Size matters to Calvin Booth.

While the defense he infused into the roster paid dividends during his first season leading the Nuggets front office, Booth told The Denver Gazette getting bigger was the primary objective.

“A lot has been made of the defensive acquisitions, and I do think it’s important to have defenders, but more importantly, I feel like we targeted positional size,” Booth said in a Ball Arena hallway after the Nuggets’ practice Saturday ahead of Game 2. “If you have positional size and you defensive rebound pretty well and if you’re smart, you can become a good defender.”

Since Booth took control, the Nuggets used their first two draft picks on Christian Braun, a 6-foot-6 wing, and Peyton Watson, a 20-year-old forward who stands an inch taller than Braun. Both flashed defensive ability as rookies. Booth finished his first draft in charge by taking Ismael Kamagate, a bouncy 6-foot-11 center who spent the year continuing his development in France. From there, he traded for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, now the Nuggets’ 6-foot-5 starting shooting guard, and signed Bruce Brown, who came to Denver with a reputation for playing bigger than his 6-foot-4 frame. 

Those moves and the Nuggets ensuing success were a big part of Booth third-place finish in the Executive of the Year voting.

“Organizationally, that’s something, (in) conversations with Calvin Booth when he took over last summer, that was their priority,” Malone said. “When you looked at last year’s NBA Finals, not many small players out there because people are going to find you. We wanted to have positional size, strength, versatility. I think Calvin has done a hell of a job kind of putting this group together.”

Booth also made sure Malone had a legitimate option at back-up center, signing DeAndre Jordan with one of his first moves in free agency. Denver’s general manager appreciated Malone’s ability to make use of the size throughout the roster. Injuries made it difficult at times, but Malone’s adaptation was part of what Booth described as a “terrific” season from the Nuggets coach.

“He’s gotten to a point where he’s playing a unit that looks a lot like past champions,” Booth said.

“I felt like there was points in the season because of roster construction and the expectation level of some of the players that, he had to play smaller lineups and three-guard lineups. I think (those are) lineups that probably wouldn’t have held up as well in playoff basketball. For him to make that adjustment on the fly, was very impressive.”

The Nuggets did a better job of utilizing their position size advantage over Miami in Game 1 than in Game 2. The Heat countered by inserting Kevin Love into the starting lineup on Sunday, a decision that helped even the series before Wednesday’s Game 3 in Miami.

If Booth’s philosophy stays the same, Malone could have even more size and defensive potential at his disposal in the future.

“Get big, smart players that have a chance to be good defenders and hopefully they can do that,” Booth said, summing up his approach.

Big is important, but so is smart.

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Culture has been a big part of the Nuggets’ ascent from a franchise that missed the playoffs in five consecutive seasons from 2014 to 2018 to one that’s made the first NBA Finals in its fifth straight postseason appearance. That emphasis started with Booth’s predecessors, Tim Connelly and Masai Ujiri, but it’s something that remains a priority in the Booth era.

“It’s one of our core factors. I feel like you can have one guy – maybe – that’s a little off or doesn’t quite fit and hope he matures, but by time you get two or three knuckleheads, I think there’s no chance you’re making it to this point,” Booth said. “It’s definitely a very important part of what I feel is important to teambuilding.”

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Booth the player helped shaped Booth the executive.

The former center, listed at 6-foot-11 during his playing days, has used his 10-year playing career to his benefit as an executive. After being drafted in the second round of the 1999 draft by the Wizards, Booth went on to play for seven teams and had two different stints with both the Mavericks and the Wizards. He was traded and released as a player, something that he said allows him to see the game for what it is.

“With the Washington Wizards, for instance, I was one of the coveted vets. I had good relationships with everybody in the front office and coaching staff. Once summer, the summer I didn’t come back, I didn’t hear from them, right. … It’s like, that’s the nature of the business,” Booth said.

“A couple of years later, they offered me a job, and they were interested in me coaching. That’s just the way it goes. When you’re together, you spend so much time together and everything, there is an aspect of it that does feel familial, but it’s still a business. It’s still professional. You’re trying to make sure that you can have the most success possible.”

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While the result of Denver’s first trip to the NBA Finals will be determined in the next two weeks, Booth’s responsibilities mean keeping an eye on the future at the same time.

The NBA Draft combine was a couple of weeks ago and the deadline for prospects to remove their name from the draft was just days ago. The 40th overall selection is Denver’s only pick in the upcoming draft, but the Nuggets have a history of finding value in the second round. Booth and his front office are looking to continue the trend.

“I haven’t watched many of the practices. We’re upstairs meeting on the draft right now,” Booth said.

“You want to be prepared, and you want to make sure that you continue the move forward, the success this team has had and continue on an upward trend, because I think we have a limitless upside.”