LA JOLLA, Calif. – Heat can both make clay more malleable and more solid depending on the temperature, and Aaron Gordon spent the summer sweating in hopes of becoming more flexible and sturdier.

“Aaron just always seems like he’s clay. He just changes every year, whatever you need him to be,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said at the Nuggets’ first training camp practice at UC San Diego on Tuesday. “If he’s got to be the lead ballhandler, post people up, play the split game, be the guy that cuts and doesn’t get the ball but somebody else gets a shot and defensively, it’s the same idea. You guys have seen him. He’s guarded Luka (Doncic). He’s guarded Trae Young. He’s guarded every kind of player. He’s guarded centers in the playoffs. What I expect from Aaron is what I see every year – whatever we need to do to have the best season possible.”

For as long as Gordon’s been in Denver, he’s been credited with providing whatever it is the current iteration of the team requires. Sometimes that’s playing bully ball in the post or occupying the dunker spot so Nikola Jokic can be at his most effective. Last season, it included becoming a knockdown 3-point shooter who shot a career-best 43.6% from deep. Availability was the only issue last season. Calf and ankle injuries limited Gordon to 51 regular-season games. Then there was an ill-timed hamstring injury that significantly limited Gordon in Denver’s Game 7 loss to Oklahoma City in the second round of the playoffs.

“I did a lot of hot yoga mostly, doing different modalities,” Gordon said after Thursday’s practice. “I’m just trying to stay on the floor.”

Heading into his 12th NBA season, Gordon’s days of participating in the dunk contest might be in the rearview, but the belief is his best basketball could still be coming as long as he’s on the court.

“I definitely wouldn’t say athletic prime,” Gordon said at media day. “I was jumping over mascots when I was 22, but I think there’s a point where your IQ, skillset and athleticism all kind of meet at a certain level.”

Yoga isn’t a new part of Gordon’s process, but he said he’s never practiced as consistently as he has this summer. That’s just another example of Gordon being willing to do a variety of different things to give the Nuggets their best shot at another championship.

“Aaron always seems like he’s in shape. It looks like it, at least. Aaron is really focused with this,” Adelman said.

“His approach, every year, it seems like it gets better and better, not just as an NBA player, as a human being. He’s just such an impressive example of going through life in the public eye and handling it well. … Aaron is very balanced in life.”

This summer that meant the Nuggets’ glue guy turned up the temperature to help his flexibility and availability. With a deeper and more versatile roster, Gordon is feeling good about where he and the Nuggets stand mentally and physically headed into the season.

“Real high,” Gordon said of the energy around the team. “It’s so early, but we know we have a great opportunity to do something special.”