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THE DENVER NUGGETS 2023 FREE AGENCY PREVIEW – NBA.com
It’s nearly that glorious time of the year on the NBA calendar, free agency, when the rumor mill goes into a frenzy and hundreds of players join new teams and begin new journeys. Teams can begin talking with free agents on June 30 at 4 p.m. MT.
The Denver Nuggets are in an interesting position entering free agency, fresh off bringing home their first NBA championship in franchise history. The entirety of their starting lineup—Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokić—is inked to long-term contracts, which certainly eases some of the burden on general manager Calvin Booth and the front office.
Promising sophomores, Christian Braun and Peyton Watson, are also under contract with the organization on rookie-scale deals until 2026. Vlatko Čančar and Zeke Nnaji round things out as the final two players signed through 2025 and 2024, respectively.
Still, there are other questions to be answered as Booth looks to round out the defending champion’s roster. This free agency preview will be split up into four parts, highlighting Denver’s outgoing free agents, its spending power, its potential roster needs, and some possible free agent options.
Denver’s Outgoing Free Agents
We’ll start with the biggest fish of Denver’s 2023 free agent class, Bruce Brown, who declined his $6.8 million player option with the Nuggets to test the market. It’s been reported by many that Brown is set to have a sizable market as one of the best jacks-of-all-trades players available. The Nuggets can offer Brown a maximum of $7.7 million next season, and his status is Denver’s biggest question mark heading into free agency. Will he sign elsewhere for more money annually? Or will he return to Denver’s championship core and run it back? Only time will tell.
Ish Smith, Jeff Green, and DeAndre Jordan all fall into the same general bucket; that trio served as Denver’s locker room leadership crew that was instrumental in securing the Larry O’Brien trophy. It wouldn’t be entirely shocking to see Booth bring one or multiple of these veterans back to drive Denver’s culture.
If Brown does end up exiting Denver, Reggie Jackson is a candidate to replace his ball-handling skillset off the bench. Heck, even if Brown does end up staying, there’s certainly a world where the Nuggets covet Jackson’s ability to run an offense as a fourth or fifth guard.
Thomas Bryant did not play a great deal after being acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers in February, but he brings a floor-spacing skillset that could certainly accentuate Denver’s playoff-best offense.
Booth indicated there’s a good chance that Collin Gillespie returns during the 2023 draft picks’ introductory pressers. He missed the entirety of the 2023 regular season with a lower leg fracture. Jack White had some nice moments down the stretch last season, but there will assuredly be competition for the second of Denver’s two-way slots.
Spending power
Denver, like many other teams in the NBA, is fairly limited with its spending power in free agency. It can dole out veteran’s minimum contracts in the ballpark of $1-2 million annually. For example, Jordan was inked to a veteran minimum-level deal last season worth $2.9 million for a single season.
Denver is operating above the cap as a tax team, meaning that it only has access to the $5 million tax-paying mid-level exception.
Otherwise, the Nuggets have three trade exceptions at their disposal to strike deals with other teams. A $9.2 million trade exception from the Monte Morris trade with the Washington Wizards (for Caldwell-Pope). A $2.2 million trade exception via the LA Clippers from the Bones Hyland trade. And a $1.9 million trade exception from the Davon Reed trade with Los Angeles.
Keep in mind, trade exceptions cannot be combined with one another to form a larger trade exception. They also cannot be combined with a player and his salary.
Free agency needs
Operating under the hypothetical situation that Brown does leave the Mile High City in free agency, Booth will have his hands full attempting to replace his vast skillset.
Brown functioned as Denver’s primary ball-handler in the reserve unit. He thrived in transition all season long and improved considerably as a pick-and-roll orchestrator. Free agents that offer that sort of skillset could fill a need for the Nuggets.
Perimeter defense could be another covetable skill. Brown was one of Denver’s best point-of-attack defenders and a terrific screen navigator. Surrounding Jokić with a cadre of stout perimeter defenders is never a bad idea when trying to replicate championship magic.
Three-point shooting has become a premium in today’s NBA. That’s another area of interest.
And then finally, it might be wise to search for a backup center. Denver’s small-ball bench units with Gordon at center thrived in the postseason and outscored opponents by 10.5 points per 100 possessions. Still, versatility and the ability to match up with a variety of opponents is wise. A traditional big man could beef up Denver against teams with larger frontcourts.
Potential free agent options
We’ll be going by position for this section.
POINT GUARDS:
SHOOTING GUARDS:
SMALL FORWARDS:
POWER FORWARDS:
CENTERS
The center market is fairly thin. However, there is one player that stands out…
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