Was Game 7 in Oklahoma City end of Nuggets’ championship core four?

OKLAHOMA CITY Michael Porter Jr was beside himself The Nuggets locker room was emptying but he felt rooted to his seat as if he hadn t earned the right to go home It was late March and he was agonizing over a gnarly -point shooting slump that had cratered that night at Ball Arena with a -for- showing The visiting Chicago Bulls won by I lost us that tournament Porter disclosed to nobody in particular lamenting the glitch in his shooting form Picturesque when it s properly calibrated it felt broken in the moment Only a handful of teammates were around to hear him Those who were pushed back led by Aaron Gordon Absolutely not bro he reported reminding Porter that he s one of the best shooters of all time The names Steph Curry and Reggie Miller were mentioned Maybe those comparisons are hyperbolic but Gordon was decisive with the label He was convinced of it He left no room for Porter to contest it For several years of build-up to a championship and hardship in its fallout the Nuggets have been identified by their continuity specifically the basketball bond forged between their core quartet It started with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray stealthy prize picks in the and drafts It evolved to include Porter drafted in and Gordon acquired via pact in The four of them drafted an offense of harmony based around the ball s kinetic potency They ve played off of one another as if they d been teammates since middle school They ve started games together in the last three seasons in the playoffs And they ve leaned on one another whenever the group has faltered whenever an individual has experienced a lapse in confidence The challenge is great Obviously playing is amazing But really what makes it special is just being around a high-character group of people Gordon explained And the interactions and the memories that you make and share with a great group of guys As they shook hands and shared hugs on a bittersweet Sunday in Oklahoma City they had no way of knowing what the future holds Competition against the Thunder might have been the end of this core that brought the Nuggets their first championship The collective bargaining agreement is knocking at their door The second apron is a cloak of death for high-dollar rosters like theirs I mean we didn t so obviously we can t Jokic mentioned when urged if he believes Denver can win another ring as constructed If we could we will win it So I don t believe in the if if stuff We had opportunity We didn t win it So I think we can t Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets speaks to members of the media after the Oklahoma City Thunder s - win at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on Sunday May The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets - in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series Photo by AAron Ontiveroz The Denver Post The mood inside Denver s eliminated locker room was starkly different from the despair of when its season ended in the exact same challenge in the exact same round That was a group that couldn t envision a upshot other than a repeat NBA title a band that won more regular-season games than any other in Jokic s career That was a squad that knew a golden opportunity had slipped through its fingers This was a more diluted version of the Nuggets that paraded through downtown Denver A little older A little wearier in the legs A little shallower on the bench Their coach and general manager lost their jobs in the last week of the regular season Left for dead by the vortex of NBA discourse they climbed back into fourth place outlasted the hottest band in the league and pushed the -win Thunder to Competition This was a disappointed locker room but with a perspective shaped by the uncommon circumstances We stayed with it Murray reported We had to figure it out Call specific audibles We had a long journey just to get to this point I m proud of the belief that we had The positivity that we had The guys staying together It s a nice story what this Nuggets association revealed about itself in the face of adversity Band president and governor Josh Kroenke explained The Denver Post that it was the proudest he s been of any Jokic-era squad aside from the one that raised a banner He greeted each of the players as they walked off the court in OKC inviting them to hold their heads high They rallied around one another from his viewpoint Interim coach David Adelman announced he ll remember these six weeks fondly The players more or less felt the same way But does that qualify - as a accomplished year in totality Apparently not if the goal remains to win multiple championships with Jokic Denver technically avoided a second consecutive postseason regression but its product stagnated while the competition improved The Thunder won Tournament the same way it won games The Nuggets fell victim to the same flaws that caused them to lose their status as a championship favorite I think through the next season whether I m here or somebody else is it s just about getting to the finish line healthier and not having to grind like we did through the Clippers series Adelman noted And that s gonna be a challenge As these guys get older year by year we have to maintenance them And if you re gonna play a young gang like Oklahoma City that has unbelievable depth a very good coaching staff you have to have the freshest version of yourself That is part of the reason why I m so proud of these guys to get this to seven I mean we grinded through this Adelman and his players understood that to do so was admirable but not sustainable Porter and Gordon in particular sacrificed their bodies just to give Denver a chance to pull off the upset To a certain extent they succeeded despite Porter s poor individual numbers Christian Braun Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr of the Denver Nuggets react after DeAndre Jordan hit a -pointer in warmups before the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on Sunday May Photo by AAron Ontiveroz The Denver Post The Nuggets fielded a starting lineup that was effective enough to beat the best squad in the NBA In minutes shared by Jokic Murray Porter Gordon and Christian Braun during the second-round series their net rating was a resounding The Thunder s starting lineup was minus- But almost every attempted substitution crashed and burned for Adelman The Thunder s top three individual net ratings in the series belonged to Aaron Wiggins Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso all bench players When that trio was on the floor together OKC had a net rating in minutes Denver s depth was nowhere near good enough and almost the only way to get meaningfully deeper this offseason outside of competitor advance is to break up that deadly starting lineup It s a cruel catch- But the Nuggets backed themselves into this corner The core four accounts for of the payroll with long-term extensions going into effect for Murray and Gordon Both are eligible to be traded former general manager Calvin Booth explored deals involving Murray last offseason before giving him the extension league sources notified The Post but ultimately those modern votes of faith would suggest that Porter is the odd man out I feel like we ve got the pieces but you know that s all up to the top and how they feel about it Porter declared When required about his confidence that this core will be back together he shared his appreciation for the Kroenkes two bygone general managers Tim Connelly and Calvin Booth ex-coach Michael Malone and Adelman then eventually his teammates Everyone in this locker room means a lot to me I m not sure if it ll be the same exact group next year But whatever s next for me whatever s next for this company I know that the guys will be ready for it Related Articles Former Nuggets coach Michael Malone joins ESPN coverage for Western Conference finals Renck vs Keeler Who wins another championship first Nuggets Nikola Jokic or Avs Nathan MacKinnon Keeler Thunder s Alex Caruso manhandled Nuggets in Competition which is why Denver demands two of him Renck Nikola Jokic knows Nuggets need deeper bench And that s not all Nikola Jokic on Nuggets coach David Adelman He changed the capacity There was a note of melancholy in that response a subtle recognition that he might not be one of the guys navigating that next phase The answer is hard to know for a association that enters its offseason without a full-time GM in place to run basketball operations Gordon and Murray backed up Porter stressing confidence in the top of the roster and pride in the company s resolve But the looming decision for Nuggets power brokers might require a more cold-hearted evaluation of whether these four can win again If the answer is no someone will be sacrificed and Competition will have been the last ride for a core that once brought unprecedented glory to Denver Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis