In the high-stakes game of Western Conference poker, George Karl likes the hand he is holding.

So, while other contenders in the conference made marquee moves to restock their rosters in the offseason, Karl and the Nuggets largely stood pat.

Karl valued continuity over change following a year in which his team reached the conference championships for the first time since 1985.

He felt his team already had the parts in place, and he told the front office not to bother keeping up with everybody else in the West who were spending multiple millions to retool their rosters.

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