Four star players have already changed hands before the busiest week of the NBA offseason. Giannis Antetokounmpo is South Beach bound. Tyler Herro is returning to his hometown. Julius Randle has been banished to NBA Siberia (Brooklyn). LaMelo Ball is teaming up with Anthony Edwards after one of Tim Connelly’s boldest gambles yet.
Meanwhile, Denver’s roster remains unchanged. Teams are officially allowed to negotiate with free agents starting at 4 p.m. MT next Tuesday (because they definitely haven’t already been negotiating with anyone; that would never happen). It’s the epicenter of transaction season, with a number of trades also likely to take place in the surrounding hours and days.
The Nuggets are expected to remain engaged in trade talks as much as any team during this time, with looming luxury tax constraints and Peyton Watson set to become a restricted free agent. Before the critical week arrived, co-general managers Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer spoke to reporters after the draft. While they made a point of not going into detail on specific plans, here are a few takeaways from their comments and other relevant notes to Denver from around the league.
Wallace wants ball-handling, ‘creativity’
After being named captain of his national team, Nikola Jokic recently took part in a rare interview scrum with reporters in Serbia, where he has no contractual media obligations (unlike those required of him during the NBA season). With his usual bluntness, Jokic said the Nuggets weren’t a good enough team to win last season based on the results.
Denver’s brass was asked about those comments on Wednesday, and Wallace responded by sharing some thoughts on the team’s internal and external goals.
“I think for your leader to say that, you can’t deal with a problem until you acknowledge it as a problem. And he did that,” Wallace said. “I think any time you get bounced in the first round like that, everyone’s gotta look themselves in the mirror. I think a large part of that is health. I think a large part of that is, as our team has entered into a more seasoned state individually, the type of basketball we play. The way we prepare, the way we attack teams is gonna have to change a little bit. And I think our guys were able to kind of have that opportunity to communicate amongst themselves about what’s gonna be needed from them this summer.
“Obviously, what we did (in the draft) was trying to plug a couple of holes in that … guys who can help with the toughness, defensive ability, rebounding. And now from there, we’ll look to see what we can do in terms of adding the creativity. … The ball-handling.”
From coach David Adelman to Wallace, the Nuggets have been unafraid to admit they want more players who can create a shot or an advantage off the dribble. That seems to be a theme around the league after recent playoff runs by Oklahoma City (SGA, Jalen Williams, Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace), Indiana (Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, TJ McConnell, Bennedict Mathurin) and San Antonio (De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper) — teams that had a surplus of ball-handlers capable of taking over for a possession.
Wallace said the Nuggets tried to move up in the draft for a point guard. Now that they were unable to accomplish that, they’ll be eyeing creators on the trade market in free agency. Wallace’s allusion to “the type of basketball we play” was probably in regard to that; Denver’s lack of quickness and rim pressure stood in stark contrast to Minnesota’s aggressive downhill attack during the playoffs.
Peyton Watson’s free agency landscape
Part of Denver’s vision for a team with more shot creation involves Watson, of course. Multiple team sources have reiterated to The Post in recent days that the 23-year-old wing is a top offseason priority. The front office’s comments on Wednesday also indicated as much.
“We feel good about where that’s at,” Tenzer said, “and we hope Peyton is here a long time.”
“A lot of the guys that we already have in-house, we expect to have those guys here for a long time, as Ben mentioned,” Wallace added later, not mentioning Watson by name but clearly referencing him. “And so a lot of that is just, make sure we communicate. We already have good relationships with those guys. Really following up, making sure they’re in a good spot and good space for us to hopefully get something done in the future.”
A couple of recent transactions bode well for Denver. Coming into the offseason, the Lakers, Bulls and Nets were seen as the biggest threats to throw a big offer sheet at Watson because of their financial flexibility. But Minnesota’s salary dump of Julius Randle last Monday took a chunk out of Brooklyn’s cap space and Chicago’s. The Bulls acquired Nic Claxton’s $23.3 million salary in the trade. The Nets absorbed about a $10 million payroll increase by turning Claxton into Randle.
Later in the week, Los Angeles agreed to a max extension with incumbent free agent Austin Reaves that will pay him an estimated $41.3 million next season, . The Lakers have more moving parts to sort out next week, most importantly, LeBron James. They’re also reportedly under pressure from Luka Doncic to pursue a rim-running center.
Nuggets ‘confident’ they can re-sign Spencer Jones
He’s been much less discussed than Watson, but Jones will also be an important restricted free agent for the Nuggets next week. He emerged last season as a viable 3-and-D wing who plays with a physicality that Denver otherwise lacked.
After earning a standard contract, he told The Post that he wanted to enter restricted free agency this summer rather than take more guaranteed years with the Nuggets. Now is his chance to test the waters and find out if any suitors will approach him with an offer sheet. Denver doesn’t have much financial wiggle room for the back half of the roster, but Wallace had this to say on Wednesday:
“I think Spencer’s done himself a lot of favors this past year, specifically how he stepped in and defended, made shots. He was just a big part of what we did. But we feel confident. He’s a homegrown guy. You want to reward those guys for sticking to the plan and really developing themselves. So we feel confident in where we are with him.”
Like Watson, Jones is due a qualifying offer by the end of Monday.
Jonas Valanciunas reportedly Europe-bound
According to an overseas report by BasketNews, Denver’s backup center is prepared to sign a contract with the Lithuanian Euro League team Zalgiris Kaunas — an unsurprising development after Panathinaikos tried to lure him away from the NBA after the Nuggets traded for him last summer.
In 2025, they had no reason to release him from his contract. This time, due to the payroll crunch, it’s a near certainty that Denver will let him go — whether via trade, waive-and-stretch or clean release. Tenzer said the team is still evaluating how to handle the situation. Valanciunas has a $10 million non-guaranteed salary for next season, with $2 million of it guaranteed.
“We saw the reports, too,” Tenzer said. “But you know, we saw that last summer, so it’s all good.”
Tim Hardaway Jr. free agency
Late last season, Adelman said unprompted that he would love to have Hardaway back for a second year. The veteran guard joined the Nuggets in 2025 on a one-year veteran minimum contract and went on to post one of the best shooting seasons of his career. After finishing third place for NBA Sixth Man of the Year, he might have priced himself out of the minimum, which is what Denver will be relying on to fill out roster spots.
One potential Hardaway suitor to watch is Miami. The Heat will be looking for spacers to put around Antetokounmpo, who might already be dealing with crowded driving lanes because Bam Adebayo is his new frontcourt partner.
Hardaway has feasted on open shots created by Jokic and Doncic in recent years. Giannis would be a nice addition to his collection of superstar teammates in a city he calls home. Tim Hardaway Sr. spent parts of six seasons in Miami, making three All-NBA teams with the Heat. If they approach Tim Jr. with a marginal pay increase, it might be a natural fit.
