Unable to defend their NBA title, Nuggets duo Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic ready to lead new quest

 A couple of things gleaned from Thursday's media day for Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokic can grow a first-rate beard/goatee, Jamal Murray has aspirations to be an MMA fighter and Aaron Gordon held one impressive yard sale this summer as he cleaned out his closet.

Oh, and that t defending ir crown sat well with absolutely one. y're er to scale that NBA mountaintop again only with a different look. Gone are Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson. Brought in are Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric.

Of course, re are mainstays in Jokic , w a three-time NBA MVP, and Murray, who's fresh off signing a 4-year, $208M max contract extension . Nuggets are coming off a season in which y tied franchise's NBA record for wins (57) only to be eliminated in second round of playoffs by Minnesota. Denver squandered a 20-point second-half le in Game 7 at home.

“After a season where everybody says we failed, it’s my job to make sure that we don’t believe all that (),” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who guided team to ir first NBA championship in 2022-23. “We’re a good team. In last six years, one in West has come close to doing what we’ve done. Remind yourself of that, but also challenge yourself to t be satisfied. Push yourself and push your teammate to become even better."

Nuggets general manr Calvin Booth estimated that Jokic has a 10-year prime contention window and y're about halfway through it.

“You hit one of m it's great,” Booth said. “It's going to be incredibly hard to win ar one.”

On docket for Booth, negotiating a contract extension with Gordon, which he can do starting Friday. Gordon is coming off a season in which he averd 13.9 points and 6.5 rebounds in his do-a-little-bit-of-everything role.

“I really love this organization,” Gordon said. “I hope we get it done.”

Gordon switched his jersey to . 32 this season to hor his bror, Drew, who died four months ago in car crash in Oregon. Aaron Gordon said his teammates helped him through it.

“se guys have been re for me every step of way,” Gordon said. “se guys have really developed into people that I would call my brors.”

Gordon has long been a fan favorite. That was evident when he opened up his wardrobe to fans this summer. His pop-up event was well received.

“Just a yard sale,” he cracked . “It just happened to get a little out of hand. It's a great community. y've accepted me and I'm just grateful for it."

On Thursday, Murray wasn't exactly in an expansive mood during his time at podium, but he did reveal his affection for mixed martial arts. He worked out with former UFC fearweight champion Alexander Volkavski .

“I might have a career re after this,” said Murray, who struggled for Team Cana over summer at Paris Games. “But I’m doing this right w.”

Murray forms quite an on-court partnership with Jokic, who showed up with a beard/goatee he's alrey contemplating nixing. Jokic enters training camp on high of helping Serbia to an Olympic bronze medal in Paris . He has alrey picked up his first assist of year, too, by playing a role in bringing Westbrook to town.

“Great, great player for us," said Jokic, who earned his third NBA MVP award in four seasons after a regular season averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and nine assists. "He's going to bring us all good stuff.”

Westbrook joined Nuggets in an effort to capture one thing missing from his distinguished resume — a title.

“As long as we as a team put our best foot forward, we can live with results," Westbrook said. "If it's a championship, I'm grateful for that. If it's t, I'm also grateful for opportunity.”

Westbrook was in a jovial mood Thursday, playfully mimicking Murray’s signature “Blue Arrow” pose as Murray took pictures. It brought a grin to Murray.

That's just Westbrook's personality.

“People confuse intensity with competitiveness,” Westbrook said. “When I’m on floor, I don’t want to be walking around, shaking hands, kissing babies. I'm re to kick some (butt). Of floor, I'm chill."

tes: Altitude anunced a deal to offer Nuggets and Avalanche games through a streaming app along with a handful of games on local brocasts. Altitude TV has been in a long-running dispute with Comcast, state’s largest cable provider, which has t carried Altitude since ir previous deal expired in 2019. ... contenders to join Murray, Jokic, Michael Porter Jr. and Gordon in starting lineup appear to be Christian Braun and Julian Strawr. ... Porter, who's h back issues in past, took vant of a healthy offseason by getting in even more work on court.