It's no miracle, it's Kiki and Kroenke.
Kiki has taken this team from the dregs that it was in during Issel's second tour of duty and turned them into an intriguing squad. He dumped 3 bad contracts (Van Exel, Wahad, Johnson) and one soon to be bad contract (Lafrentz) on the Mavericks in exchange for a ton of cap room that we're enjoying this year. He moved McDyess, ridding the Nuggets of the spector of him opting out of his contract and leaving them with nothing, and managed to land Hilario in return. He's committed to building with youth, even though it meant enduring a 17 win season last year.
Kiki has worked wonders with this team thus far. As a long time Nuggets fan, I am extremely grateful.
Stan Kroneke has turned the Nuggets from perceived basketball Siberia into a first class franchise. He runs an organization that takes good care of it's players and is comitted to not only building a competitive team, but a champion. Kroneke has won championships as an owner or part owner in the NFL and NHL, but his true passion is basketball. He wants nothing more than to bring an NBA title to Denver and will spare no expense in doing so.
Kronke has brought a desire to win that starts at the top and flows all the way to the bottom of the franchise. For that, I'm also extremely grateful.
It hasn't been this exciting to be a Nuggets fan since Dikembe clutched the ball over his face on the Seattle hardwood in '94. But I guess this is one of the rewards of standing by your team through the hard times. When things start turning around, it's all that much sweeter.
