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
Twitter reacts to another Bo Nix comeback vs. Texans
The Denver Broncos have made significant work of the fourth quarter this season. Denver has outscored opponents 80-26 in the final 15 minutes during their six-game win streak, which have led to some heart-pounding games from the Broncos this year. Denver has scored 96 points in the final 15 minutes this season, tied with the Green Bay Packers for the most in the NFL.
In Sunday’s win over the Houston Texans, the Broncos entered the final frame down 15-7, before promptly scoring a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game with just over 12 minutes left. Bo Nix then led a final Denver drive to kick the game-winning field goal as time expired. Sunday marked the Broncos’ fourth fourth quarter comeback this year, tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the most this season. Twitter lit up after Nix’s latest great escape.
The Broncos now have a short week to prepare for the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football.
Social: Follow Broncos Wire on Facebook and Twitter/X! Did you know: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
Denver, CO
First memorial to Flight 629 bombing, one of Colorado’s deadliest mass murders, unveiled in Denver
There is a distinct before and after the night of Nov. 1, 1955, when a United Airlines flight exploded over a sugar beet field near Longmont, killing all 44 people on board in one of the deadliest mass murders in Colorado history.
There is before Susan Morgan lost her parents, Stewart and Anne, at 12 years old because a Denver man, Jack Gilbert Graham, put a homemade bomb in his mother’s suitcase.
Graham bought a life insurance policy as he escorted his mother, Daisie King, to the gate for United Airlines Flight 629 at Stapleton Airport. She unknowingly carried 25 sticks of dynamite, timed to explode after the Portland, Oregon-bound flight took off.
There is before Dave Benedict learned, at 3 years old, that he would never meet his grandparents, James and Sarah Dorey, because they were killed when a bomb exploded on their flight to visit him for the first time.
Now 70 years after the bombing of Flight 629, families of the 44 victims gathered at the former Stapleton control tower for the unveiling of Colorado’s first memorial to the tragedy.
“Today’s commemoration is not just about what happened in 1955, it’s about who we became because of it,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek told hundreds of people gathered at the FlyteCo Tower on Saturday morning.
It was also about healing, Benedict said. He thought this weekend would include a dinner, maybe, and was at a loss for words to describe what the ceremonies and events organized by the Denver Police Museum and dozens of other organizations and volunteers meant to him.
“The ability to listen to other people’s stories and to hear what carrying 70 years of unspoken pain has been like… we’re hearing that over and over again,” he said. “Very few of the victims’ children or spouses had any context in which to talk about this, to work through it or process it, so that’s happening now.”
In the decades after losing her parents, Morgan came to realize she also had lost her life as she knew it and who she thought she would become, she said.

But even knowing the darkness that became part of her life, Morgan told the crowd of families, first responders, investigators and court officials, she cannot wish that it never happened. That she had never created her “second family,” or viewed the world with clear eyes.

“I’m among a large group of people whose lives have been scarred by the same tragedy as mine,” Morgan said. “That sense of something shared is a remarkable thing.”
It’s not clear why it took so long to create a memorial to the bombing, although some officials on Saturday speculated the scattered nature of the victims’ families – only one, Daisie King, was from Colorado – played a part.
But each one had a story, former Denver Police Department Deputy Chief William Nagle told the crowd. Nagle read out name after name, describing the life behind each one.
Capt. Lee Hall, a World War II veteran who was planning to retire early. He left behind a wife and four children.
Helen Fitzpatrick, who was flying with her 13-month-old son, James, so he could meet his father and namesake while he was deployed in Japan.
They were restaurant owners, general contractors, car salesmen. Folks taking the first airplane trip of their lives.
“What is important now is that we tell the story of each of these 44 lives,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston told the crowd.
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Denver, CO
Denver mom turns backyard into emergency food pantry on Halloween amid SNAP benefit uncertainty
DENVER — A Denver woman turned her backyard into an emergency food pantry on Halloween, hoping to fill a need while federal food assistance remains uncertain.
Joanna Rosa-Saenz organized the grassroots food drive after hearing about food insecurity in her northwest Denver neighborhood.
“We live in America. We shouldn’t be hungry, we shouldn’t be hungry,” said Rosa-Saenz. “And I don’t want anyone on my block to be hungry.”
Denver7
Federal judges in two separate cases ruled Friday that the Trump administration cannot suspend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the government shutdown.
The Massachusetts ruling came after about two dozen states sued the federal government, arguing the Agriculture Department’s plan to halt all SNAP payments starting Nov. 1 would unlawfully cut off aid to millions of low-income families.
The Agriculture Department had argued it could not legally tap contingency funds to keep the program running. But the judge disagreed and ordered the agency to report back by Monday on how it will fund benefits. Under the ruling, payments could still be temporarily reduced depending on available funds.
Around the same time, the Massachusetts decision was issued, a federal judge in Rhode Island delivered a similar ruling from the bench. That case was brought by cities and nonprofit groups, and the court likewise found the administration must use available funds to continue providing benefits.
President Donald Trump indicated his administration would comply with the rulings, but accused the courts of issuing conflicting opinions and is seeking more clarity on how SNAP should be funded.
National Politics
Judges say Trump administration can’t suspend SNAP benefits during shutdown
Despite the rulings, it’s unclear when and how much assistance will be given out for the month of November.
With the need still there, Rosa-Saenz opened her backyard to the public Friday afternoon and asked the community to drop off canned goods while trick-or-treating.
The emergency food pantry now holds essential items like canned and dry goods, personal hygiene products and baby items.
Denver7
Rosa-Saenz, a single mother of three, told Denver7 she understands the challenges many families are facing today because she is a former SNAP recipient.
“I remember having to stand in line for a food box, things like that,” Rosa-Saenz said.
But to get the food drive up and running, Rosa-Saenz knew she needed help. Several nonprofits joined the effort, including Lacy McDonald, executive director of Outer Haven, a nonprofit working to reduce youth inequities.
Denver7
“One phone call can turn into this,” said McDonald. “And this is just a little snippet, so think what we could do together as a whole city.”
Before trick-or-treating started Friday night, more than 900 pounds of food had been collected for Rosa-Saenz’s backyard.
“That’s what community is,” she said. “Community is stepping up, working together and really making unity in the community.”
Scripps News Group contributed to this report.
If you would like to donate, below is a list of donation locations:
- 4229 Irving St. in Denver.
- Open from Nov 1 through Nov. 10
- Donations can be dropped off from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily
- 5123 Chase St. in Denver
- Open from Oct. 31 through Nov. 2
- Please place donations at the end of the driveway
- Moonflower Coffee, located at 4200 W Colfax Ave. in Denver
- Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily
These are the most needed items:
- Ramen, pasta, rice, cereal
- Canned tuna, chicken, beans, soup
- Canned fruits & veggies
- Peanut butter & jelly
- Baby food, formula, diapers & wipes
- Menstrual products, toothpaste & soap
- Denver7 Gives has created a campaign to help Coloradans struggling with food insecurity. Click on the form below and select “Help Fight Food Insecurity“ to donate.
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