Nuggets Will Be Looking at Cost-Cutting Moves This Offseason

The Denver Nuggets went 54-28 this season, locked up the third seed in the West and rattled off 12 straight wins heading into the playoffs.

Then Minnesota knocked them out in six games in the first round, and just like that, a season full of momentum was over.

Instead of figuring out what went wrong on the court, Denver's front office is now staring at a spreadsheet problem.

Bennett Durando of The Denver Post laid out the Nuggets' financial situation recently, and the numbers do not leave much room to work with.

"At this exact moment, the Nuggets have 10 roster spots filled and $213.8 million on the books," Durando wrote.

That already blows past the projected $201 million luxury tax line and clears the first apron, with the second apron sitting at roughly $222 million.

Durando noted that ownership would almost certainly treat that second apron number as a hard ceiling regardless of how aggressive they want to be.

"Even in the most aggressive version of this offseason imaginable, in which they decide to spend lavishly, they're probably going to treat that second-apron number as a hard cap," Durando wrote. "Alternatively, the Kroenkes might want to get under the luxury tax or at least within range of it, enough to preserve the option to shed more salary at the 2027 trade deadline."

Just look at the contracts. Jamal Murray is owed $50.1 million next season, Aaron Gordon is at $32 million, and Cameron Johnson is heading into an expiring $23.1 million deal.

Jonas Valanciunas has only $2 million guaranteed on a $10 million salary, so he is almost certainly gone.

Peyton Watson is a restricted free agent after a breakout year and could draw a hefty offer sheet from another team.

Trading Johnson feels like the most obvious move, but dumping his entire salary still would not get Denver below the tax line once the rest of the roster is filled out.

Here is the frustrating part for Nuggets fans.

This team was genuinely good when everybody played. Nikola Jokic averaged 27.8 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists per game.

He was the first player in NBA history to lead the league in both rebounds and assists in the same season.

Jamal Murray had his first All-Star year, putting up 25.4 points and 7.1 assists across 75 games.

But the five starters missed a combined 136 games during the regular season, and Gordon only played 36 of 82.

Josh Kroenke said at the exit press conference that the front office still believes in this group, and Jokic is expected to sign a four-year, $278 million extension this summer.

So the basketball argument and the financial argument are pulling Denver in completely different directions.

Whether it is Cam Johnson in a salary dump, Watson walking in free agency or something bigger involving Murray or Gordon, someone is probably gone.

The only question is how much worse it makes the team while Jokic is still playing at an MVP level.