Denver, CO
Nuggets name Ben Tenzer executive VP of basketball operations, add Jon Wallace to front office
More than a month after their season ended and more than two months after firing general manager Calvin Booth, the Nuggets have finally restocked their front office.
Ben Tenzer has been named Denver’s executive vice president of basketball operations, multiple league sources told The Denver Post on Monday. The Nuggets are also hiring Jon Wallace from the Minnesota Timberwolves to take over as executive vice president of player personnel.
Tenzer finished the 2024-25 season as interim general manager after the Nuggets fired Booth three games before the NBA playoffs in April, along with head coach Michael Malone.
Now two longtime members of the organization have been promoted to help fill the voids. New head coach David Adelman was an assistant under Malone since 2017. Tenzer first worked for the Nuggets as a student intern during the 2005-06 season, while he was a junior at the University of Colorado. He left the team in 2009 to attend Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, then returned full-time as director of team operations in 2013, under then-GM Tim Connelly.
When Connelly left for Minnesota in 2022, he took Wallace with him. The former Georgetown star guard had spent three years in the Nuggets’ front office, most recently as a scouting coordinator. Now he’s returning to Denver to collaborate with a fellow disciple of Connelly’s tenure.
In lieu of hiring a general manager by title, the Nuggets are assigning two executives with complementary strengths to oversee basketball operations on a day-to-day basis. Tenzer has long been a salary cap and CBA expert for Denver’s front office. Wallace, 39, is regarded as a bright basketball mind with useful background as a player. Both will report to team president and KSE vice chairman Josh Kroenke, who recently said that “I need to be more hands-on in the moments of transition.”
It’s an unorthodox management structure that team owner Stan Kroenke has used in the past. From 2006 to 2010, Mark Warkentien served as vice president of basketball ops, and Rex Chapman was vice president of player personnel. The Nuggets made the playoffs every year of their tenure but never escaped the first round except in 2009, when they reached the Western Conference Finals and Warkentien was named NBA Executive of the Year.
A former Basketball Without Borders instructor and Summer League operations coordinator, Tenzer was most recently the general manager of Denver’s G League affiliate team, the Grand Rapids Gold. Wallace was general manager for the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s G League affiliate.
They’re joining a short list of active NBA general managers and top executives with backgrounds as a G League GM: Sean Marks (Brooklyn), Mike Gansey (Cleveland), Elton Brand (Philadelphia), Trajan Langdon (Detroit) and Anthony Parker (Orlando).
“Ben and I have been spending a lot of time together, talking about each individual player, how we think we can improve them as individuals and within the context of the team,” Josh Kroenke said in May, early in what turned out to be a long-winded search for Booth’s replacement. “Ben has a lot of great ideas of how we can improve the front office, both internally and externally. And I’m also soliciting a lot of opinions outside.”
The Nuggets conducted a handful of interviews recently with individuals who were perceived by league sources to be second-in-command candidates, especially with assistant general manager Tommy Balcetis not being retained. Like Tenzer, Wallace has no prior experience as an NBA general manager.
They’re tasked with maneuvering the Nuggets out of a corner. Denver’s payroll is bogged down by high-dollar contracts that render it difficult to improve roster depth, particularly under the constraints of a new NBA collective bargaining agreement that took effect on July 1, 2023 — three weeks after the Nuggets won their first championship.
Since then, Denver has been eliminated in the second round of the playoffs two consecutive years, both times in a Game 7. The team’s most significant roster casualties have been the losses of Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency. Still, Denver fielded the seventh-most expensive roster in the league last season, and it’s projected by Hoops Hype to have the fifth-highest payroll in 2025-26 when a max contract extension takes effect for Jamal Murray.
Tenzer and Wallace will have the taxpayer mid-level exception at their disposal this offseason, allowing them to sign a free agent at a salary of up to $5.7 million. Other than that, they’re limited to veteran minimum contracts. Denver is the only team in the NBA without a pick in the upcoming draft, which begins this Wednesday — two days after the front-office hires.
Tenzer and the Nuggets’ current scouting staff have been formulating a pre-draft plan since Booth was fired.
Three roster spots are vacant as the new regime begins — those filled last season by DeAndre Jordan, Vlatko Cancar and Russell Westbrook, who is declining a player option. Among Denver’s first decisions will be whether to re-sign any of those players or bring in newcomers.
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Originally Published:
Denver, CO
Where to watch Minnesota Timberwolves vs Denver Nuggets Playoffs: TV channel, start time, streaming for April 18
The 2026 NBA postseason is finally here after a thrilling Play-In Tournament saw the Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers officially earn their spot in the playoffs
The postseason action continues on Saturday as the Minnesota Timberwolves visit the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the first round. We’ve got you covered on everything you need to know to tune in for tip off.
Want to see the full National Basketball Association schedule for April 18 and how to watch all the games? Check out our sortable NBA schedule to filter by team or division.
What time is Minnesota Timberwolves vs Denver Nuggets Game 1?
Tip off between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, April 18.
How to watch Minnesota Timberwolves vs Denver Nuggets on Saturday
All times Eastern and accurate as of Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 11:45 a.m.
Watch the NBA Playoffs on Fubo
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See scores, results for all of today’s games. .
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The latest NBA odds can be found below from the best sports betting apps . Some odds may include games scheduled on future dates.
Timothy Weil
OBITUARY
Timothy Robert Weil 1952-2026 Tim Weil was born in Los Angeles, California.
In his early life he held many jobs, but he often commented that among his most memorable and rewarding roles was using his Spanish fluency to teach elementary school students in East LA. It instilled in him the importance of social justice which he in turn emphasized to his children.
On April Fool’s Day, 1981, he and “NC” (Nancy) married, a partnership that launched a unique and fulfilling life. Theirs was a union of sly, poetic witticism; they collaborated in writing jokes, songs, stories, and mythologies for over four decades. They maintained a high level commitment to wordplay and the celebration of silliness for most of their marriage. Tim and Nancy lived together in Boulder, CO, Chico, CA, Alexandria, VA, and Takoma Park, MD, before finally landing back in Denver as empty-nesters.
Tim found community in many places: Taking on a role as Assistant Scoutmaster with Page and Louis’ Boy Scout troop in Takoma Park; crafting an award-winning beer with his homebrewing group; staying in the game of baseball in the Ponce de Leon (over 50) league; playing bluegrass and folk music with other enthusiasts; performing stories with creatives at Denver venues; and joining Jewish congregations Temple Shalom in Maryland, and Temple Micah in Denver.
Tim’s creativity and playfulness were among his most defining features. Nothing was brighter than the gleam in his eye when he prepared to tell a joke, with a setup spanning about ten minutes of vivid details, often ending in a personalized, spectacularly delivered pun of his own design. To label those jokes mere “groaners” would be a disservice to his masterful storytelling. A piece he submitted to Rolling Stone about his jocular parasocial relationship with actor Lou Ferrigno received a personal rejection letter, noted as “very interesting” by the editor.
His professional work in the field of network security computing provided an outlet for his intellect as well as many professional and personal relationships throughout a career that spanned over 30 years. His writing was published in IEEE magazine and other tech journals.
Throughout his life he engaged deeply with visual art, literature, film, and music. He traveled far and wide, including to Jerusalem, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Vancouver, Seoul, Paris, Ipswich, London, and Edinburgh.
His recent struggle with severe depression was devastating for him and those close to him. It robbed him of his light and kept him in isolation from which sadly he was unable to escape. He will be remembered as the person who, despite the pain he carried, led an incredibly full life and touched the hearts of countless people with his witty humor and warmth.
He is survived by Nancy, his wife of 45 years, sons Page and Louis, daughter-in-law Jessica, grandsons Felix and Calvin, and cats Shackleton and Whiskey, along with many family and friends coast to coast.
A celebration of his life will be held in Denver at 1pm on Sunday, May 17th at Temple Micah, 1980 Dahlia Street. Bring your fondest memories of Tim. Please, no gifts or flowers. If you would like to make a donation in his memory, please consider American Foundation for Suicide Prevention https://afsp.org/.
So far, the Denver Broncos have signaled a willingness — nay, an eagerness — to run it back at tight end this offseason. It’s a curious strategy, considering how weak the tight end group was for Denver in 2025.
Evan Engram was signed last year to be the “Joker” tight end — a big slot receiving weapon to help open things up for Bo Nix in the middle of the field and down the seam. That didn’t happen.
Engram still finished third on the team in receiving behind wideouts Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin, but it was a far cry from what fans expected to see from the two-time Pro Bowl tight end. Then there’s Adam Trautman — Denver’s in-line Y tight end — who was woefully inadequate as a blocker and offered little to Nix in the passing game.
Trautman was re-signed to a three-year deal with a raise that’ll pay him just short of $6 million per year, while both Nate Adkins and Lucas Krull were also brought back. Denver is running it back, but the draft could bring another set of hands into the mix.
Meanwhile, for those Broncos fans wondering whether Engram still fits into the Broncos’ offensive picture entering a contract year, head coach Sean Payton sure made it sound like it during his pre-draft press conference alongside GM George Paton.
“We definitely view him as a key piece,” Payton said of Engram. “Relative to Evan, he’s someone that gave us a lot of big plays a year ago, and we will continue to find ways to keep him and add to his workload.”
The Broncos didn’t have much incentive to move on from Engram after one year, considering the salary-cap ramifications of such a decision. He remains on the roster for a reason, and while Payton made Engram’s contributions sound much grander than they perhaps were, it sounds like Denver’s head coach has some unfinished business with his tight end weapon.
Payton’s Read On the 2026 Draft Class
As for what the draft could hold, Payton extolled the virtues of the tight end class. It sounds like tight end is front-of-brain for Denver, but Payton’s words could be a smoke screen.
“I would say this about this class in my opinion, if you are looking for a blocking ‘Y’, there are a handful available that would be targeted,” Payton said. “If you are looking for a ‘move,’ maybe a little bit undersized ‘F’, they are out there. To each his own, the different type of tight ends are available. It’s always a challenge with that position because sometimes you are projecting maybe in an offense that is playing them differently.”
The Broncos have one of the better ‘F’ tight ends in Engram, even if he’s well on the wrong side of 30. Payton and Nix can still make a lot of hay with Engram, especially with new offensive coordinator Davis Webb now calling the plays.
However, the Broncos could really (and I mean really) use an upgrade at the Y. Trautman gives them a plausible option if they had to go to war tomorrow, but he’s not a true asset, and some would argue that he’s, in fact, a blocking liability, no matter how much the Broncos try to gaslight everyone on the subject.
Potential Y TE Candidates
This draft class features some very intriguing Y candidates, including Georgia’s Oscar Delp — who could be so, so much more — Texas A&M’s Nate Boerkircher, and Ohio State’s Will Kacmarek, to name a few. After the foot injury that was discovered at the Combine back in February, Delp’s draft stock took a hit, but he resurrected it during the Georgia pro day with how he performed.
I could see Delp going in Round 2. He could be in play for Denver at No. 62 overall. The Broncos say they have “six players” they’re targeting in Round 2, but there’s no way to know if Delp is one of them.
Another guy who could grow into a Y tight end but is, for now, an F is Ohio State’s Max Klare, who’s widely viewed as the third-best player at the position in this class behind Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq and Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers. I would rank Delp as the No. 2 behind Sadiq, but because he didn’t test at the Combine, he won’t be viewed that way until perhaps a few years down the road.
Delp could be one of the biggest steals in the 2026 NFL draft. If the Broncos were to target him, he could not only offer them long-term viability to replace Trautman inside, but he’s also one heck of a receiver, which would make him a great ‘move’ tight end, like Engram.
The Takeaway
The possibilities are endless, which is part of what makes the run-up to the draft so fascinating, but also maddening. Time will tell whether the Broncos prioritize tight end in this draft, but we can all say for sure now that Engram is part of the 2026 offensive vision.
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