnaji is a guy I feel like not many talk about even though he was a first-round pick for you all in 2020. Heading into his third season now, what do you believe Nnaji can bring to the table in terms of helping the team be a true title threat?

TB: For sure. Before he got injured last year, Zeke [Nnaji] made shots at a high level and he can defend multiple positions. That is something that he can do tomorrow. He’s big, he’s strong, he's athletic and he can make shots. Zeke is the ultimate utility player for us and he can do a lot of things with his skillset and length so of course we are excited about him heading into the new season. I am really excited for him to be healthy.

When you look at the rest of the Western Conference and how packed with talent it is, where do the Denver Nuggets fall in the mix?

TB: We will obviously do our best to compete for the highest goals possible, as I feel like this has been our mindset for a long time now. We try to stay away from all the championship talk aspects, as we don’t say things just to say them. We try to actively live it and actually do all the things that are necessary to achieve those highest goals we set at the beginning of each year. Going out and competing at the highest level possible each and every night with the best teams in both the West and the East is what we do and the results speak for us in regards to what we can achieve. 

(Photo credit: David Zalubowski/AP)