The Nuggets could play a major part in this wild NBA offseason — if they so desire.
They have a cadre of talented players in both their early and late 20s, with substantial NBA Draft assets and salary cap space to make even more possibilities. They may choose to wait on major action, as there is plenty of incentive for patience with a young team. Even if this is not their summer, though, it is worth knowing what the Nuggets have and where they could be going.
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Let’s take a look at their free agents, salary cap space and assets for this summer before breaking down what needs to be done.
Potential free agents: Darrell Arthur ($3 million player option), D.J. Augustin (unrestricted), Joffrey Lauvergne (non-guaranteed), JaKarr Sampson (non-guaranteed), Mike Miller (unrestricted) and Axel Toupane (non-guaranteed).
Likely cap space: $30.4 million.
Realistic maximum cap space (using $94.4 million estimate): $31.4 million.
2016 NBA Draft assets: No. 7, No. 15 (from the Rockets), No. 19 (from the Trail Blazers), No. 53 (from the Hornets) and No. 56 (from the Thunder).
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Over the past few summers, Denver has flown under the radar on its way to becoming one of the league’s most fascinating young teams. That low profile could end this summer, as the Nuggets can make some serious moves with their combination of talented players, draft assets and cap space.
The linchpin of Denver’s summer may be Danilo Gallinari. The skilled but often-injured Italian forward agreed to a rare renegotiation and extension last summer, which raised his 2015-16 salary (like some have advocated for Stephen Curry) while adding $15 million for 2016-17 and a $16 million player option for 2017-18. That means that Gallinari can be a free agent as soon as next summer despite agreeing to an extension less than a year ago.
The Nuggets certainly could retain Gallinari for this year and try to re-sign him as an unrestricted free agent next summer, but there could also be a robust trade market for the 27-year-old. Having a bridge to the next great Nuggets team would be wonderful, but losing a valued contributor for nothing when they could pick up a nice haul for him now would be a shame.
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Denver’s young core makes the Gallinari situation even more fascinating. While most teams are scrambling and scrounging for young big men, the Nuggets’ cupboard is overflowing. Nikola Jokic, 21, finished third in this season’s Rookie of the Year voting while Jusuf Nurkic, 22, spent the season recovering from knee surgery after his own strong rookie campaign the year before. They also have Joffrey Lauvergne, 24, and Kenneth Faried, 26, under contract.
On the perimeter, 20-year-old Emmanuel Mudiay followed history as another teenage point guard who struggled early only to look much better late in the season. Will Barton, 25, and Gary Harris, 21, are also on bargain contracts for another two seasons.
One way of quantifying how young the Nuggets are is that while they have three players on rookie contracts, two other rotation players on their first NBA contracts and another three first round picks this year, none of them are even up for extension negotiations this summer. It will be another few years until this group gets remotely expensive.
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That foundation provides the Nuggets with fewer gaps to fill but also plenty of ammunition if they want to consolidate their resources. Denver also has a strong set of 2016 NBA Draft picks and a future first-rounder coming from the Grizzlies. That combination means they can be buyers, sellers or both this offseason. The Nuggets also have a serious amount of cap space ($30 million or so) that could be used to sign free agents or acquire players already under contract. Considering how many players they already have on the books, Denver could end up being this year’s Portland at the trade deadline, capable of taking on a sizeable contract in exchange for a quality draft pick.
Denver could also look to move two of their other veteran forwards. Faried is under contract for another three years and $38.8 million but does not have a clear place in their rotation even before the draft. Wilson Chandler could fit in well with Denver’s frontcourt but sat out the entire season with a hip issue and has missed 20 or more games in all but one season since 2010-11. If another team is interested in Chandler’s two years, $23 million plus a player option, the Nuggets should listen.
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As a young team with a serious amount of assets, the Nuggets can work for the twin goals of talent accumulation and evaluation. At some point, they will need to identify what players they want to build around and orient the team along that axis but they cannot rush that decision. Until then, expect Denver to have its hands in various deals throughout the offseason, biding its time until it is ready for the main stage.