DENVER — Seamless.
That’s how Nuggets coach Michael Malone and front-office brass describe the impact of what their newest acquisition, Mason Plumlee, will allow their offense to be from first team to second team.
“His playmaking is something unique and stands out,” general manager Tim Connelly said. “Our offense is really humming right now, so our ability to continue to move the ball when Nikola (Jokic) goes to the bench is important.”
Said Malone: “Obviously when Nikola is off the floor, you try to play the same. But we don’t have another Nikola Jokic. I think what Mason Plumlee brings is that he’s another big that you can play through — high post, elbows, low post. A tremendous athlete, he runs the floor. He’s an above-the-rim player at times. So it will be great to have the synergy of playing the same way with two bigs who can make the same type of plays.”
It’s no secret that things bog down offensively for the Nuggets when Jokic, one of the best passing centers in the NBA, heads to the bench. Among league centers, Plumlee had the fifth-highest assist average coming into Tuesday.
But there will be times when Jokic and Plumlee are on the court at the same time. Not, many, Malone said, but enough. And he believes they will work well together.
“I don’t envision those two playing together 15, 20 minutes a night,” Malone said. “If they are out there 10 to 12, I think Mason has the intelligence and the defensive versatility to guard stretch fours.”
The Nuggets traded center Jusuf Nurkic, a 2014 first-round draft pick, to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday to get Plumlee. The Nuggets also received a 2018 second-round pick and cash. The Blazers also received the Memphis first-round pick the Nuggets acquired when they traded center Timofey Mozgov to Cleveland in 2015.
This move was specific to the Nuggets’ identity, the kind of move they hadn’t made in a couple of seasons, primarily because they weren’t able to. But this season’s team has carved out an identity of its own, a fast-paced, motion offense that the team thinks Plumlee will flourish in.
“As you look to better your team and bring players in, you want those players to address needs and also fit the pieces that you have,” Malone said. “Whenever you put together a team and a roster, it’s like a puzzle. The pieces have to fit. You can’t just acquire talent and hope they fit. It has to be about bringing in the right players that fit the talent that you already have, but also fit the style of play that you’re trying to employ.”
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