McGee: Nuggets have “all the pieces” to win
The dude knows what a championship locker room looks like. What it feels like. JaVale McGee’s got rings on three fingers to prove it.
And if you ask the Nuggets’ new center, this Denver roster is giving off the same sort of vibes.
“Golden State was a different animal with a lot of shooters and people like Steph Curry. The Lakers were a different animal with a player like LeBron (James),” McGee, the 33-year-old big man acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers, said Saturday during a Zoom call with reporters. “And the Denver Nuggets are a different animal with players like Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. It’s just a whole different dynamic.
“But in the long run, the point is to win the game. And that’s what they have stamped on their back, is a winning mentality and being able to go out there, especially in big games and make big shots and make big passes and make big plays. So I feel like this organization has everything it needs, it has got all the pieces to not be a building organization anymore. I feel like we’re here now.”
A classic rim-protector with hops, this is the second tour of Front Range duty for the 7-footer, who averaged 8.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game from 2012-15 as a young Nuggets reserve. He was picked up this past Thursday in exchange for center Isaiah Hartenstein and second-round draft picks in 2023
and 2027.
McGee, who’s averaging 8.0 points and 5.2 boards over 15.2 minutes per game this season, is expected to serve as the primary backup to All-Star center Nikola Jokic. He’ll likely be counted on to provide a physical spark off the bench similar to what former Denver big man Mason Plumlee once brought. McGee and Jokic could also play together for stretches if coach Michael
Malone wants to match up with a taller frontcourt.
The veteran center returned to the fold, in part, for the experience he’s picked up since his first run in Denver. Over the last six seasons, the Flint, Mich., native has played on four playoff squads and won NBA titles with three of them — twice with the Warriors (2017 and ’18) and once with the Lakers (’20).
“I feel like this team has all the pieces,” McGee said of his new squad. “I feel like they did a great job of putting their guys together. And with the addition of me and Aaron (Gordon), I just feel like we have (a) championship pedigree.
“And me, personally, knowing it takes everything going right to win championship, like people have got to stay (healthy), and just a lot of things have to go right. But I feel like we have all the pieces for it to go right.” Enough pieces to win it all? “Yes,” McGee replied with a knowing grin. “Simple answer. Yes.”