Happy media day! If you are reading this on Denver Stiffs then you are in the best spot for live coverage of the Denver Nuggets media day later this morning. Definitely be sure to check back in throughout the day for videos, interviews and quotes from players and coaches from the event at Pepsi Center.

As a part of that, be sure to follow the new Denver Stiffs Instagram account found here. We are hoping to utilize Instagram to bring more behind-the-scenes coverage of the Nuggets, starting with media day today. Be on the lookout for some great content now and throughout the season!

Now let’s get on to Nuggets related news, notes and media content from around the web from the past week or so.

The Nuggets start training camp this week in Omaha to practice at Creighton University, making this the second year camp will not be held in Denver. While Omaha might be a new experience for the Nuggets, members of the Creighton Bluejays basketball team are excited to share their practice facility with an NBA team, as detailed in this article from Bluejays Today. The Nuggets certainly seem like they will be in great hands this next week!

General Manager Tim Connelly made a few radio appearances this week. In addition to joining C.J. and Stokley, Connelly also hopped on the air with Vic and Kyle from Altitude Sports Radio as well as Goodman and Shapiro from the Afternoon Drive to talk about the upcoming season.

You can listen to the Vic and Kyle piece here:

And from Goodman and Shapiro here:

ESPN’s Marc Stein put out the first of his weekly power rankings for the entire NBA, and has the Nuggets ranked 26th in the entire league. 26th is too low in my opinion – the Nuggets are placed ahead of only the Nets, Sixers, Lakers and Suns – but it is not surprising for preseason purposes as the young Nuggets have yet to prove anything on the court. Here’s what Stein had to say:

The Nuggets did try to barge their way into the D-Wade Sweepstakes but ultimately head to training camp with five players 21 or younger: Nikola Jokic,Emmanuel Mudiay, Juan Hernangomez, Malik Beasley and Jamal Murray. Since we all know youth doesn't win in the NBA, brace for lots of losses in Denver to go with all the trade rumors about the Nuggets packaging their way into a deal for a true cornerstone.

Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post also recognizes the importance of the Nuggets’ youth movement and the improvement these young players must make in 2016-17:

The youth must grow for the Nuggets to grow. Flashes shown then are expected to become consistent occurrences now. It’s the only way for the Nuggets, who won 33 games a season ago, to jump-start the win total and possibly make a run at a playoff spot. There are six players 22 years old or younger on the roster and youth has a tough time winning in the NBA.

The Nuggets are banking on big improvement to get them where they want to go. The coaching staff and team executives were very happy with the work players put in this summer.

In some other rankings by Bleacher Report, the Nuggets are predicted to finish 10th in the Western Conference with a 40-42 overall record. The writer of the article also makes what in my opinion is a very good point regarding the state of this team:

Denver has the depth of talent necessary to hang with nearly every team in the league. But going from staying competitive to actually emerging victoriously is an even tougher step than becoming competitive in the first place, and the Nuggets don't have a single superstar such as Karl-Anthony Towns who can help bypass that developmental stage. 

This roster boasts plenty of up-and-coming talent and should spend much of the season functioning as a potential spoiler in the Western Conference, but this team is still another year away from earning a playoff spot.

Bleacher Report also put out a pretty interesting power ranking of all of the head coaches in the league. Michael Malone placed 12th on this list, beating out some great coaches like Doc Rivers and Mike D’Antoni but also falling behind the usual coaching gurus such as Gregg Popovich and Rick Carlisle.

For a coach who has yet to post a winning record throughout an entire season, 12th seems appropriate given the huge positive change he has made in just one season with the Nuggets organization. I know I’m really excited to have Malone on board, and am with other Nuggets faithful in believing that this could be another breakout year for him from a coaching perspective. Where do you think he belongs on the list?