Troy Renck: Nuggets' Ben Tenzer, Jon Wallace show Art of the Deal is not fiction

Troy Renck, The Denver Post on Jul 3, 2025

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DENVER — When Nikola Jokic sat on the bench, Michael Malone held his breath. Now, he must be throwing up in his mouth.

In the span of 24 hours, the Nuggets got rid of Michael Porter Jr.’s contract in exchange for a similar player in Cam Johnson, reunited with Bruce Brown, landed Tim Hardaway Jr., and added Jonas Valanciunas while discarding Dario Saric.

They got deeper, cheaper and better. Malone got a pink slip. Life is unintentionally cruel sometimes.

The Nuggets front office, together for a few hours, moved to the front of the line during the opening of free agency, transforming an aging team with a ghost bench into a legitimate championship threat.

How in the heck did Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer pull this off?

Josh Kroenke expressed unwavering belief in the duo. He was more comfortable with Ben and Jon than I am with Ben&Jerry’s. He learned something from watching Tenzer operate for three months as the interim, and gleaned something from his relationship and interview with Wallace to know that the pair could work together. They rewarded his confidence.

Co-GMs usually means No GMs. Instead, Wallace and Tenzer have melded their strengths into a superpower.

Ask around the league, and it is clear Wallace and Tenzer have good reputations. And like everyone in these roles, they have a full Rolodex — or endless iPhone contacts, as it were.

But anyone can make calls. Will people take them?

The answer is a resounding yes.

Wallace and Tenzer came into the job with trust, not only from their boss, but other executives. However, GMs don’t pull off the best offseason in Colorado pro sports since the Broncos signed DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward and Emmanuel Sanders because of a few friends and fortuitous texts.

There is meat in this sandwich.

First, let’s acknowledge that Tenzer and Wallace took over with blood in the water. They risked getting the Nuggets eaten if they did not operate with a sense of urgency. They recognized Nikola Jokic’s wishes and his window.

Unlike former GM Calvin Booth, who believed too much in his ability to draft at the expense of other avenues, Wallace and Tenzer went to work.

And their Art of the Deal is not fiction.

Trades require patience and purpose. But nothing gets done without being prepared. That seems obvious. It is not.

Good GMs call everyone all the time, update their big boards and understand the market. It’s clear the Nuggets knew before anyone else that the Brooklyn Nets represented a natural landing spot for MPJ — a team not trying to win next season, while looking for an expiring contract in 2026.

Getting anyone interested in MPJ, given his health issues, was the first step. Getting back a similar player in Johnson was a steal. It required a first-round pick in 2032, a poison pill swallowed with a clear takeaway: Wallace and Tenzer are living in the present, not Booth’s build-through-the-draft future.

Being patient, purposeful and prepared means nothing if executives are not ready to pounce. Early Tuesday, the due diligence of Wallace and Tenzer left them ready as the Kings were desperately trying to create salary cap space to sign guard Dennis Schroder.

They needed to cut costs, and suddenly Valanciunas, a player the Nuggets have coveted for two years, was on the market. Denver shipped Sacramento Dario Saric, a wasted roster spot for the Nuggets last season. It saved the Kings money and saved countless minutes for Jokic.

For the first time in a long time, the three-time MVP has a legitimate backup. The Nuggets can keep him fresh during the season. Maybe even give him a random might off. Watching the playoffs, it was clear Jokic was collapsing under the burden of carrying this franchise.

It is safe to assume Jokic is aware of what has gone down and that his reaction to the flurry of moves mirrors that of Nuggets Nation. He has to be in Serbia, smiling like one of his horses won a harness race.

Remember how this week started.

The Nuggets were stuck. They had to run it back. They loved their own players too much.

This is all we heard when they were bounced from the playoffs. Optimists saw a team that took eventual champion OKC to seven games. Realists saw a team that was never going to win eight more games.

Wallace and Tenzer viewed their challenge as an opportunity.

But this would not work. They had no experience. They would never change the franchise’s trajectory.

Wallace and Tenzer inherited a team that was inching closer to the bottom of the Western Conference playoff standings than the top. Instead of making excuses, they got the message.

Get Jokic help. And someone get Malone a barf bag.