Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2024 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Denver Nuggets.
Free agent signings
Dario Saric: Two years, $10,594,400. Second-year player option. Signed using taxpayer mid-level exception.- Russell Westbrook: Two years, minimum salary ($6,772,731). Second-year player option. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Vlatko Cancar: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
- DeAndre Jordan: One year, minimum salary. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
- Gabe McGlothan: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Jaylin Williams: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Jahmir Young: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed (Exhibit 10). Signed using minimum salary exception.
Trades
- Acquired the draft rights to DaRon Holmes (No. 22 pick) from the Suns in exchange for the draft rights to Ryan Dunn (No. 28 pick), the No. 56 pick in the 2024 draft, the Nuggets’ 2026 second-round pick, and the Nuggets’ 2031 second-round pick.
- Acquired cash from the Hornets in a six-team trade in exchange for Reggie Jackson, the Nuggets’ 2025 second-round pick, the Nuggets’ 2029 second-round pick, and the Nuggets’ 2030 second-round pick.
Draft picks
- 1-22: DaRon Holmes
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $15,203,657).
Two-way signings
Departed/unsigned free agents
Salary cap situation
- Operating over the cap ($140.6MM), over the luxury tax line ($170.8MM), and between the first tax apron ($178.1MM) and second tax apron ($188.9MM).
- Carrying approximately $182.6MM in salary.
- Hard-capped at $188,931,000.
- No form of mid-level or bi-annual exception available.
- One traded player exception available (worth $5,250,000).
The offseason so far
For a second consecutive offseason since winning a championship in June 2023, the Nuggets’ rotation took a major hit. After losing top reserves Bruce Brown and Jeff Green in free agency a year ago, Denver saw starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope depart for Orlando this time around.
While it would be easy to cite the new tax apron rules as the reason why they couldn’t retain Caldwell-Pope, the Nuggets had the ability to outbid the Magic for him without derailing the rest of their summer plans if they’d been willing to commit to a significant luxury tax bill. This ownership group has typically been averse to operating too deep into the tax, however, even with three-time MVP Nikola Jokic in his prime and championship contention within reach.
Losing Caldwell-Pope allowed the Nuggets to free up their taxpayer mid-level exception, which they used to sign stretch forward/center Dario Saric. Saric is a solid role player who should play a role off the bench, but he won’t have the same kind of two-way impact that Caldwell-Pope has in recent years.
The Nuggets’ other major offseason addition was Russell Westbrook, who agreed to a two-year, minimum-salary deal (including a second-year player option) after being bought out by Utah. It remains to be seen how Westbrook will fit in Denver, but landing a former MVP and talented play-maker capable of breaking down defenses looks like a win for a team limited to minimum-salary offers.
Still, it’s fair to question the Nuggets’ offseason as a whole. Caldwell-Pope’s exit was a major blow, and the team’s work on the trade market raised eyebrows too — Denver surrendered a whopping six second-round picks in order to shed Reggie Jackson‘s expiring $5.25MM contract and to move up six spots in the first round to draft DaRon Holmes, who suffered a season-ending Achilles tear during his Summer League debut.
Even if Holmes had remained healthy, it’s unclear whether he would’ve been ready to play a major role as a rookie, so giving up all that future draft capital to select him and to move off a relatively small contract may not have been the best use of the Nuggets’ limited resources.
Denver also re-signed veteran center DeAndre Jordan, who played a limited role in 36 appearances last season, and forward Vlatko Cancar, who is coming off a torn ACL and didn’t play well for Slovenia in Olympic qualifiers this summer (he made just 3-of-19 shot attempts and was a -49 in three games). It’s possible the Nuggets will be able to get productive minutes from one or both big men, but expectations should be modest.
Up next
The Nuggets have 15 players on standard guaranteed contracts, three on two-way deals, and three more on Exhibit 10 pacts, so their roster looks set for the regular season.
The primary outstanding question in Denver this offseason is whether a lucrative new long-term contract for Jamal Murray will be finalized in the near future. A report in June indicated that Murray and the Nuggets were expected to come to terms on a four-year, maximum-salary extension that would begin in 2025/26 and would be worth nearly $208MM, based on the NBA’s latest cap projections.
Subsequent reporting indicating that the two sides would wait until after the Olympics to complete a new deal. Well, the Olympics are over, so are the Nuggets still planning to move forward on that maximum-salary extension? Presumably, we’ll get our answer soon.
That four-year extension is a worthwhile investment if Denver is getting the peak version of Murray, but he has battled injuries in recent years and certainly wasn’t at his best in the NBA playoffs (.402 FG%, .315 3PT%) or at the Olympics (.290 FG%, .143 3PT%).
I wouldn’t expect the Nuggets to get cold feet and back out of the deal completely, but with no formal agreement in place yet, maybe there’s some wiggle room for the team to protect itself a little with some injury language or a partially guaranteed final year. A fully guaranteed contract worth an average of $52MM annually for a player who has infamously never made an All-Star team would be risky and would create additional financial constraints for an organization already being affected by its high payroll.
JULY 12: The Jazz are re-signing restricted free agent