OKLAHOMA CITY – An era might’ve ended Sunday.

“If we don’t win it this year, we all know they might have to break it up,” Michael Porter Jr. told ESPN early this season.

After the Thunder ended the Nuggets’ season short of a championship with a 125-93 win in Game 7 Sunday at Paycom Center, the time has come for Denver’s brass to make some tough decisions. One of those could be moving off of Porter, Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon to try to get deeper.

“Everyone in this locker room means a lot to me. I’m not sure if it will be the same exact group next year,” Porter said Sunday. “Whatever’s next for me, whatever’s next for this team, I know that the guys will be ready for it.”

Some of Porter’s teammates expressed belief the core can get back to its championship ways after consecutive second-round exits.

“Absolutely,” Aaron Gordon said. “Confidence doesn’t waiver. A couple of plays here or there could’ve changed the series. … I have full confidence in everybody in that locker room.”

It didn’t take the end of the season for ownership to make changes. Team president Josh Kroenke fired general manager Calvin Booth and head coach Michael Malone with three games left in the regular season, a move that was made to breathe some life into a season that was on life support amidst a four-game losing streak.

Nikola Jokic, Murray, Gordon and Porter have defined Nuggets basketball the last few seasons, but the latter three have struggled to stay healthy for stretches of Denver’s quest to win a second title.

It didn’t take long for the Nuggets to feel like contenders after Tim Connelly, Booth’s predecessor, pulled the trigger on a trade with the Magic for Gordon ahead of the 2021 deadline. Malone often pointed to a win over the Clippers three games into Gordon’s time in Denver that solidified the Nuggets as a championship-caliber team. A couple of weeks later Murray tore his anterior cruciate ligament and missed the next two playoff runs. Porter’s third back surgery sidelined the sharpshooter for Denver’s 2022 postseason.

The band got back together to start the 2022-23 season and went 16-4 in the playoffs to secure the franchise’s first championship. The inability to retain Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, key pieces of the championship rotation, in consecutive off seasons left Denver short on depth, something that showed up against the Thunder.

Gordon played through a left hamstring strain, while Murray (illness) and Porter (shoulder sprain) continued to play at less than 100% against a 68-win Oklahoma City squad.

Booth’s draft picks outside of Christian Braun and the veterans who filled out the roster couldn’t fill the void in Denver’s consecutive second-round exits.

“I could feel how flat the room was,” Kroenke said in April. “On a four-game losing streak heading into the playoffs with a flat locker room, that was when I understood and I internalized how much I had let this room slip and that it was not up to the standards of what Denver Nuggets basketball really is.”

Mark Kiszla: End of an era? Nuggets need to trade Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. after being bounced from playoffs

All in on Adelman

One change the players don’t seem to believe needs to be made is another new head coach.

“I love DA. I hope he’s here next year. I hope he’s our coach. I hope he gets an entire … offseason and a whole training camp to figure out his philosophy,” Gordon said.

“DA’s great. He was excellent for us. I hope that he’s here next year.”

Gordon goes back with Adelman longer than any other member of the Nuggets. Denver’s starting power forward was in Orlando when Adelman spent a year as a Magic assistant in 2016-17, but he’s not the only one who feels that way.

“I’m hoping he gets that job. He’s a great, personable coach. I think he did a great job with the short time he was given. There was a lot of changes,” Porter said.

“He was able to really execute those changes at a high level. I’m hoping he gets it.”

Denver Nuggets run out of gas early in Game 7, see season end in Oklahoma City

Jokic also credited Adelman’s ability to make necessary changes late in the regular season, but he stopped short of giving his full endorsement.

“It’s above my pay grade,” Jokic said.

“It’s a tough spot to be. He had three games to change something. I think he changed the energy. I think the guys were woken up a little bit. Guys had more energy. He made us believe in something. … We had chances.”

Adelman was presented an opportunity to campaign for the full-time job after going 3-0 in the regular season and 7-7 in the postseason. He declined.

“I don’t think it’s time for me to think about that. We just lost Game 7. Our season is over. The decision makers will make that decision. Obviously, (I’m) blessed to have this opportunity to take the helm and lead this team,” he said.

“If I’m not back next year, I’ll obviously never forget this. It’s been an incredible experience. To have the buy in from the guys was really special for me.”

Nuggets season ends with 125-93 loss to Thunder in Game 7 | 3 takeaways

Porter details painful postseason

There was a shoulder injury that would’ve typically required a month off if it wasn’t the postseason, a leg brace that didn’t quite fit right and a series of sleepless nights for Michael Porter Jr. this postseason.

The shoulder sprain suffered late in Game 2 of Denver’s first-round series against the Clippers was the biggest problem.

“That affects how you sleep. I couldn’t sleep through the night very well, because it was very painful. I couldn’t lift,” Porter said.

“There were so many parts of it that were frustrating for me, but at the end of the day, I didn’t play well this series, these playoffs. I got to figure out a way to get my body into a better place, if possible, and become a better player.”

Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon available for Game 7 at Oklahoma City

Porter said he felt like he owed it to his teammates to give it a try. Both the Clippers and Thunder swarmed Jokic and dared Denver’s shooters to beat them. Porter is among the league’s best catch-and-shoot threats when he’s right, but he was far from it.

“I’m really devastated, personally, just not being able to contribute how I wanted to, not being able to play the way I wanted to,” Porter said.

“I’m trying, but I just can’t go rebound how I want to. I can’t go box out how I want to. Even when I’m shooting, I had no real confidence how my jumper is feeling. Normally it feels good every time it leaves my hand. It wasn’t feeling that way, and that’s hard. … It was tough for me mentally.”