The Vertical Front-Office Insider Bobby Marks, a 20-year executive with the Nets, examines the off-season plans for teams that didn’t make the postseason.

THE PLAN GOING FORWARD

Hit the ground running

Familiarity can go a long way.





View photos Michael Malone appears to be the right coach for the Nuggets. (AP) More

With the core group of players returning – likely all five starters and coach Michael Malone for a second year – there is no reason, outside of health, Denver should not start off strong next season.

Returning a nucleus is one thing; having that mix of young and veteran players commit to improve in the off-season is another. One thing Denver cannot do is rely on familiarity alone to build on.

Don’t take shortcuts

The franchise can’t skip Steps Three and Four to get to Step Five.



The Nuggets have already completed Step One – building a strong roster of young players – and Step Two – finding the right head coach. The next phase is to compete for a playoff spot next season.

With three picks in the top 19 of the June draft plus a light lottery-protected pick from Memphis next season, Nuggets management will be tempted to parlay assets for an immediate impact player. However, as past failures in the NBA have shown, one bad move could have Denver back to Square One. The Nuggets need to be patient.

Get healthy at the wings

Since re-signing last summer, Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari combined to miss a total of 111 games. Most were missed by Chandler, who had season-ending hip surgery in October.



Even with a good core of young players, consider Gallinari and Chandler the X-factors in Denver’s pursuit of a playoff spot.

Trust the personnel department

Denver is a mirror image of how Golden State was built.



View photos Emmanuel Mudiay is a promising young player. (AP) More

Since taking over as general manager, Tim Connelly and his staff have added through the draft (Emmamuel Mudiay, Gary Harris, Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic), made shrewd trades to obtain assets (Will Barton and Memphis’ first-round pick) and retained veterans (Kenneth Faried, Gallinari and Chandler).

Like the Warriors, Denver was able to build through the draft without having a top-six pick. Now the team has three first-round picks, including a top-eight selection, and two second-round picks in June.

TEAM NEEDS

The Nuggets are well positioned at each roster spot.



Mudiay and Harris, with continued development, could form one of the up-and-coming backcourts in the league.