Training camp is still a few weeks out, and the Nuggets are already staring at the same roster math that shaped their season a year ago: 14 standard contracts in place, one spot still open.
That matters because Denver is only required to carry 14 players on the standard roster, not all 15. The extra spot is optional, but it becomes valuable once the season starts grinding and injuries begin to stack up. The ideal setup is simple enough - get to 15 by the end of the year and walk into the playoffs with more depth.
Right now, though, Denver’s bigger problem is financial. The Nuggets are trying to claw back under the NBA’s second-apron luxury tax threshold, and that makes filling the final spot tricky unless they first clear salary in a dump trade.
They’re currently projected to be $3.15 million over the threshold, with a luxury tax bill of about $75 million. That tax number is part of why Peyton Watson was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for only draft capital.
So the cleanest path might be no path at all, at least not right away. Denver could simply open the season with 14 players and leave the 15th spot untouched.
That wouldn’t be new for this team. Last season, the Nuggets stayed at 14 players until the trade deadline, then sent Hunter Tyson to the Brooklyn Nets without bringing anyone back in order to get under the luxury tax threshold. That move triggered a 14-day window to get back to the required 14-player minimum, and they handled it by signing Spencer Jones to a standard contract for the rest of the season after elevating him from his two-way deal.
Once that was sorted out, Denver used the late-season flexibility to add Tyus Jones to the 15th spot after his contract was bought out by the Dallas Mavericks on March 2nd. Because it came so late in the year, the Nuggets had just enough prorated cap room to sign both Jones and stay under the luxury tax.
That same blueprint looks like the most likely one again. At some point, Denver could move either Zeke Nnaji or Julian Strawther, perhaps near the trade deadline, and depending on how that deal shakes out, the Nuggets could fill the 14th and 15th roster spots in the same way they did last season.
It’s a familiar play for Denver, and one they wouldn’t be surprised to run back.
In Other News...
Nuggets Didn't Trade Peyton Watson For Talent And That Matters
The Nuggets moved Peyton Watson to Cleveland and, in return, chose not to bring back a player who could help right away. Instead, Denver added draft capital and a little more breathing room, part of a broader plan to clear roster space and protect salary cap flexibility heading into the 2026-27 season.
What stands out is how the front office is treating the future pick it got back. Rather than viewing it as a distant prize, Denver sees it as an asset that can be used in another deal long before 2031, which says plenty about how the Nuggets are balancing present needs with the urge to stay nimble for whatever comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Had Eyes On A Peyton Watson Trade Piece They Couldnt Get
The Nuggets spent part of the offseason with one eye on Peyton Watson and another on the kind of young wing talent that could have made a deal worth exploring. Milwaukee was among the teams showing interest in Watson, and preliminary conversations even drifted into the possibility of Jaime Jaquez Jr. being part of the framework, a player Denver had reason to view as an appealing piece if the talks ever moved past the exploratory stage.
But those discussions never got to the point where Denver had an actual offer to weigh, and that left the Nuggets waiting on a scenario that never quite materialized. Milwaukee ultimately kept Jaquez out of trade talks, leaving Watson in Denver and the Bucks to move on without testing how far the market might have gone. [Read more 🡒]
Jokic May Already Hold Denvers Answer To Its Spacing Debate
Nikola Jokic has long been the Nuggets fix for almost any offensive problem, and the spacing conversation around him is no different. During the 2025-26 season, he quietly turned one of the leagues least glamorous shots into a weapon, while assistant coach Ognjen Stojakovic has said Jokic spends daily time on floaters and runners as part of his routine. For a team always balancing how to maximize Jokics playmaking against the need to keep the floor open, that kind of touch from the middle of the lane matters.
The fit gets even more interesting with DeMar DeRozan in the mix, because another elite mid-range scorer can ease some of the burden on Jokic and create a different kind of pressure on defenses. The bigger question for Denver is how much of that soft-touch game should become a larger part of Jokics own diet next season, especially after his shot from deep lost some of its usual bite late in the year. If the Nuggets are looking for an answer to their spacing debate, it may already be sitting in plain sight around the paint. [Read more 🡒]