Aaron Gordon‘s family will feel his absence on Sunday mornings.

“That’s my dog. But it’s deeper than basketball with Peyton and I, you know?” Gordon said. “Like, our family members go to the same church.”

Before running a youth basketball camp Sunday in Lakewood, Gordon briefly shared his reaction to the Nuggets’ offseason, which was highlighted by their controversial decision to sign-and-trade Watson to Cleveland for two draft picks.

“We’ll see,” an expressionless Gordon said simply when asked what he thought of Denver’s moves.

Watson signed a four-year, $88 million contract with the Cavaliers at the end of a tense non-negotiation with the Nuggets, who held his rights as a restricted free agent this summer. Watson and Gordon had vacationed together earlier in the offseason, celebrating former teammate Michael Porter Jr.’s birthday in France.

“Peyton is like my brother,” Gordon continued. “I’m happy for him, the situation that he’s in. Obviously, we would have loved to have him. But it worked out the way that it should have, that it was supposed to.”

As the churn of free agency took place around him, Gordon spent most of his summer in Denver, which he’s called home for more than five years now. The power forward turns 31 on Wednesday, and he’s coming off a second consecutive season in which soft tissue injuries limited him during the NBA playoffs. Team sources told The Denver Post that Gordon has been a consistent presence in the Ball Arena practice gym. “It’s been a lot of soul searching and training,” he said Sunday. “So I’ve got my mind right, my body right, and I’m ready to go.”

According to those sources, Gordon was also responsible for orchestrating a recent team bonding trip to Puerto Rico, where Nuggets assistant coach JJ Barea has repurposed an abandoned private school into a sports complex.

“My dream is to one day have either the Denver Nuggets or the Dallas Mavericks have training camp in Puerto Rico,” Barea told The Post last year. “It’s like an NBA practice facility. … We just finished building it, so I’m really excited about that.”

“(We held) a mini-camp,” Gordon said. “I thought we could do something out of the norm. Everybody goes to LA all the time. I wanted us to do something that was out of our comfort zone as a team, and it ended up being a good exhibition.”

Jokic, Murray and Christian Braun had prior engagements that prevented them from joining, but Gordon was able to wrangle most of Denver’s roster for the trip, including Cam Johnson, Spencer Jones, Julian Strawther, Tyus Jones, DaRon Holmes II, Alpha Diallo, Zeke Nnaji and rookies Trevon Brazile and Bryce Hopkins.

“The rookies are good,” Gordon said. “Bryce is really good. TB is really good. They can play. I’m not entirely sure where they’re gonna fit in, but they can go.”

Players have gone their separate ways since the mini-camp to enjoy their last weeks of summer freedom before training camp, which begins Sept. 29 in Boulder. Johnson journeyed to England and took in a Premier League match last weekend. Jokic has been competing with the Serbian national team in World Cup qualifiers — “I talked to him a bit,” Gordon said, adding with a smile: “Not much.” And Murray has spent some of his summer in Japan, holding .

Gordon has found himself pulled back toward home in Colorado.

“It would be nice to do more of these,” he said before the second session of Sunday’s camp. “This is just a one-day thing. Hopefully we can do multiple of them. This is like an inaugural. So hopefully I can do more. Denver has shown me love since the I moment I got here, and I’ve tried to repay the favor by showing passion and playing my heart out and playing the game the way I know how to play. Being the person my parents raised me to be. So hopefully I can be a role model for these kids.”

But a recent under-the-radar move brought them one step closer. Denver decided late last week to stretch the guaranteed portion of Jonas Valanciunas’ salary across three seasons, a league source told The Post, confirming a report by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Valanciunas signed a two-year contract with the Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas after Denver waived him in July, releasing the backup center from the last year of his NBA deal. It left the Nuggets with a $2 million dead cap hit on their 2026-27 payroll — his full salary next season would’ve been $10 million if they had kept him — as Valanciunas was able to return to his home country.

The NBA’s waive-and-stretch provision allows teams to spread a waived player’s remaining salary across multiple seasons, sacrificing future cap space in exchange for immediate relief. In this case, Denver is choosing to incur a dead cap hit of $666,666 for each of the next three years, instead of signing a one-time-only $2 million check.

That means $1.3 million in direct savings against the salary cap. But it also dramatically reduces Denver’s projected luxury tax bill. As a “repeater tax” team, the Nuggets essentially will owe interest on every dollar spent above the luxury tax threshold next season. Stretching Valanciunas whittles about $9 million off their projected tax total.

Still, , the NBA’s most expensive roster remains about $800,000 above the second apron after the Valanciunas move. The Nuggets have until the mid-season trade deadline next February to shed other salary if they want to avoid that threshold, which results in not only an additional tax penalty but also roster-building restrictions. After re-signing Spencer Jones for two years and $12 million this summer, they became the only team in the league with a payroll exceeding the second apron.

By trading Peyton Watson in August and now by lowering the immediate cap hit on Valanciunas, they’ve continued to signal that getting out of second-apron territory is a priority. Currently, their five least expensive cap hits on the active roster all belong to players signed this offseason: DeMar DeRozan, Marvin Bagley III, Tyus Jones, Alpha Diallo and rookie Trevon Brazile.

The next-cheapest players Denver could theoretically trade sometime between now and February are DaRon Holmes II ($3.4 million) and Julian Strawther ($4.8 million). But as of now, any such salary-shedding transaction would require an accompanying move to satisfy NBA roster rules. The Nuggets have 14 out of 15 spots tentatively filled as the calendar flips to September. They cannot carry any fewer than 14 players for more than two consecutive weeks during the season.

Two-way contract maneuvers

Outside of that active 15-man roster, Denver has made a few valuable discoveries using two-way contracts in recent years, from Jones to Collin Gillespie (now in Phoenix).

Every team gets three two-way spots per season. Those spots are filled by players who can be assigned back and forth between the NBA and G League; their salaries don’t count against the cap, but they can play regular-season NBA minutes as if they’re part of the active roster.

The Nuggets acquired Julian Reese’s two-way contract from Washington in the Watson sign-and-trade, but they waived him last Friday, according to the NBA’s transaction log. They proceeded to sign recent draft pick Bryce Hopkins to a two-way deal instead, leaving them with two spots filled and one vacant. Hopkins was taken with the 49th overall pick in June. Former CU guard KJ Simpson currently occupies the other spot.

Veteran guard Lonnie Walker IV, who will try to make the team on a training camp invite, is no longer eligible to sign a two-way contract due to his NBA service time. If Denver keeps him around, it will have to be via a standard contract.

In their latest attempt to identify talent outside the box, they’re plucking Lonnie Walker IV from the EuroLeague team Maccabi Tel Aviv on an Exhibit 9 contract, two sources told The Denver Post.

Walker, 27, will report to Denver on a training camp invite as he attempts to return to the NBA after spending parts of the last two years overseas. He’ll compete for a Nuggets roster spot at camp this fall. If he makes the team, he’ll be on a one-year veteran minimum contract.

The 6-foot-4 guard has averaged 14.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists . He joins Alpha Diallo as the second free agent to sign a contract with Denver out of the EuroLeague this offseason.

Before venturing east — he also played a stint with the Lithuanian club Zalgiris Kaunas — Walker was settling into a career as an NBA journeyman. He’s played 342 games and started 95 across seven NBA seasons, primarily for the Spurs. San Antonio drafted him with the 18th overall pick in the 2018 draft out of Miami. He went four spots after Denver selected Michael Porter Jr.

Walker has also played for the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers. If and when he takes the court for Denver, he’ll be playing his first NBA minutes since April 13, 2025. He’s averaging 10 points per game in his NBA career on 42.2% shooting from the field and a 35.6% mark from 3-point range.

In Denver, Walker has a chance join a thin backcourt depth chart that currently features Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Julian Strawther and Tyus Jones. Denver still has two open roster spots, as contract negotiations with restricted free agent Peyton Watson remain at an impasse.

If a veteran minimum cap hit is added to the roster as it currently stands, Denver’s payroll would increase to $4.5 million over the second apron, bringing the luxury tax bill up to more than $80 million.

One of those transactions is more important than the others. Denver’s 48-hour dance with Oklahoma City over the rights to Spencer Jones was one of the most intriguing under-the-radar dramas to play out all summer in the NBA. After the Thunder extended an aggressive two-year, $12 million offer sheet, people around Jones didn’t expect the Nuggets to match due to their uncomfortable salary cap crunch. Doing so would mean entering the fearsome second apron with Peyton Watson’s situation still unresolved. Jones even shared to his followers a social media post by his agency depicting him in a Photoshopped Thunder jersey.

But the Nuggets stood firm. As the clock dwindled and speculation swirled, they matched Oklahoma City’s offer, automatically retaining the 25-year-old restricted free agent. It’s the only contract they’ve signed for more than a minimum salary this offseason (so far), and it made them the only team in the NBA with a payroll exceeding the $221.7 million second apron.

Here are three takeaways from the transaction, which leaves other questions unanswered more than a month after the start of free agency.

1. Denver’s skewed roster

Keeping Jones revealed a willingness to at least temporarily exacerbate the roster imbalance that already existed between Denver’s frontcourt and backcourt. With 13 roster spots filled, the Nuggets have barely addressed ball-handling, which they publicly claimed was one of their most glaring needs at the beginning of the offseason.

�ҳܲ������:��Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Julian Strawther, Tyus Jones.

Forwards: Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Spencer Jones, Alpha Diallo, Zeke Nnaji, Trevon Brazile, DaRon Holmes II.

Consider also that Denver’s other draft pick, Bryce Hopkins, is another wing. His contract status hasn’t been determined yet, with the Nuggets seemingly trying to keep their options open. For example, they don’t want to give him a standard deal now only to find themselves regretting it a few weeks later if they’re out of roster spots while trying to complete a trade. But if they end up in a position where they’re narrowly under the apron and needing to fill one more roster spot to meet league requirements, perhaps the low salary of a second-round pick would make sense.

The over-index on forwards doesn’t even account for Watson, who still could end up back in Denver next season. That would add another wing. The Nuggets’ pursuit of shot creation depth has also steered them to target veteran small forward DeMar DeRozan in free agency, according to a league source.

At least five of the seven forwards already under contract (including Jones) are players who likely won’t be expected to operate the ball much, if at all.

What does it all indicate? One, that Jones clearly was highly valued by the Nuggets for them to willingly wade deeper into their state of positional lopsidedness. Two, that the roster’s other, more expensive forwards (Gordon, Johnson, Nnaji) aren’t entirely safe in Denver yet. Something eventually needs to be done to address the lack of guard depth behind Murray.

2. Death, taxes and frozen picks

Another reason that re-signing Jones might foreshadow an eventual trade or two? Finances, of course.

Because they’re a repeater tax team for the 2026-27 league year, every dollar the Nuggets add to their payroll above the luxury tax line ($200.4 million) results in an exponential increase to their tax bill. In addition to those heightened penalties, the Nuggets will also have to pay harsher luxury tax fees if they finish the season above the second apron. They’re checking both boxes after matching the offer sheet for Jones.

That means an astronomical $68 million tax bill as the roster currently stands, according to ESPN front office expert Bobby Marks. Denver must add at least one more player to have a legal roster. In the unlikely scenario that Watson plays next season on his $6.5 million qualifying offer to become an unrestricted free agent in 2027, Denver’s tax bill would blimp to a record-shattering $112 million — even with such a team-friendly salary. It’s also possible that Watson could sign an extension with the Nuggets at an average annual value three-times more lucrative than the qualifying offer.

The second apron also imposes roster-building penalties. Perhaps most consequential in this case would be the maneuverability of Denver’s 2034 first-round pick. Teams are allowed to trade first-rounders up to seven years in advance, meaning 2034 firsts will generally become trade-eligible next July, when the 2027-28 league year begins. But if the Nuggets finish 2026-27 in the second apron, their 2034 pick would be “frozen” by rule — temporarily forbidden from being traded.

That might not seem important, but for a team in their specific position, it is. The Nuggets are clinging desperately to a win-now timeline with limited resources to meaningfully improve their roster — they’ve burned through all of their trade-eligible future first-round picks already. The 2034 pick could be a vital asset for them at a high-stakes moment; the 2027 offseason is when Nikola Jokic ���������he will sign a long-term extension in Denver. What if they need to make a significant move to show him a 2027-28 roster worthy of contending for the championship before he’s willing to follow through on his word?

Since the 2023 CBA took effect, the second apron has been unpopular with league observers because the roster-building restrictions provide team owners with a convenient non-financial excuse to spend less. It’s not just the Kroenkes. Last season, only the Cleveland Cavaliers finished the season in the second apron. The other 29 teams avoided it.

As things stand, the Nuggets have both financial and basketball reasons to want to avoid this threshold. The only way to do that is via trade, whether this offseason or at the trade deadline next February. They’re $2.03 million over the second apron now.

If they indeed want out, salary-dumping Nnaji looks like the easiest way on paper, but that would require the sacrifice of even more precious draft capital to convince a team to take his poorly perceived contract. And even then, the Nuggets wouldn’t have any room under the apron for a Watson extension, so they would still need to either lose him (via sign-and-trade) or another chunk of salary to make room for him.

That was always the uncomfortable reality, regardless of what happened with Jones. The decision to re-sign him doesn’t change that. But it does indicate that Jones at $6 million per year might be considered more cost-effective by the Nuggets than whatever contract they (hypothetically) choose to shed down the road.

In any case, Denver is directly confronted by the consequences of second apron life now more than ever. The purported lack of a spending mandate is about to be tested.

3. Precedent setter?

Whether or not Jones is worth every bit of that $6 million per year, losing him to Oklahoma City of all teams for nothing in return would’ve been a bad look for Denver.

Burning limited draft assets to get off of Nnaji’s contract to make room for him would be a bad look. Eventually sacrificing a starter-level player to avoid the second apron would be a bad look.

Yet paying the aforementioned tax bill associated with keeping Jones and nearly everyone else from a team that lost in the first round of the playoffs would also be a head-scratcher, if admirable.

All of the outcomes were unsavory as soon as the Thunder laid down that offer sheet. This was and still is a major quagmire for Denver’s front office and ownership group.

Which is why this might become a more common strategy in future offseasons.

Under the rule of this CBA, so many contending teams have been bogged down by the consequences of their contracts that they’re often more vulnerable to offer sheets than ever before. Restricted free agency could be an increasingly viable way for certain teams to take advantage of others. All you need to do is identify another team’s salary cap crunch and make an offer just high enough to make that team squirm a bit.

At the bare minimum in this case, OKC general manager Sam Presti was able to force a rival into an uncomfortable decision after he had dealt with weeks of shedding salary at the behest of his team’s owner. Keeping Jones was a significant triumph for the Nuggets, but offer-sheeting him was at least a minor win for the Thunder as well.

The only thing worse than losing Peyton Watson might be keeping him to go into the second apron.

Nobody loves spending owners’ money as much as I do, but why would the Kroenkes take a $177 million tax hit for this group?

It would be one thing if Denver reached the Western Conference Finals in May. They lost in the first round, pantsed in front of the world as soft, feeble and incapable of anger.

Bring back the same top six players and a compromised bench at “Price Is Right” inflation? Please tell me how it makes sense.

This offseason grows more infuriating and demoralizing by the day.

The NBA headlines remain filled with speculation about where James will sign — the Warriors, 76ers, Heat and Cavs appear in the mix — and the Nuggets are dropping social media posts about rotational players and draft picks.

The kind of guys who look good in the defense-free summer league. The kind of seasoned veterans who stand out in Europe. The kind of gypsies who widen eyes in workouts.

So instead of talking about championships and Nikola Jokic, we are left to talk about players who star in practice. Not a game. Practice. Sorry, AI, Chatbot, and whoever else was offended by this remark.

The Athletic recently released its letter grade evaluation of every team’s offseason. The Nuggets received a D-minus. That seems generous.

Tim Hardaway Jr., a cold-blooded 3-point shooter, left for Miami. Jonas Valanciunas was waived to create salary cap relief, signing with Zalgiris Kaunas, a Lithuanian club. Jalen Pickett was cut.

They have been replaced by backup wing Alpha Diallo, a projected versatile defender at all spots, reserve point guard Tyus Jones, bouncy draft pick Trevon Brazile and this year’s Gatorade break for Jokic, Marvin Bagley III.

Even if the Nuggets remain healthier after setting the single-season record for hamstring injuries, it is hard to see this team eclipsing the Spurs, Thunder, and Timberwolves.

Midway through July, the question hangs over Ball Arena like the Goodyear Blimp: What are the Nuggets doing?

Nuggets Nation, if my email and social media replies can be trusted, would rather keep Watson — to heck with frozen future draft picks and the repeater tax — than sign and trade him. Outside of those on the team payroll, nobody believes the Nuggets can win a championship.

It is more about wanting another strong regular season and accepting the poison pill of the playoffs over the alternative of an underwhelming regular season and an early playoff exit.

The evil of two lessers.

Sure. Whatever.

The reality is that the Nuggets have followed arguably their most humbling playoff elimination with a summer of confusion.

There have been reports that they have no spending limitations, and yet the American Express black card remains in their wallet.

There have been indications that they would prefer to avoid the repeater tax and the second apron. And yet, Cam Johnson remains on the roster, the most likely player to be moved to keep Watson.

These are competing agendas. Spend like on a Vegas bender. Or run the budget like clipping coupons. Both messages cannot be true.

Did the Nuggets leak their desire to spend to stay in the hunt for James? Perhaps. Did they do it to appease Jokic, who they believe will eventually sign a contract extension, even if his delay until next summer creates consternation? Maybe.

Did they do it to send a message to the rest of the league — most notably the Clippers, Hawks and Bucks — that they are prepared to match any offer sheet for Watson? Possibly.

Even if Brown and James were privately fever dreams, Watson is not. He is their guy. They know him. And letting a nimble, 23-year-old defender capable of creating his own shot walk out of the building runs contrary to everything Denver requires to remain a future contender.

The Nuggets need athletes, need the energy and enthusiasm the kid brings.

With the dots loosely connected, the latest sign-and-trade for Watson suggested the Nuggets could acquire the Clippers’ Derrick Jones Jr. and first-round draft picks in 2028 and 2031. That is actually a good haul for Watson, save for the fact that Jokic would be 34 when using the first pick and 37 when making the second.

So again, what are the Nuggets doing? Are they going for it? Or going young?

The mixed messages are harder to translate due to inactivity.

There are those who scream for patience, citing the Broncos. Remember when they did nothing during the first week of free agency before Sean Payton pointed his finger like Sophie Cunningham at critics, myself included, after acquiring electric receiver Jaylen Waddle?

Could this be the Nuggets’ play?

Sort of. Not really. Let’s be clear, keeping Watson is not the equivalent of trading for Waddle.

But maybe there is a big deal out there. As colleague Bennett Durando explained, Detroit, Orlando, Memphis and Golden State have also done little, and must meet roster requirements. Could one of these teams make an aggressive play for Johnson or even Jamal Murray, leaving plenty of room to keep Watson and kickstart the process of trending younger?

There has to be another move. Something. Anything.

Because what has happened so far is nothing short of discouraging and puzzling.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

Whether or not they eventually trade a starter, they have unfinished business. Three roster spots remain open, and Denver needs to fill at least two of them via free agency or trade to meet the NBA’s requirement. Teams must carry a minimum of 14 players on the 15-man roster.

Two of Denver’s spots might be reserved for a pair of incumbent restricted free agents, both of whom remain in unresolved contract negotiations with the team. There’s also LeBron James, who has the entire league on the edge of its seat.

And then there are other unsigned players in the ether, still looking for a home. Who could the Nuggets acquire or retain? It’s time for a free agency reset, starting with a look at Denver’s roster as it currently stands.

Nuggets projected depth chart

�ʳ�:��Jamal Murray, Tyus Jones

����:��Christian Braun, Julian Strawther

����:��Cam Johnson, Alpha Diallo

�ʹ�:��Aaron Gordon, Zeke Nnaji, Trevon Brazile

��:��Nikola Jokic, Marvin Bagley III, DaRon Holmes II

Keep in mind that players without standard contracts, such as KJ Simpson (point guard) and Bryce Hopkins (small forward), are not included here, but they do have a path to regular-season playing time in Denver.

Until further notice, the Nuggets have the same starting lineup that registered a superb 13.5 net rating last season (when everyone was healthy, which wasn’t often).

Their weak spots are predictably on the bench. Despite David Adelman and Jon Wallace’s cries for more ball-handling and creativity, the backcourt looks especially shallow for now. Bringing back assist-to-turnover demon Tyus Jones for the veteran minimum was a sensible move if it’s accompanied by others, but he cannot be the team’s only backup point guard. He seems better suited as a third-string at this stage of his career.

Between him, Murray and Strawther, three of Denver’s four guards are weak defenders. The front office’s attempt to address defense so far has been limited to forward acquisitions (Diallo, Brazile, Hopkins). This roster still needs a perimeter defender who’s proven that he can navigate screens at the NBA level and keep quicker star guards in front.

Strawther has floated in and out of the rotation throughout his first three years in the league. He’s shown flashes of being an excellent scorer at the backup two-guard position, but he needs to establish more consistency if he wants to seize the Tim Hardaway Jr. role next season. This will be a crucial season in his development. He’s extension-eligible until the start of the season. Otherwise, he’ll be a restricted free agent next summer.

As much as ball-handling has been a focus, the Nuggets also appear short on shooting depth. Strawther is currently the most reliable 3-point threat of the seven bench players under contract (36.3% over the last two years). Jones’ efficiency took a massive hit last season. Diallo is more of a slasher than a spacer offensively. Holmes is a promising stretch big on paper, but he’s more likely to do his damage via pick-and-pop than by standing in the corner.

The Nuggets have certainly improved their frontcourt athleticism this summer. But even with those moves, they’re taking fliers on rookies out of the EuroLeague and the second round of the draft. At small forward, power forward and center, Denver’s current bench has 138 combined minutes of career playoff experience.

LeBron James hope?

The Nuggets might not be officially out of the running yet, but ESPN’s Shams Charania reported early this week that Cleveland, Miami and Philadelphia seem to be getting the most attention as feasible destinations for the best free agent on the market. The Nuggets were always going to be an outsider in these sweepstakes, even after Klutch Sports superagent Rich Paul publicly confirmed mutual interest between his client and Denver.

James, on a cheap contract, would obviously plug a lot of holes in Denver. The 21-time All-NBA forward could slot into lineups with Jokic or run the show with certain bench units. But until he indicates otherwise, it’s best to assume LeBron won’t finish his career as a Nugget at this point.

Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones

If the Nuggets re-sign both of their restricted free agents and keep everyone else, they’ll suddenly look a lot more dangerous on paper (like they did last season). They would also be carrying 10 frontcourt players and four guards on their roster — a clear imbalance that would require subsequent moves.

Jones has been working out at the Nuggets’ practice gym during his contract negotiations, he said in a recent social media post, suggesting that any day could be his last at Ball Arena. His qualifying offer was the minimum salary. Denver’s preference would be to keep his average annual value as close to that as possible, likely in exchange for more guaranteed years.

Watson, meanwhile, has remained at an impasse with the team on salary, cracking the door open for potential sign-and-trades out of Denver. But if he and the Nuggets can reach an agreement, his role within the rotation will become one of the most fascinating storylines of training camp in late September. Will Watson move into the everyday starting lineup for the first time in his career? Will Adelman hand him the keys to the non-Jokic offense and see what he can do as a shot creator, now that Murray has been burdened with those thankless minutes for so many years?

Other top remaining NBA free agents

At the buyout deadline last season, the Nuggets were monitoring DeMar DeRozan’s situation in Sacramento and were ready to show interest if he became available, a league source told The Post. He didn’t.

Now that he’s been released from his contract, teams like Denver are lining up to pursue the former Raptors star wing. DeRozan turns 37 next month, but he remains durable and efficient as a scorer. He could chase his first ring as a super-sixth man in Colorado, but other teams closer to home (he’s from Los Angeles) could also be sniffing around. There’s a chance the Nuggets miss out on him, as they already did with Khris Middleton for the second time when he chose Washington earlier this month.

Staying in the semi-washed-up star department, Bradley Beal is available after declining his player option with the Clippers. So is Russell Westbrook, though Denver already burned that bridge last offseason — “the truth is that they didn’t want me back,” as he later told The Post. Gabe Vincent, Brandon Williams and Aaron Holiday are among the other guard options in a thin market.

The Nuggets have already shown their willingness to think outside the box this summer with the signing of Diallo.

Then there’s Bruce Brown, the fan favorite who had an up-and-down reunion with the Nuggets last season. Their trust in him as a secondary ball-handler has noticeably declined since 2023, when he was the championship team’s backup point guard. But he did grow into his smaller role under Adelman, shooting 43.2% from 3-point range in the second half of the season. The fact that the Nuggets haven’t already re-signed him at the minimum is a clear sign that he’s not at the top of their wish list, but they could do a lot worse than Brown if they run out of options and need to fill a roster spot.

Will all 15 spots be used?

The Nuggets went through most of last season with their 15th and final roster spot vacant. By the time they signed Spencer Jones and Tyus Jones to prorated minimum salaries for the rest of the year, they were safe from the luxury tax.

Watch for them to consider a similar strategy in 2026-27 if they’re up against the tax or either of the aprons. They could enter the season with a payroll slightly above one of those thresholds but with only 14 players rostered. It would give them a chance to dump more salary at the trade deadline and replace one or two roster spots with another buyout signing.

Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis.

The latest homecoming they’ve arranged is for Alpha Diallo, who played a season of high school basketball at Denver West and is now signing a one-year, $1.4 million minimum contract with Denver in NBA free agency, a league source told The Denver Post on Sunday.

Diallo, 29, was named Defensive Player of the Year in the EuroLeague last season. This will be his first foray into the NBA after a five-year stint with AS Monaco. He recently committed to join Dubai Basketball on a multiyear deal, according to a , but his contract included a clause granting his release if he left for the NBA by July 15.

The Nuggets have signed Diallo, Reggie Jackson (Palmer High School), David Roddy (Colorado State) and KJ Simpson (CU) to various deals in the last three years.

Born in New York, Diallo helped lead Denver West to the Colorado Class 4A Sweet 16 as a sophomore. He transferred to Lincoln High before his junior season, but he was ruled ineligible to compete for the entire school year due to what CHSAA deemed an implicit recruiting violation; Lincoln’s coach at the time had just coached Diallo in a summer tournament.

The eligibility fight with CHSAA eventually led Diallo to leave the state. He returned to the East Coast and played four years of college basketball at Providence, where he earned Second Team All-Big East honors twice.

Signing Diallo is the latest example of Denver’s attempt to prioritize defense and athleticism around Nikola Jokic. Last month, the Nuggets drafted Trevon Brazile and Bryce Hopkins in the second round, betting on defensive upside in both cases. They’ve also replaced backup center Jonas Valanciunas with the younger, bouncier Marvin Bagley III on a veteran minimum contract.

Denver tentatively has 12 players under contract on its 15-man roster for the 2026-27 season now: Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson, Christian Braun, Zeke Nnaji, Julian Strawther, DaRon Holmes II, Tyus Jones, Bagley, Brazile and Diallo. Restricted free agency negotiations have not yet been resolved with Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones.

Diallo will count for $2.45 million toward the luxury tax despite his $1.4 million salary, the minimum for NBA rookies. exists so that owners aren’t incentivized to overlook more experienced free agents for tax purposes; the tax ramifications are equal for all minimum signings, regardless of NBA service time.