The night before the Nuggets opened training camp in Colorado Springs this past October, management had a message for the team: the upcoming season, one filled with more expectations than any other under Michael Malone, would require more sacrifice than usual.
Each season does, in one way or another, but after winning their first playoff series in a decade last spring, and returning even more talent than last year’s outfit, Malone, Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly and owner Josh Kroenke needed that message to resonate.
So, during a lavish dinner, Connelly made a presentation to the 18-man training camp roster.