随着NBA总决赛的继续进行，丹佛掘金队离他们一个月前的最后一场比赛6月13日越来越远，一些现实的事情开始出现。
首先，掘金看着在第二轮横扫他们的凤凰太阳队继续前进，在NBA总决赛上肆意狂舞。太阳队离总冠军还有两场胜利。尽管被横扫，掘金没有贾马尔·默里和其他人，很明显他们不是唯一一个在对抗太阳的多方面攻击的人。输给最终的NBA冠军，失去了一个球队不可或缺的一员，这不应该感到羞耻。
另一方面，要想重现掘金几个月前刚刚经历的冠军级环境，还需要付出很多努力。撇开穆雷的伤病不谈，每支球队和阵容每年都不一样。重要的是要有天赋、勤奋和友情的正确组合，才能贯穿整个赛季，掘金明年的环境将完全不同，即使阵容基本保持不变。
这就把我们带到了掘金休赛期最大的转折点：威尔·巴顿。
所有的注意力都集中在掘金的明星球员身上，很容易就失去巴顿的踪影。尼古拉·约基奇刚刚获得MVP奖。贾马尔·默里虽然受伤，但他在成为全明星球员的道路上创造了惊人的数字。小迈克尔·波特也受到了大量的关注，考虑到他的才华和活力，这是理所当然的。就连亚伦·戈登也是丹佛赛季中期的大手笔，被视为冠军拼图的最后一块。
就像我说的，很容易失去巴顿的踪影，他作为首发得分后卫打得很好，在穆雷倒下前后都有一些重要的时刻。几年来，巴顿的得分和打法为丹佛提供了阵容和阵容的多样性，尽管伤病困扰着他，但他在很长一段时间内都是首发球员。
现在，随着2021年休赛期的认真开始，第一个重大决定将是巴顿自己的决定。
7月17日星期六，巴顿决定2021-22赛季1460万美元球员的最后期限将到。巴顿早在2018年就同意了这份合同，而掘金之所以吸引巴顿加入这份合同，部分原因是球员的选择权。现在，掘金和巴顿处于一个有趣的位置。
丹佛邮报的迈克·辛格周末采访了巴顿，一个简短的讨论可以在这里找到。巴顿明确表示，他不会透露任何关于球员的选择，有可能他还没有决定如何进行。从文章中：
“一切皆有可能，”他说我不能排除任何可能性。正确的情况出现了，谁知道呢？只是要做对我最好的事。”
从巴顿的角度来看，打球得到的收益很重要，他绝对应该做对自己最好的事情。即使他想回到丹佛，最好的办法可能不是接受球员的选择。他的目标可能是长期安全，就像金钱或角色一样。接受球员的选择将他的合同变成一年的合同，掘金可以随时决定交易。一份多年的合同也可能是防止将来受伤的保障。
从丹佛的角度来看，他们绝对希望巴顿回来，原因有很多。首先，他是一个很好的球员，熟悉丹佛的体系，熟悉约基奇、穆雷和波特。如果掘金失去巴顿，他们将需要以某种方式取代他，这将需要时间来恢复失去的化学反应。另一方面，一般来说，很难取代巴顿。大多数有能力完全取代巴顿的球员在丹佛的价格范围内都没有。
掘金队未来将面临重大财务问题。下赛季即使掘金给巴顿一点加薪，也不会带来太多问题。一旦迈克尔·波特即将签下的顶薪合同生效，掘金队的灵活性就会大大降低。据估计，仅约基奇、穆雷和波特一人就将得到9400万美元。再加上丹佛目前对蒙特莫里斯、泽克·恩纳吉以及他们即将到来的2021年首轮选秀的其他财务承诺，掘金队已经在与工资帽擦肩而过了。这还不包括对阿伦·戈登的任何续约，也不包括对P.J.多齐尔、贾米查尔·格林、法库·坎帕佐或掘金在休赛期增加的任何其他球员的可能交易。
长话短说，掘金必须完全致力于将巴顿作为他们的首发得分后卫，或者至少在未来发挥重要的作用，以便为他提供另一份重要合同。掘金知道，如果他们想成为一支冠军球队，他们需要在约基奇、穆雷和波特周围加强防守。虽然巴顿在防守上并不差，但他在这方面也不是一个重要的加分者，而为一个不会推动丹佛成为更好的防守的球员投入大笔资金，对于丹佛的长期计划来说可能并不可取。
然而，掘金队可能只需要有人来帮助默里在2021-22赛季的大部分时间里从ACL手术中恢复过来。巴顿会在这方面提供帮助。除了在后场进行重要的整合交易外，他可能是这份工作的最佳球员。巴顿在过去与约基奇和波特并肩作战时，表现出了帮助制造进攻的能力。没有理由认为他不能再那样做了。
巴顿是丹佛从底层居民到冠军争夺者过程中不可或缺的一部分。早在2015年，巴顿就作为阿隆-阿弗拉洛交易的一部分，在丹佛已经有6年多的时间了。他穿着掘金队服出场12000多分钟，从能量替补，到精英第六人，再到小前锋，再到得分后卫。此外，他和迈克尔·马龙、尼古拉·约基奇以及掘金队的其他球员一起帮助改变了丹佛的文化，在任何时候都提供了自信、胜利的心态。
如果说是时候向威尔·巴顿说再见了，那么他的粉丝群就会对他的精力、有趣的技巧和招摇表示感谢。巴顿将是丹佛场上场下的重大损失，这也是掘金希望他回来的另一个原因。如果这不在纸牌上，那么掘金最好有一个伟大的B计划。
到星期六我们应该知道更多。
原标题：
The Denver Nuggets offseason revolves around Will Barton
原文：
As the NBA Finals remain ongoing and the Denver Nuggets move further and further away from their last game of the season one month ago on June 13th, certain realities are beginning to set in.
For one, the Nuggets have watched the Phoenix Suns, the team that swept them in the second round, continue on and wreck havoc on the rest of the NBA. The Suns are two wins away from a championship. Despite being swept, the Nuggets were without Jamal Murray among others, and it’s clear they aren’t alone in combating the versatile attack the Suns have put together. There should be no shame in losing to an eventual NBA champion while missing an integral member of the team’s identity.
For another, it’s going to take a lot of effort to recreate the championship caliber environment that the Nuggets had going just a few months ago. Murray’s injury aside, every single team and roster is different from year to year. It’s important to have the right mix of talent, hard work, and camaraderie to work through the season, and the Nuggets will have an entirely different environment next year, even if the roster remains mostly the same.
That leads us to the biggest pivot point of the offseason for the Nuggets: Will Barton.
Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images
With all of the attention paid to the Nuggets star players, it can be easy to lose track of Barton. Nikola Jokić just won the MVP award. Jamal Murray, injured as he might be, as put up incredible numbers on his way to becoming an All-Star caliber player . Michael Porter Jr. has also received a significant amount of attention, rightfully so, given how talented and dynamic he is. Even Aaron Gordon was Denver’s big midseason acquisition and was seen as the final piece of the championship puzzle.
Like I said, easy to lose track of Barton, who played well as the starting shooting guard and had several important moments both before and after Murray went down. Barton’s scoring and playmaking has offered Denver some lineup and roster versatility for several years, and despite the injuries that have plagued him, he has been a starting caliber player for a long time.
Now, as the 2021 offseason begins in earnest, the first major decision will be Barton’s own.
On Saturday, July 17th, Barton’s deadline for a decision on his $14.6 million player option for the 2021-22 season will be up. Barton agreed to the contract back in 2018, and the Nuggets enticed Barton into the contract in part due to the player option. Now, the Nuggets and Barton are in an interesting position.
Mike Singer of the Denver Post caught up with Barton over the weekend, a short discussion that can be found here. Barton made it clear that he wouldn’t divulge anything about the player option, and it’s possible that he hasn’t decided how to proceed yet. From the article:
“Anything is possible,” he said. “I can’t rule out anything. Right situation presents itself, who knows? Just gotta do what’s best for me.”
From Barton’s perspective, it’s important to play things close to the vest, and he should absolutely do what’s best for himself. Even if he wants to return to Denver, the best course of action may not be to accept the player option. His goal may be long term security just as much as it might be money or role. Accepting the player option turns his deal into a one year contract, one that the Nuggets could decide to trade at any time. A multiyear contract could also be a safeguard against any future injuries.
From Denver’s perspective, they should absolutely want Barton back for a number of reasons. For one, he’s a good player familiar with Denver’s system, familiar with Jokić, Murray, and Porter. If the Nuggets lose Barton, they will need to replace him in some way, and that will take time to build back up the chemistry lost. For another, it will be difficult to replace Barton in general. Most players with the capability to fully replace Barton aren’t available at Denver’s price range.
The Nuggets have major financial concerns going forward. This next season won’t pose too many issues even if the Nuggets gave Barton a slight raise. Once Michael Porter Jr.’s impending max contract kicks in, the Nuggets will have significantly less flexibility. An estimated $94 million will be committed to Jokić, Murray, and Porter alone. Adding in Denver’s other current financial commitments to just Monte Morris, Zeke Nnaji, and their impending 2021 first round pick, and the Nuggets are already brushing against the salary cap. That doesn’t include any possible extension for Aaron Gordon, nor possible deals for P.J. Dozier, JaMychal Green, Facu Campazzo, or any other player the Nuggets add this offseason.
Long story short, the Nuggets have to be fully committed to Will Barton being their starting shooting guard, or at least playing a significant role going forward, in order to justify offering him another major contract. The Nuggets know they need to improve defensively around Jokić, Murray, and Porter if they are to become a championship team. While Barton isn’t bad defensively, he isn’t a major plus on that end either, and committing significant money to a player that doesn’t push Denver toward becoming a better defense may not be advisable for Denver’s long term plans.
And yet, the Nuggets may simply need someone to help survive Murray’s absence for the majority of the 2021-22 season while recovering from ACL surgery. Barton would help in that regard. He might be the best player for that job outside of making a significant consolidation trade in the backcourt. Barton has shown the ability to help create offense while next to Jokić and Porter in the past. There’s no reason to think he can’t do that again.
Barton has been an integral part of Denver’s journey from bottom-dweller to championship contender. Beginning as a piece of the Arron Afflalo trade back in 2015, Barton has been in Denver for over six years. He has over 12,000 minutes played in a Nuggets uniform and has gone from energy bench guy, to elite sixth man, to starting small forward, to starting shooting guard during that time. Moreover, he has helped change the culture in Denver right along with Michael Malone, Nikola Jokić, and the rest of the Nuggets, offering a confident, winning mentality at all times.
If it is in fact time to say goodbye to Will Barton, then it will be with a fan base that is thankful for his energy, fun skill set, and swagger. Barton would be a major loss for Denver on and off the court, which is just another reason why the Nuggets should want him back. If it’s not in the cards, then the Nuggets better have a great Plan B.
We should know a bit more by Saturday.
