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On the Valanciunas situation:. We saw this last year with Toronto & Vezenkov - he surrendered his full salary to go overseas. I think Denver could ask for the same. Alternatively, his 2026-27 $10.4M salary is non guaranteed. Perhaps guaranteeing some / all can please both sides.

One thing worth noting:. Last fall, Aaron Gordon opted into his 2025-26 player option of $23 million and agreed to an extension - delaying a $9 million raise by one year. Without him doing so, Denver would not have the same flexibility / ability to get under certain tax lines.

I should say - they don’t “need” to fill two more spots - they can roll into the season with 14 instead of 15, but they’ve typically not done so.

Denver needs to fill two roster spots and is about $5.2M below the first tax apron, including incentives. If they hard cap themselves at the first apron (not necessarily a bad thing), they will likely be looking at two minimum players to fill the roster to 15 players.

To clear up some confusion I am seeing on DEN moves:. If they structure the Val/Cam trades into one, they will avoid hard capping themselves at the 1st apron, for now. They are legal separately, but DEN would hard cap themselves at the first apron (due to trade matching Saric).

RT @AltitudeSR: The Nuggets traded Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick to the Nets for Cam Johnson, and also signed Bruce Brown….

A risky, but very strong move for Denver. This puts the Nuggets far enough below the first apron that they can use more than the taxpayer portion ($5.7M) of the MLE - they can now get into talks for free agents they would have otherwise not been able to afford.

And lastly some TPMLE free agent targets I’d watch out for - some of these guys may go for more than the TPMLE but I think they’re worth watching: . Tre Mann, Bruce Brown, Luke Kennard, Larry Nance Jr., Marvin Bagley and Taurean Prince. (7/7).

Beyond Whitmore, some other reasonable trade targets I’d watch out for are Josh Green, Grant Williams, Cody Martin, Simone Fontecchio, Ayo Dosunmu, Ochai Agbaji and Jordan Hawkins. These are all players Denver could reasonably target without trading one of its top 5 players.

Cam Whitmore is available on the trade market, and is a name to watch for DEN. He’s cost controlled and is the type of high ceiling player that DEN should be targeting without having to give up a starter via trade. There are some 3-team deals here involving Watson that make sense.

Tre Mann is a name I highlighted in my report as possibly not getting a qualifying offer from Charlotte which would make him a UFA. There has been no report of him getting that QO, so he should be a reasonable target. One of the top scorers that might be in Denver’s range.

The Ayton buyout is good for Denver - not in the idea that they could sign him (they can’t), but that it puts one more center on the market, so center-needy teams have one more place to allocate their money. Perhaps this leaves a backup C available that DEN couldn’t have gotten.

Denver is working with the following assets via trade or free agency:. -$5.7M TPMLE which can be used one time. -Minimum contracts that can be used as many times as needed. -Denver can trade a 2031 OR 2032 first round pick, not both. They also can trade a 2032 second. (2/X).

On the morning of free agency, and ahead of a week where we will surely get some trade movement reported, here’s a quick primer from me on things to watch for Denver, going to put a few things in this thread (1/X):.

Players with 35+ points in a game this season (regular and playoffs) against the Thunder:. Nikola Jokic - 3.Rest of NBA combined - 2. Players with 35+ points in a game this postseason against the Thunder:. Nikola Jokic - 2 .Rest of NBA combined - 0

My best guess is that Saric still ends up playing overseas next season - but this was always going to be the first step. Too much money to opt out. Denver can now utilize his contract as a trade piece (to then be bought out) or negotiate a buyout of his contract on their own.

RT @AltitudeSR: Russell Westbrook opted out of his contract, can he still return to the Nuggets? @TheStatSquatch helps us break it all down….

Denver’s paths to re-signing Westbrook:. 1 - One year minimum ($2.3M cap hit). 2 - 20% raise on minimum using non-bird rights ($4.4M cap hit). 3 - Taxpayer MLE, assuming Denver remains below the second apron (up to $5.7M cap hit).

RT @MiroslavCuk: A new show!.@DNVR_Nuggets' @SerbianCorner #145./w @TheStatSquatch and @CTFazio24 . ✅Front Office wish list.✅Christian Brau….

RT @MiroslavCuk: Today, on @DNVR_Nuggets' @SerbianCorner #145./w @CTFazio24 and @TheStatSquatch . ✅Front office candidates.✅Christian Braun….