JaVale McGee was the big signing for the Denver Nuggets over the summer, but his contract is not going to guarantee him big minutes every game. George Karl made it clear when asked on Thursday that he was going to play whoever he thought was going to give him the best chance to win a game on any given night, not give out minutes based on dollars.
Denver has three legitimate big men that they can use on the court at any given time, with McGee being the marquee name along with Timofey Mozgov and Kosta Koufos. The entire Nuggets team is built on fantastic depth over superstar names, which could leave McGee on the bench at the start of games.
Karl isn't a fan of putting things into terms of definite starters on his deep Nuggets team, especially when it comes to the talented big men he has available:
"Right now, they're fairly equal, they all do different things. Kosta makes the team fit — there's a glue there. JaVale has unbelievable athleticism. And Timo has a fundamental presence in the paint."
Denver will open their regular season play against the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 31.