Sean Keeler: The Nuggets’ summer so far could be described my friend. Here’s the thing: There’s the open market, what everybody else thinks your players are worth; and there’s the Nuggets’ internal “reward our dudes” market. Steph Noh’s salary projection while the site has that number between $14-18 million. The latter also notes, though, that it thinks P-Swat will actually get something along the lines of a four-year deal at $80 million to $100 million, or $20-25 million per season. Which would be in line with what his teammates are getting and should justifiably exceed that. If Cam Johnson (12.2 points per game, 43% 3-point shooting rate) is worth $23 million and Christian Braun (12.0 ppg, 30.1% on treys) is worth $21.55 million, then it’s an easy argument from Watson’s camp that their guy (14.6 ppg, 41.1% on treys) should make more, based on last season’s production.

Renck: Watson is everything the Nuggets need: a bouncy, young player — just 23 — with defensive prowess and offensive upside. Once Watson showed he could create his own shot, he was worth it. The sample size is chillingly small, but when Nikola Jokic missed 16 games with a knee injury, Watson averaged 22.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.5 blocks. He emerged as a big reason Denver posted a 10-6 record in Jokic’s absence. It is uncomfortable to pay Watson $25 million per season — heck, it will likely take more — after Christian Braun became injured and ineffective on the same salary last season. But it is not fair to hold Braun’s performance against Watson. Braun might end up as a bench player because of his suspect shooting. Watson has a much higher ceiling after draining 41.1% of his 3-pointers a year ago.

Keeler: The Kroenkes are playing the long game here, which is holding everything else up, and assuming everyone else is as scared of the second apron as they are. That makes sense and cents: , only seven NBA franchises as of Monday were projected to be $20 million or more below the second apron line ($221.69 million) while also not being hard-capped by the first apron ($209.02 million). The Lu Dort trade to Atlanta only makes Watson’s market for potential suitors smaller.

Renck: Agent Rich Paul is using every angle to create interest in his client. But with Lu Dort going to the Hawks, it appears the Clippers and Bucks are the only teams left who can realistically give Watson a hefty offer sheet for between $25 and $30 million. The Nuggets appear ready to match or call Paul’s bluff. I want Watson back, and would be willing to overspend. It also means trading Cam Johnson because there is no reason the Nuggets should become the only team to go into the second apron this season. Don’t like going big for Watson? Here’s what I like even less: executing a sign-and-trade for Watson for another vagabond player — the Nuggets have cornered the market on those this offseason — for draft picks to use when Jokic is in his mid-30s. I would rather risk whiffing on Watson than give Jokic a reason for leaving.

Keeler: Aren’t we looking at this backward, though? In terms of potential and upside, of course you’d be loco to try and move Watson now. But the reality is this: Of the new P-Swat, Cam and CB contracts, the Nuggets are only realistically keeping two of them so as to avoid that dreaded second salary-cap apron. If you want to make a “win-now” statement to Jokic, you keep everybody, eat the money and keep on trucking. But that’s not the KSE Way. So the premise becomes this: Which of those three could I leverage in a trade to get the most return back? Given Braun’s shooting and Cam’s ceiling, there’s only one answer. And it’s the awful, uncomfortable one.

But in Denver specifically, three roster spots remain vacant, and the specter of the second apron looms over the 12 spots that are occupied. Around the league, too, at least one major variable hasn’t been sorted out yet. Even commissioner Adam Silver joked about it during an event Thursday, acknowledging that “where LeBron plays will affect the schedule. I’d like him to make his announcement already so we can finish the schedule.”

And NBA beat writers around the country would like the teams they cover to get their business done already so everyone can leave on pre-planned vacations without needing to sweat.

This Nuggets beat writer will be doing just that, starting this weekend. So it seemed like a fun time to pretend the offseason is over, power-rank both conferences based on what’s happened so far, and then possibly return to this and laugh at it later. Where will James sign? Will the Nuggets make a trade? Will the Kawhi Leonard trade between the Clippers and Raptors go through or be revoked? Will restricted free agents like Jalen Duren, Peyton Watson, and Bennedict Mathurin reach agreements with their teams?

The idea of this list is to predict the final regular-season standings for the 2026-27 season — not to evaluate playoff or championship capability. Included in parentheses will be each team’s place last season.

Western Conference

This exercise should pretty quickly illuminate that, for the first time in years, the West is the weaker overall conference. That’s despite the fact that five of the top seven or eight players in the world reside on this side of the country. It certainly remains the top-heavy conference, carried by the two championship favorites. But after those two? A weird landscape, with strong potential for the same six playoff locks as last year.

1. San Antonio Spurs (2nd): Wemby has tasted the Finals, and they left behind a sour flavor. His first career MVP trophy feels imminent if he can play the requisite games. Tobias Harris was a solid free-agency addition, addressing a clear need. The West champs just got a little deeper.

2. Oklahoma City Thunder (1st): And the runners-up just got a little shallower. OKC’s summer has been highlighted by a pair of salary dumps from the back end of the roster. Without Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe, Sam Presti is leaning on his draft acumen to fill the gaps. He added Aday Mara to a loaded center depth chart and Bennett Stirtz to a formidable ball-handling hierarchy that already features SGA, Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell.

3. Minnesota Timberwolves (6th): Tim Connelly wasted no time breaking up the Julius Randle-Rudy Gobert frontcourt once he decided it had reached its ceiling. Trading for LaMelo Ball was the risk of the offseason in the West, but the carnivalesque point guard does raise that ceiling. Analytically (ducks), he’s one of the league’s best at elevating entire lineups. He and Ant-Man will be must-see TV.

4. Denver Nuggets (3rd): The Nuggets haven’t earned any benefit of the doubt against Minnesota specifically, so they’re sliding to fourth on this list via a forecasted head-to-head tiebreaker going against them. Their offseason may or may not have a few plot twists yet to come. Whatever happens, a healthy Nikola Jokic gives Denver one of the highest regular-season floors in the NBA.

5. Houston Rockets (5th): Their 2025-26 season was sort of a disaster, but the Rockets never really got a chance to see the team they had envisioned when they traded for Kevin Durant. Season-ending injuries to point guard Fred VanVleet and center Steven Adams took away massive parts of their identity. This is a sensible run-it-back team, especially if Reed Sheppard keeps developing and Ime Udoka learns to trust him more.

6. Los Angeles Lakers (4th): The only team you can definitively say will not be getting LeBron James. Nobody attempted a more dramatic supporting cast makeover this offseason. And the Lakers might not be better for it — even if they’re theoretically better designed in Luka Doncic’s image.

7. Portland Trail Blazers (7th): Damian Lillard and Ja Morant would’ve been the most fun backcourt in the league in 2023. In 2026, their partnership is the most questionable aspect of Portland’s starting lineup. Still, this is a deep roster with several enviable contracts and a few different guard combinations to try if Dame and Ja cause too many defensive headaches.

8. Utah Jazz (15th): Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Walker Kessler were going to form one of the most fascinating frontcourts to watch in the entire league. Alas, Utah made a disciplined business decision to trade Kessler to Los Angeles. It was never meant to be. Jusuf Nurkic slots in as the starting center now. Not as fun. But the Jazz won’t be a walkover anymore. All eyes are on No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson.

9. Dallas Mavericks (12th): Cooper Flagg will have Dallas back in the playoff picture by the end of his rookie contract.

10. Golden State Warriors (10th): For those 24 glorious hours when everyone thought they were getting Anthony Davis and LeBron, the Warriors were maybe on the verge of top-six status.

11. Memphis Grizzlies (13th): The post-Ja era begins with an exciting trio of young talents in Cam Boozer, Zach Edey and Cedric Coward.

12. Phoenix Suns (8th): One of the pleasant surprises of last season is due for a step back. Who doesn’t want to watch Jalen Green and Miles Bridges trade shots?

13. Los Angeles Clippers (9th): The NBA’s longest active streak of consecutive winning seasons (15) should finally come to an end as the Clippers enter rebuild mode with a core of Darius Garland, rookie Keaton Wagler, Rui Hachimura and Brandon Ingram (pending that pesky Kawhi probe).

14. New Orleans Pelicans (11th): Maybe someday, the Pelicans will actually pull the trigger on a Trey Murphy III trade. He would be fun to watch on a relevant team.

15. Sacramento Kings (14th): Not much to say here, except that Darius Acuff Jr. might be a lot of fun.

Eastern Conference

Now, to the good stuff. The 2026-27 Eastern Conference has a chance to be one of the most fun regular-season playoff races in NBA history. Almost everyone is trying to win. Quite a few teams with high hopes will end up bitterly disappointed. First place and last place are the only two spots on this list that feel somewhat certain. The rest is a complete mess, in the best possible way.

1. New York Knicks (3rd): Mitchell Robinson’s departure sort of resembles Denver’s loss of Bruce Brown after winning the title. But when your championship tax is a bench player, your window is still wide open. The Knicks return a starting five that just posted a 12.5 playoff net rating.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers (2nd): This is without knowing if they’ll acquire a certain someone in free agency. Cleveland still has a strong infrastructure, even after that Eastern Conference Finals embarrassment. If Evan Mobley has another offensive leap in him, that could level the playing field with New York as much as LeBron could.

3. Philadelphia 76ers (7th): Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Jaylen Brown should provide enough firepower to carry the Sixers to a strong regular season even when Joel Embiid’s frequent injury absences are accounted for — even if there might not be enough collective durability to survive a two-month playoff run.

4. Indiana Pacers (14th): Maybe it’s unfair to Tyrese Haliburton to expect him to instantly relaunch this team to home-court advantage in the first round, when he’s fresh off not only a torn Achilles tendon but also a debilitating case of shingles. But whatever. The Pacers should be legit. Ivica Zubac and Kelly Oubre Jr. are interesting wrinkles from the 2025 Finals team.

5. Toronto Raptors (5th): That’s assuming that Kawhi Leonard is allowed to be a Toronto Raptor. With the blockbuster trade delayed as the NBA finishes its investigation of the Clippers for possible cap circumvention, Toronto is a contender in a holding pattern.

6. Boston Celtics (2nd): There’s a fair argument that even after the controversial Jaylen Brown trade, Boston’s 2026-27 rotation is better on paper than the 2025-26 roster that upended all expectations by earning the No. 2 seed. That Jayson Tatum, fully recovered now, is a better player than Brown, filling Brown’s shoes. That center Mitchell Robinson, when healthy, is an upgrade from Neemias Queta, who simply slides down the depth chart. That Paul George, for all the criticism his contract takes, is a vast improvement from starting Sam Hauser or Jordan Walsh. Nonetheless, the Celtics messed with their karmic balance by trading Brown for so little.

7. Detroit Pistons (1st): It wouldn’t be all that surprising if the Pistons have a late-summer move up their sleeve. Without one, their idleness sure looks like complacency. Detroit played hard enough to overcome its roster flaws and become an elite regular-season team last year. The East won’t be so forgiving this time around.

8. Orlando Magic (8th): The biggest change Orlando has made? Firing Jamahl Mosley and hiring Sean Sweeney. Maybe the cultural reset can yield results more on par with last year’s expectations, when the Magic entered the season as a top-three contender in the East. Or maybe its problems run a little deeper. This will be a consequential season in Orlando.

9. Miami Heat (9th): But Giannis! The Heat will have one of the most physically imposing front lines in the NBA with Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo and Andrew Wiggins. Maybe this placement is disrespectful toward Antetokounmpo, who’s more than capable of carrying a team to unexpected heights. But Miami’s roster still has a lot of question marks.

10. Atlanta Hawks (6th): In the absence of a significant move to upgrade their roster, the Hawks seem like they could be a victim of the conference getting better around them. They were an admirable No. 6 seed last season, taking a 2-1 series lead on the eventual champs in the first round. The roster’s ceiling just isn’t high enough with CJ McCollum, Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker as the primary scoring threats.

11. Charlotte Hornets (9th): Pre-LaMelo trade, the Hornets would’ve been a trendy top-six pick. Now, they seem willing to dawdle around the back end of the Play-In Tournament for a little bit longer. Another team with a lot of like about it, but ultimately not enough shot creation.

12. Washington Wizards (15th): If Anthony Davis and Trae Young are healthy and bought in, there’s no reason the Wizards can’t be a Play-In team in AJ Dybantsa’s rookie campaign.

13. Brooklyn Nets (13th): Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle. League Pass darlings. The Nets won’t be good, but even they should be incentivized to try to win games, since they don’t have their own 2027 first-round pick.

14. Chicago Bulls (12th): No. 4 draft pick Caleb Wilson has been talking the talk at Summer League. It would be great news for the NBA if he can walk the walk and put Chicago back on the map.

15.ĚýMilwaukee Bucks (11th): Worst team in the league, suddenly, and it might not be close.

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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.

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Was Allen Iverson, I tapped the other day, actually good for the Nuggets?

Thinking …

Thinking …

Mixed bag. No shock.

“The good: Elite scoring. Playmaking. Excitement.

“The bad: Overlapping skills. Team success. The trade.”

Ah, yes. The trade. The Nuggets eventually swapped Iverson to Detroit in November 2008 after 135 games in blue and gold for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb.

Given almost 18 years of retrospection, AI was the better scorer. Mr. Big Shot was the better fit, better leader, better facilitator, better — well, everything else. The best prep hoopster Denver ever produced steadied George Karl’s ship, helping to march the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals in 2009 against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

Elite scoring. Playmaking. Excitement.

Overlapping skills. Team success. The trade.

Carmelo then, Nikola Jokic now.

Allen Iverson then, LeBron James now.

Not the perfect parallel, granted. But both AI and King James are old dogs, set in their ways, who can’t necessarily be counted on to master new tricks this late in their careers.

Sure, Iverson was all kinds of fun in Denver, even into his 30s — but once a ball hog, always a ball hog. His Nuggs won 45 games in ’06-’07 and won 50 in ’07-08. Only those same Nuggets lost to the Spurs over five games in the first round of ’07 playoffs as AI averaged 22.8 points on 22.8 shots per game. In the ’08 postseason, it was another first-round loss, this time in four games to the Lakers, as Iverson averaged 24.5 points on 20.8 shots per contest.

King James’ Denver interest as a free agent is reportedly flagging, but it ain’t over ’til the fat whiteboard sings. Like AI two decades earlier, James turns the Nuggets into ESPN’s Team, which, by proxy, makes them America’s Team. It’s the Coach Prime Effect times 50. Denver becomes the NBA capital of the world. Ticket values skyrocket. Jerseys fly off the shelves. The King’s presence makes the Nuggs nationally relevant and a heck of a lot more fun to watch.

But like AI, does he make them … better? And better when it counts?

King James is only the second NBA player , our new cultural bar for all-time basketball greatness.  At age 35, he helped carry the Lake Show to a 2020 NBA title at the COVID bubble.

Yet in the six postseasons since, LeBron’s been knocked out in the first round of the playoffs three times, reached the Western Conference Finals once (2023), made the West semis once, and missed the bracket entirely once.

It’s a different game in April, May and June. Different rules. Different defenses. Different calls. But over five playoff runs that followed, he’s only topped the 120 mark in offensive efficiency one other time (2025) and his OR dipped to 109 this past spring while he shot 45.9% from the floor and 32.7% on treys.

If the King’s expected final season was strictly about basketball, purely about joy on the court, it would be the Nuggets, wouldn’t it?  Jokic and Old Man Bron are basketball brothers, hoops savants who always seem to be two to three steps ahead of everyone else.

The Nuggets during the apex of The Joker Era — think 2020-2024 — were at their best when they were looking for the quick bucket on runouts, flipping defense into instant offense. Even if the engine doesn’t turn over as often as it used to, James can still fly at 41.

Joker hitting LeBron mid-stride while the latter runs skinny post routes up the court, then finishing with authority, They’d scare the pants off of even the best Western Conference defenses, Oklahoma City’s slap-happy, grabby mitts included. With King James in the fold, Thunder-Nuggets, for better or worse, would inevitably devolve into a free-throw contest between LeBron and SGA — a ratings boon and aesthetic flop.

Alas, even if the King says his final act isn’t about money, it is about staging. Staging and control.

For one, the buzz says LeBron is lining up a documentary crew to film his version of the last NBA chapter. Can you picture Jokic ever being comfortable with camera crews that aren’t his hanging around to chronicle his every move in the locker room? Or on the bench? Or Kroenke Sports & Entertainment green-lighting an ongoing narrative in which they’ve got neither editorial oversight nor final cut?

For another, One More Ride For Posterity is also designed to end with a ring — or trying, at least. Shea (Thunder), Wemby (San Antonio), LaMelo Ball (Minnesota) and Luka (Lakers) give the Western Conference four of the league’s best six teams. With all apologies to Jalen Brunson and the Knicks, the road to the crown is still simpler and easier via the Eastern Conference route.

Philly is risky, Miami is trite and Cleveland is hackneyed. But if you want the Last Dance to end in confetti, those might be the smarter plays for James’ camp.

The Nuggets’ second-smartest move right now would be to give Peyton Watson $20 million. The smartest would be to facilitate a trade that flips P-Swat into two P-Swat clones. Jokic turns 32 on February 19. If there’s a debate on Chopper Circle between “Elite Scoring” and “Team Success,” it better darn well be a short one.

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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

±ĘłŇ:ĚýJamal Murray, Tyus Jones

ł§łŇ:ĚýChristian Braun, Julian Strawther

ł§ąó:ĚýCam Johnson, Alpha Diallo

±Ęąó:ĚýAaron Gordon, Zeke Nnaji, Trevon Brazile

°ä:ĚýNikola 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.

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With two starters due for a combined $25.8 million salary increase, and with a potential rising star on the bench determined to land a lucrative contract extension, something had to give. The Nuggets were about to get too expensive for owner Stan Kroenke to stomach. Especially after their debacle of a playoff run, which ended before it could begin.

This was the prevailing sentiment for two months leading up to free agency. Almost all Nuggets-related chatter, both inside and outside Ball Arena, seemed to focus on which player(s) they would sacrifice in a trade. Team president Josh Kroenke fueled the rumor mill when he declared in May that “everything is on the table” except trading three-time MVP center Nikola Jokic. Another high-ranking official in the Kroenke sports empire, Kevin Demoff, had hinted months earlier that Denver’s inclination might be to dodge the luxury tax entirely next season as to avoid paying the NBA’s punitive “repeater tax” rates.

That was long before the Nuggets revealed to their power brokers that they were nowhere close to championship-worthy.

So, uh, what’s going on in Denver?

Two weeks since the league’s free agency period began, many teams have completed their offseason business. The Nuggets have been puzzlingly idle. A few highlights so far: Tim Hardaway Jr. leaving for Miami as expected, Jonas Valanciunas getting waived for salary cap relief as expected, Marvin Bagley III and Tyus Jones and Alpha Diallo signing one-year deals.

Something doesn’t add up. As in, it adds up to a sum that continues to leave most NBA observers skeptical. Denver is leaving everyone guessing right now, even other teams.

Should fans be frustrated by the lack of action? Encouraged by it? Or is everything simply on hold?

There are two sides to this to unpack: the financial and basketball perspectives. They’re obviously intertwined, but when trying to make sense of the Nuggets’ position, it’s best to start with the financial, because that was an obstacle that seemed to be motivating their roster decisions even before the on-court problems that emerged against Minnesota.

Before last season, the Nuggets were choosing between two extension-eligible 2022 draftees who had one year remaining on their rookie contracts: Christian Braun and Peyton Watson. They chose Braun, the more proven player at that point, an efficient 15-point-per-game starter the previous season and a strong (if flawed) defender. They signed him to a five-year deal that would go into effect in 2026. They felt comfortable taking Watson to restricted free agency and maybe even losing him. Three years into his career, he seemed to be developing into a solid 3-and-D bench player, but maybe not much more than that.

The Nuggets were looking ahead to their 2026-27 payroll and didn’t want to commit large chunks of money to both players. Watson told The Denver Post in October: “From what I understand, it was just a financial business decision. Obviously, with the new CBA and the second apron, things of that nature, they wanted to stay out of that.”

Braun went on to have an injury-riddled season, the worst of his career. Watson had the best season of his, particularly by showcasing his off-the-dribble ability when Jokic was hurt in January.

The outlook shifted. The Nuggets suddenly knew they would be entering the 2026 offseason with six starter-level players whose combined salary would result in a roster payroll above all three tax thresholds: the luxury tax ($200.4 million), first apron ($209 million) and second apron ($221.7 million). They wanted to keep Watson, recognizing the importance of his two-way talent and athleticism. They signaled as much to other teams.

If their previous actions had already indicated they were prepared to sacrifice him to stay under the second apron, then changing course and keeping him would surely mean sacrificing someone else.

That was the foundational logic that led people around the NBA to believe they were almost guaranteed to trade a starter. An oversimplification of the salary cap math looked like this: Lose one of your six starter-level players to get under the second apron, or lose two to duck the tax completely. Perhaps other creative ways to shed salary would emerge, but this was the basic state of the union. Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer would be tasked with threading the needle between cutting payroll and improving the roster.

From this perspective, the fact that Denver has not yet lost any of those top six players can ironically be interpreted as an aggressive stance, not a conservative one. The moves that were expected to have happened by now would’ve been motivated primarily by money, not purely by basketball. Could it be that the Kroenkes are going all-in to chase a second championship? Suddenly, in recent weeks, there’s been reporting from national media outlets that “Denver’s ownership has not given its front office a mandate to cut costs.” The Post has been told similarly.

But that didn’t seem to be the case three weeks ago when the Nuggets were actively exploring the trade market, as The Post and other outlets reported, with Braun and Cam Johnson widely considered to be their leading candidates to be shipped off.

What can it mean? Maybe there’s been a change of heart, and an executive decision has been made to spend lavishly. Maybe it’s connected to the team’s pursuit of LeBron James in free agency (how do you even begin to pitch him on coming to Denver for the veteran minimum if you’re not willing to pay up in every other corner of the roster?), or maybe it’s a reaction to Jokic’s decision to delay signing a new extension again. As direct as he was in publicly stating his plan to sign next summer, maybe the pressure of him entering the last guaranteed season of his current contract has scared the Nuggets straight.

Maybe this is an earnest, full-throttle statement of championship intent.

Or maybe the abrupt timing of this leakage is a little too convenient.

The Nuggets have multiple reasons to want the rest of the NBA to believe they’re working with a blank check right now. One of those reasons: Watson.

Negotiations have clearly not gone smoothly. The line of demarcation seems to be $25 million. That’s Braun’s average annual value on his new contract — the deal Denver prioritized over Watson — and now it’s the number Watson’s camp can fixate on. His side can point to last season and claim that he’s worth the same amount or more than Braun going forward. The Nuggets can point to the previous three years and say Braun’s overall body of work is better so far, that $25 million is a lot to pay when the sample size of Watson’s star potential is only one month.

As this stalemate has drawn out, other teams have been reportedly lingering with desire to poach Watson. The Clippers, Bucks and Hawks have all been linked to him recently.

Watson is a restricted free agent, meaning those teams must extend him an offer sheet, the terms of which Denver can match to retain him. Offer-sheeting a player can be risky because it ties down your cap until the situation is resolved, with no guarantee that you will successfully land the player you’re targeting. The Nuggets are saying behind the scenes that they’re prepared to match any offer sheet. Basically, they’re trying to scare off any suitors by indicating the offer sheet would be a waste of time, and the only real way to get Watson from them would be to execute a sign-and-trade, sending Denver other assets in exchange for the right to sign the RFA. Utah just did this with Walker Kessler, who ended up with the Lakers via sign-and-trade. The Jazz netted an impressive package of draft picks.

How can you bolster your leverage in a situation like this? By signaling publicly that you’re willing to pay an exorbitant payroll and tax bill to keep Watson and everyone else.

This also sends a message that you aren’t desperate to trade a starter (or two) to keep Watson — that you’re more than happy to hold on to Johnson, Braun, Aaron Gordon or Jamal Murray if the offer isn’t strong enough.

If there is a spending mandate, then other teams might look to take advantage with low-ball trade offers.

So maybe the purported lack of any such mandate could turn out to be a bluff for leverage. Or maybe it’s a real edict, a genuine commitment to competitiveness at all costs. There’s almost no way to know for sure until the Nuggets take an action to back up their words. For now, inaction has the appearance of aggression, as Denver attempts to wait out the market.

Certainly, it seems like the key domino will be how the Watson dilemma works itself out — either in the form of a contract extension, or an unmatched offer sheet, or a sign-and-trade, or a begrudgingly accepted qualifying offer ($6.5 million).

ESPN front office expert Bobby Marks (a former NBA executive) projected last week that if the Nuggets retain Watson at a $25 million cap hit and don’t trade any starters, their luxury tax bill next season would exceed $170 million — that includes second apron and repeater tax penalties. That’s in addition to what the raw roster payroll would be.

Between player salaries and taxes, it would be a $400 million team. Every dollar added in salary would increase the tax bill further.

Which finally leads to the basketball perspective on Denver’s offseason holding pattern. It would be one thing to pay that much if the Nuggets had just lost the NBA Finals in a tight six-game series with their current roster — if they knew for a fact that a championship was barely out of reach last season.

But the Nuggets didn’t make the Finals. They didn’t win a single playoff series. They lost in the first round to an injured opponent. They weren’t close.

Fans of an NBA team obviously have no obligation to care about the dent in a billionaire owner’s wallet. But it’s also reasonable enough for Nuggets fans to want change this offseason, independent of the financial complications. There’s a fair case to be made that Denver should be pursuing trades solely based on basketball, even if the Kroenkes have decided they’re willing to spend like few owners have ever spent. Perimeter defense, shot creation depth, downhill quickness and frontcourt insurance for Gordon are all visibly lacking.

It’s just that the reason fans want change might not be exactly aligned with the reason this ownership group might want it.

It’s difficult to imagine the Nuggets feeling satisfied with the results of the last three seasons enough to truly run it back with the same top six players and less depth.

Then consider that those six players are aging. Then consider that the cost of those six players is multiplying.

It’s more than enough evidence to leave you wondering if Denver’s silence is misleading.

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LeBron James could be a Nugget.

A fever dream became more rooted in reality when agent Rich Paul confirmed his client’s interest in the Nuggets on his “Game Over” podcast with Max Kellerman.  Paul used a whiteboard to list 10 suitors for LeBron.

Five made the inner circle. The Nuggets were among them, joined by Cleveland, Philadelphia, Miami and Minnesota.

Of course, the Nuggets could be getting played, winking back at James as the Cavs hang “Welcome Home” banners outside Rocket Arena.

But when Kellerman asked quizzically if the Nuggets were a legitimate destination, Paul responded, “(They) wouldn’t be on the whiteboard (if they weren’t).”

Taking Paul at his word — always dangerous with any agent — the Nuggets must take the hint.

It’s time to put on a full-court press for James. Time for the Kroenkes to be all in.

Go for the old. Go for the bold. Go for the gold.

Want to place soothing balm on three years of disappointing playoff finishes? Chase after a legend whose addition would shake our state’s sports landscape to its core.

Anything less than an open-throttle pursuit is disingenuous. All talk of championship windows with Nikola Jokic comes across as hollow if the Nuggets watch this parade from the curb.

To be clear, this July is not about James. It is about Stan and Josh Kroenke. As the Nuggets owner and president, they hold the PIN numbers to the ATM and the keys to the locker room.

There is no guarantee the Nuggets will get LeBron James. But it is 100% certain they won’t without the Kroenkes being all in.

If there was ever a reason to go into the second apron and absorb the repeater tax, this is it.

James likes the Nuggets. He is friends with Josh Kroenke. And he respects KSE’s sports empire of championships delivered by the Nuggets, Avalanche, Rams and Arsenal.

Even with all the cringeworthy things James does and the massive attention he brings, this is an opportunity that cannot be dismissed.

If James is seriously considering the Nuggets over the coming days, the question is simple: If the Kroenkes cannot be bothered to recruit James, the NBA’s all-time scorer and, to the younger generation, the sport’s greatest ever, then why play the season? Why compete? Just call the second apron a hard cap and be done with it.

There have long been pros and cons to bringing on James. He sucks the oxygen out of every room. He becomes the hub of the universe. And, when not happy, he can take out the coach or hold a franchise hostage with his whims.

What makes this different is the timing. Season 24 sets up as James’ last, especially given the Hoops Hype report that the four-time MVP has discussed filming a documentary about the campaign.

James is a lot. But no longer for a lot. Or for a long time.

All indications are that he is prioritizing happiness over money in his next contract. Of course, that means winning, too. And Paul drew the names of Jamal Murray, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon and Jokic as an enticing foursome James could join.

Peyton Watson was curiously absent. He is also Paul’s client, so perhaps it was a coded message, a reminder that Johnson might need to go to pay Watson his worth.

Typically, I spray cold water on stories like this. I covered Alex Rodriguez nearly signing with the Rockies in 2000 before he accepted a quarter billion from the Texas Rangers. Smart agents — no one is better than Scott Boras — create markets out of sand pits and leverage mysterious teams into more money.

The reason this has legs is because of the fit.

James excels at the two-man game. No team is better at this than the Nuggets. Jokic and LeBron would not play basketball; they would give nightly recitals. Put LeBron on the wing and let Jokic find him. It would represent the most unselfish pairing of superstars the league has ever seen.

Want to convince LeBron to become a Nugget? Mention Jokic. Over and over.

Want to convince Jokic that being a Nugget still matters? Sell out to sign LeBron.

Jokic was in favor of bringing in Russell Westbrook. There is no reason to believe he would not open his arms to the 41-year-old.

James to the Nuggets conjures memories of Peyton Manning choosing the Broncos. An all-time great aiming for a final championship.

Current BetOnline numbers give the Nuggets 10-to-1 odds of signing James.

Some fans wish they were longer. It is a fascinating wrinkle to this story that James would have to win over the Mile High City. Playing for the Lakers for the last eight seasons made him the enemy.

He won a single ring with the Lakers in 2020, knocking out the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals in the bubble. When posting Paul’s whiteboard on my Facebook page, the comments against James came in fast and furious, calling the idea “Bad News,” “Not worth $30 million,” and “No please.”

The anger is understandable. James’ fine whine in playoff series against the Nuggets has left footprints on fans’ brains.

Here is how I see it. The Nuggets have the money. They have the roster. They have the pedigree. But to unseat the Spurs and Thunder, they need an impact player.

There is no one on the market who covers all the bases like James. Injuries will be a concern. So will the distractions. And his workload must be managed to make sure he is rested for the postseason.

All the talk of running it back and staying healthy can no longer insult our intelligence. It reached that flash point with me during Game 3 against the Timberwolves.

James is available. He is interested. The ball is in the Kroenkes’ court.

The time is now to pursue The King, for Jokic, for a realistic chance at another championship.

At least, that’s what Rich Paul’s visual aid suggests.

James is indeed considering the Nuggets as a potential free agency destination, his longtime friend and agent said on “,” a podcast that Paul hosts with Max Kellerman.

As a discussion guide for the show’s LeBron segment Friday, with James’ name at the center and 10 teams orbiting it. Five of those teams were scribbled on the outer edges of the board: New York, San Antonio, Dallas, Boston and Golden State, the last of which caused Kellerman to wonder aloud if Paul was trying to throw people off the scent. The Warriors have been widely considered one of the favorites to land James for his 24th season.

Then there were the five teams closest to James’ name, expressed as quartets — the projected starting lineups that LeBron would hypothetically be joining.

Cleveland, Philadelphia, Miami, Minnesota, Denver.

“Is Denver actually a legitimate destination?” Kellerman asked.

“It wouldn’t be on the board (if it wasn’t),” Paul replied.

The four players listed to represent Denver were Jamal Murray, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic — a decision almost as curious as the one to relegate Golden State to the exterior. Notably absent was Peyton Watson, a restricted free agent who is also Paul’s client. The Nuggets entered this offseason prepared to trade at least one starter (with Johnson seen as the most likely candidate) to help them re-sign Watson, wanting to signal that he was their top priority.

No such trade has materialized two days into free agency, and no contract agreement has been reached with Watson yet.

That Denver has seemingly taken a step back on the trade front, at least for the moment, can ironically be interpreted as an aggressive stance. The Nuggets aren’t required by rule to clear out any salary to make room for a new Watson contract. They have Watson’s full Bird rights, having drafted and developed him over the last four years. They can spend as lavishly as they want to keep him — even into the second apron. It’s just that NBA owners, including the Kroenkes, have shown a tendency to treat the second apron as a self-imposed hard cap.

The Nuggets are projected to be a second apron team if they re-sign Watson and don’t cut any other salary. They would also be paying repeater tax penalties.

But in a crowded field of LeBron suitors, perhaps that’s the best way to stand out as a committed championship contender. For now, Paul’s omission of Watson on the whiteboard reads as a leverage play.

“They’ve got one big hurdle,” he said of the Nuggets’ offseason, referring to Watson.

The Denver Post first reported on Wednesday that the Nuggets had contacted James to show interest in the 41-year-old forward, who’s nearing the end of a legendary career. Paul’s whiteboard confirms that the interest is mutual, even if Denver isn’t the frontrunner. He has said that James is willing to sign a low-cost deal and that his decision will be based on “happiness.”

The superagent also wrote the name “Kroenke” on the board, referencing James’ friendship with Nuggets president Josh Kroenke, then taking note of owner Stan Kroenke’s recent track record of winning championships in various sports leagues.

The four players listed for Cleveland were Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

For Miami: Davion Mitchell, Andrew Wiggins, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.

For Philadelphia: Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, newly acquired Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid.

For Minnesota: Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert.

Welcome to the Nuggets’ offseason.

Hope you like cold showers and sunburns.

While top free agents got the bag across the NBA, the Nuggets got the Bagley, a reserve center on his sixth team in nine seasons.

Marvin Bagley III is a functional NBA player as draft busts go, but didn’t Denver already corner the market on limited 6-foot-10 reserves with Zeke Nnaji and DaRon Holmes II?

While contenders made blockbuster trades in Miami, Toronto and Philadelphia, the Nuggets let super agent Rich Paul know they would like to purchase a ticket in the LeBron James lottery.

The Broncos drove us crazy with their inactivity in free agency, but they landed Jaylen Waddle. The local hoops team continues to rile up Nuggets Nation, and they could not get the Celtics to listen on Jaylen Brown.

You can’t make a team center a trade around stars — but if the Nuggets had made Jamal Murray available, it’s hard to believe Boston would not have picked up the phone. Regardless, when the deal was finalized, it was disappointing.

The 76ers acquired Brown, an elite two-way player, for 36-year-old Paul George, a 2028 first-round pick, an unprotected 2031 first-rounder, two 2028/2030 second-rounders, a podcast and a partridge in a pear tree.

I cannot crush the Nuggets if the Celtics wanted draft picks. I can blame Calvin Booth. He sent six out to shed Reggie Jackson’s contract and draft Holmes.

So here we are on the cusp of America’s 250th birthday, and the Nuggets are holding sparklers.

Boom? More like yawn.

Thursday’s big news? The Nuggets are bringing back guard Tyus Jones.

The offseason priority now becomes retaining restricted free agent Peyton Watson and monitoring text messages about LeBron, even as the Warriors, Cavs, and Heat remain the favorites.

Watson is a worthy pursuit. On a team that needs youth, athleticism, length, shot-blocking, and shot-making, Watson meets all the criteria. He is 23 with an intriguing offensive ceiling after he showed he could create offense off the dribble last season.

Co-GMs Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer have made it clear they want Watson back. And in this otherwise underwhelming offseason for the Nuggets, they caught a break with all the movement around them.

A few weeks ago, it appeared Watson might receive an offer sheet for $28 million annually from the Lakers or Clippers. Circumstances have changed.

The Lakers spent their money on Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton and Luke Kennard. The Clippers shipped out Kawhi Leonard, pivoting younger, and positioning themselves to make a run at Watson.

But they are dealing with their own restricted free agent, Bennedict Mathurin, a player they would like to keep after they traded standout center Ivica Zubac for him last season.

The Nuggets are operating with patience, painful as it may be. The Clippers seem like the only team that could make an outrageous bid for Watson. With that growing increasingly unlikely, Denver is in no rush.

So what’s next?

The Nuggets are not going to sign Watson for the $6.5 million qualifying offer, even if they could. It would be bad business, an unnecessary slight after paying Christian Braun instead of Watson last October.

The fact that the Nuggets have not traded Cam Johnson suggests they are not rushing to clear salary for Watson ahead of a forthcoming offer sheet.

Which brings us back to president Josh Kroenke and the season-ending press conference. He warned us that he was willing to reward the core and run it back.

It won’t look like the worst decision if they win 52 games in the regular season. Just wait until the playoffs. And the frustration will come flooding back.

Again, it is their choice. Just don’t talk about windows and winning championships. It insults our intelligence.

The idea that this team is a healthy Aaron Gordon from unseating the Spurs or Thunder is laughable. The Nuggets let Tim Hardaway Jr. walk for $6.5 million. He made 224 3-pointers.

Losing him makes you better?

Please.

This team needed to bring in players to change the personality, add toughness and defense.

The Nuggets have signed Bagley. He is not an enforcer.

They brought back Jones. He is a good ball handler.

They have talked up second-round draft picks Trevon Brazile and Bryce Hopkins like they are going to play meaningful minutes, which probably won’t happen without injuries.

They have sat out the first two waves of free agency, making no significant adjustments.

This team is going to contend for a title? OK. Is there a volume lower than mute, because I don’t want to hear it.

And what about Jokic?

Murray did his teammate and friend a solid by traveling across the globe to watch Serbia dominate Switzerland in Fribourg on Thursday. Gordon traveled to Prague in 2022 to watch the Joker.

The problem with this team is not affection. It is competition. Making players uncomfortable. That would show that the Nuggets recognize the truth.

That they know they capitulated in the playoffs to the Timberwolves because they were not good enough. Not because they were hurt. Every time that excuse surfaces, folks neglect to mention they were ousted by Minnesota’s JV backcourt.

It is impossible to fix a problem when you don’t see one.

This is where Jokic’s stance on his contract becomes interesting. Will he apply pressure by not signing his extension? Will he insist that the Nuggets’ brass explain what its plan is, not only for this season, but beyond?

The hardest thing for executives is evaluating their own team. They like the players. They picked them. But they must remove emotion from their decision-making. And that does not seem to be happening.

The Nuggets’ front office hurt when the team bottomed out in Minneapolis. That was May 1. What have been the consequences? Cutting Jalen Pickett?

There is still time to make subtle adjustments, or shock the world and sign LeBron.

For now, it seems like the team is on vacation and all the fans are going to get is a weeks-away press conference touting the return of Peyton Watson.

Wake me when it’s over.

Don’t get me wrong. Dream big or go home, right? King James and Nikola Jokic would destroy at least 60 rims during the regular season and break the Internet roughly 50 times a night. They could serve as the second and third estates to check/balance David Adelman’s executive branch. They’d eat up the first 17 minutes of any given “SportsCenter,” all by themselves. They’d be the best thing for Denver hoops and the worst thing for America’s “caps lock” buttons.

There’s just one problem with the idea of free agent LeBron James, one of the best three or four players ever, calling the Mile High City home at age 41.

The Nuggets probably can’t afford him.

They reportedly hit July sitting at about $12 million above the NBA’s first cap apron Which means if the King wants to sign a veteran minimum deal in order to play with Jokic, welcome aboard.

Frankly, it’s hard to see Nuggets boss Josh Kroenke pulling that kind of sales job off in this economy. For one thing, pegs LeBron to be If James plays more than 72 games, that estimate creeps into the $30-million-per-year ballpark.

That’s Peyton Watson-level money, allegedly. Which we’ll circle back to in a second.

The Russell Westbrook Experience was fun, or maddening, depending on which fan you ask. But Beastbrook agreed to a two-year contract worth an average of $3.39 million to live the Hard Nuggs Life. Hardaway Jr. took a $2.296 million flyer last summer on a one-year, here-for-the-ring fling.

Miami on Tuesday night basically tripled that number ($6.5 million), and the Nuggets let Tim and his career-high 224 3-pointers from last season walk out the door. Just like that. Meanwhile, Zeke Naji is slated to carry a $7.47-million cap hit next season. No wonder Nuggets faithful so often feel like walking to the nearest brick wall and bashing their foreheads against it for fun.

Nobody deserves those kinds of headaches, time and again. You’d hope Hardaway’s exit is the first sign that the Nuggets’ front office is ready to dig deep to match any offer for Denver’s restricted free agent wing, Peyton Watson, whose January scoring raised his market price and whose April absence raised some eyebrows.

Given Watson’s Los Angeles roots (Long Beach Polytechnic High School, then UCLA), it wasn’t a coincidence that SoCal’s two NBA franchises were the ones who kicked off the first few hours of free agency Tuesday by opening up oodles of cap space to shop with. The Clippers swapped Kawhi Leonard and his $50.3-million cap number to Toronto, while James announced that he was leaving the Lakers, reportedly opening up $51-52 million of cap room for the latter.

Watson can chase the highest bidder, but the Nuggets can match any offer. Is Watson worth $25 million per season if Christian Braun, who landed the extension last summer that P-Swat wanted, is worth $21.55 million to the Kroenkes? Sure. Is Watson worth $30 million, which puts him closer to Aaron Gordon’s ballpark ($31.97 million)? Probably not.

KSE’s first priority should be retaining Watson, who’s young, long, athletic, a rangy defender whose offensive game is finally matching the rest of his skill set. But should that fail, or the competing offers get absurd, then the second goal has to be making sure that Watson doesn’t walk out the door for nothing. The sign-and-trade option shouldn’t be a first resort, but it has to be somewhere within arm’s reach. The Clippers, however, reportedly own five over that same span.

Run it back and you’re The ill-fated Nuggets-Timberwolves series taught us that the franchise still had at least four more things under the hood that needed fixing:

• To get younger and more athletic.
• To get tougher. To find someone else to go after Jaden McDaniels.
• To play better defense.
• To have more adults on the bench who can counsel Adelman in the postseason.

King James ticks three of those four boxes, even as the legend’s 42nd birthday looms in December. Mind you, Gordon largely checks off the same ones, and he’s already on the payroll. For now.