The secret sauce behind the Denver Nuggets‘ success is far from concealed. It’s evident on the court in the towering presence of Nikola Jokic. As a head coach, Michael Malone gushes about the Joker. “Give him his damn respect,” he said after the 3-time MVP claimed the WCF MVP honors in their title-winning season. Yet, the head coach’s heart grows tender for his right-hand man, Jamal Murray.

Unlike Jokic, the Canadian hooper has suffered a bothering spell of injuries. The most heinous included an ACL tear, which resulted in him missing nearly two seasons. In that emotional moment, Malone assured him that “you’re ours.”

The loyalty of not just Malone but also the Nuggets has been evident ever since. Even after an under-par playoff and Olympics run, they didn’t waver from offering him a max, worth $208 million. “When you talk to Michael Malone, I mean I’ve sat there and listened to him wax poetic about Jamal Murray. They’re like brothers in arms. They have this really deep abiding loyalty towards each other. This is the guy that what’s the expression? Dance with the one who brung you. That’s what they are,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said of their relationship. However, as far as the extension goes, Brian Windhorst feels the Nuggets had no choice.

Jamal Murray, no matter how drastic his output, is still the key to keeping the Nuggets competitive. Shelburne suspects they might be looking to repeat the blueprint set by the Golden State Warriors. It is devised from the Spurs’ philosophy to develop their youngsters to take over, eventually. They did so with Kawhi Leonard.

The Nuggets in the same vein have budding talents such as Christian Braun, who has essentially been touted to replace the services of Kenatavious-Caldwell Pope this season. Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther seem next in line. The fear, though, is it really possible.

“We’re going to have this run of 10-15 years or whatever. The Warriors tried that. It didn’t really work. They had all those lottery picks and you can say Kuminga is the success story there, Podziemski, right? But I don’t know if either of them were primed to be the next Steph, the way that Kawhi was primed to take over,” Ramona Shelburne explained on Hoops Collective.

Can the Denver Nuggets carry on the Spurs’ blueprint?

As far as the Spurs dynasty was, Brian Windhorst did note that even they failed to sustain their strategy. Just as Kawhi Leonard began to take the leap of becoming a superstar, internal friction led to his abrupt trade to the Toronto Raptors. With the Bay Area side, there still is no successor for their beloved Stephen Curry who can truly base a system around himself.

The same applies to the Denver Nuggets. So far, their entire core is young. All of their starting five are under 30 years old. So at least for the foreseeable future, they can rely on their model of playing around the Joker and Jamal Murray. But how often will a Jokic replacement come? Further, how much reliance can be put on the development unit to create a riveting guard like Jamal Murray?

With the current landscape, it seems almost imperative to make trades and bring the right talent at the right time. The other alternative is achieving wins in the draft, which the Nuggets have done successfully.

However, in their case, with all the major players of the same ages, when the time does come to replace them, it will have to be a complete shift. To avoid such a circumstance striking Denver, the front office will have to make some difficult decisions- based on performances, aching trades will need to be made. Harboring a younger talent for their celebrated franchise player at varied points will be key. The process is obviously tricky and susceptible to flaws. But when looking at the long run, it seems to be an efficient strategy.

It’s still unclear whether the Nuggets want to achieve that. They could very well try to harness what they can get from their current well-coordinated squad, led by Nikola Jokic. But if they are thinking about the next decade, systematic and timely management is where the key lies. Remember, with the core they have, landing a lottery pick in the coming years is unlikely.

Do you think the Nuggets can become the first team to successfully implement this strategy? Let us know your views in the comments.