With a few moves, the Nuggets could be in the second apron.
The first and second aprons, first implemented during the 2024-25 season as measures further limitation beyond the standard salary cap in order to dissuade excessive spending from teams and promote parity in the league, have never been advertised as hard caps on team spending, but have mostly been treated as such.
In particular, the second apron is looked at as the hard border on salary by most organizations in the NBA, with James Dolan of the NBA champion New York Knicks stating outright that he wouldn't go into the second apron, even if it meant turning away some of his championship winning players.
Even the Oklahoma City Thunder, considered powerhouses in the NBA, are cautious of the second apron and recently went through a flurry of deals to shed salary in order to avoid the limit.
The reason why the second apron is so dreaded is to do with the penalties that come with it.
Explaining the Second Apron
Some of the penalties include an inability to cash in on the mid-level taxpayer exemption as well as being barred from sending cash in trades, both restrictions that come with the first apron, as well as being prohibited from making sign-and-trade deals and a restriction on trading first-round picks that are more than seven years in the future, alongside other draft pick and financial penalties.
Avoiding the second apron is such a widespread practice that as of now, no team in the NBA is projected to be in it, however the Denver Nuggets could become that one team if they follow through on their biggest stated priority free agent.
The Nuggets have been targeting Peyton Watson since the offseason began and Watson is expected to sign for anywhere between $25-30 million annually, which would skyrocket the Nuggets into the second apron as they only have just under $4 million of space beneath it at this point,
How to Work Around Watson
In fact, most free agent signings would push the Nuggets into the second apron, but that doesn't mean it's time to panic yet. The most severe penalties only trigger if a team exceeds the limit in two of four years and with the Nuggets not being in the second apron this past season, they should be safe for the time being.
That gives the Nuggets time to maneuver around their salary to find make space for Watson should they commit to signing him, with one of the biggest ways they could shed salary being working on a trade around Christian Braun, who has one of the pricier contracts on the Denver payroll.
Of course, these are all hypothetical situations at this point as the Nuggets haven't signed Peyton Watson, but should they keep the forward in Colorado, some financial maneuvering in the future will likely be necessary.
