The NBA Trade Deadline is a week from Thursday, and the Denver Nuggets are trying to make a move — not one that improves the team’s chances of winning a championship in 2026, but one that will save Stan Kroenke some money.
According to basketball reporter Jake Fischer, teams around the league expect the Nuggets to make a cost-cutting move to get under the luxury tax ahead of Thursday’s deadline. He wrote:
“League personnel anticipate that the Nuggets will soon execute a small move of some sort to evade the luxury tax since Denver currently hovers roughly $500,000 above that line. The Nuggets, sources say, are confident that they’ll be able to do so without sacrificing anyone from their preferred rotation.”
That means instead of spending money on relief to the curernt banged up roster or finding one more body that could play come playoff time, co-executives Ben Tenzer and Jonathan Wallace are actually focused on dumping somebody on the team’s current roster. There are possible painless ways to do this that could even fit with other things the Nuggets are trying to do, but fans won’t like hearing that improving the team in hopes of a second championship is not the primary goal.
Denver could flip a player like Julian Strawther, Jalen Pickett, Hunter Tyson or even Zeke Nnaji, though there are very few teams with cap space, and the Nuggets have limited draft picks to sweeten deals.
Another part of Fischer’s report that Nuggets fans won’t like is about the team’s offseason ahead:
“It must be said, though, that rival executives are increasingly curious about Denver’s likely struggles to retain Peyton Watson this summe,r given the fourth-year swingman’s recent breakout play amid all of the Nuggets’ health woes. We’ll certainly be tracking this situation over the coming months, since Watson’s restricted free agency is already shaping up to become a major domino of the offseason.
Sources say teams that are projected to have cap space — notably such as the Lakers — are already preparing interest.”
The Lakers tried to poach Bruce Brown after the 2023 title, a note that was confirmed by the player recently. With LeBron James being a free agent and many expecting him to leave Los Angeles, the Lakers are projected to have $55 million in space to sign a player and that’s without mentioning the team may move Austin Reaves as well. It’s worth noting that Watson switched agents to Klutch recently, and they have heavy ties to his hometown Los Angeles team.
The reason the Watson news is important now is that the offseason ahead informs many teams what teams may attempt to do at the deadline. Some make their key splash now for next year, like the Raptors did last spring with Brandon Ingram, while others load up with a final team to chase a title.
The Nuggets are extremely unlikely to trade Watson, given how important his contributions continue to be and the team’s hopes of a title. But if Denver wanted to, they could likely get something big back for Watson and accomplish their goal of dumping salary. The only reason it’s on the table is that Watson is a restricted free agent this summer, and many expect that the Nuggets will be unable to pay him due to the tax bill.
But if the Nuggets are able to get under the tax this deadline, they can reset the repeater tax bill, which drastically increases the amount the team will have to give away in the future. If they do that by trading Nnaji, that’s even more money to give Watson, possibly. The team is projected to be a second-apron team anyway next season with Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon’s new deals kicking in. But there is a way for the team to bite the bullet on the bill, pay Watson, keep everyone, or at most consider making a move with Cameron Johnson or Jonas Valanciunas. It’s all worth watching, as Fischer said.
If we all acknowledge the Kroenkes don’t want to open the wallet over and over despite their seemingly unlimited funds, it does behoove the Nuggets’ long-term championship window to cut some salary, and it does help them now to find a way to get Spencer Jones onto the full-time roster, making him playoff eligible.
As of now, the young wing is on a two-way contract and needs to be converted to a full-time deal. Denver does have a roster spot open, but again, they want to cut some salary and add Jones. In a perfect world, they would cut enough money to keep Jones active and be active on the buyout market to fill out a 15th roster spot with a veteran.
While some teams chase Giannis Antetokounmpo over the coming week, the Nuggets won’t do anything flashy and that’s okay. A healthy version of their current team may be good enough, even if there are needs.
