The Los Angeles Angels, mind you, cost Uncle Stan quite a bit more than three bucks during BP.

It took a few decades, but a man named for two Major League Baseball players is about to join the ranks of MLB ownership. Enos (as in Enos Slaughter) Stanley (as in Stan Musial) Kroenke, according to reports, has reached an agreement to buy the Halos from previous owner Arte Moreno, effective in early 2027.

Assuming the deal goes through, that puts Stan a leg up at the next family BBQ on the baseball front, at least. The Penner Sports Group — which is overseen by Walton-Penner and her husband Greg and, like Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, is part of the Walmart financial empire — has owned the Broncos since August 2022 and purchased a 40% stake in the Rockies this past April. Penner said last month that they had no plans to extend that investment, and that control of the flailing baseball franchise will remain with the club’s majority owners, the Monfort family.

Yeah, that last one didn’t sit well with the baseball sickos on the Grading The Week staff, either. Especially after longtime season-ticket holders we know texted us to grouse about receiving notice from the club of a 14% price hike for next season, all while a potentially nuclear work stoppage looms in early 2027.

The Monforts are the Dodgers of leveraging real estate and selling alcohol. Unfortunately, the Rox also play in the same division as the real Dodgers and are therefore trying to avoid becoming the first MLB club since the Mets in 1965 to string together four straight seasons with 100 or more losses.

Kroenke buys Angels, Rox still stink — D

In a perfect world, KSE would’ve bought the Rockies from the Monforts ages ago. The games would fill up those dry summer months of programming on Altitude TV and spice up the evening hours on Altitude Sports Radio. Nikola Jokic would be rocking the owner’s box at Coors Field, a world-class player at a world-class venue,

While KSE’s stewardship of the Nuggets and Avs has at times been mercurial, it’s also been fairly successful from a standings perspective. And given the concurrent sagas of Peyton Watson, whom the Nuggets just traded to Cleveland rather than extend; and Cale Makar, who just landed the largest contract in NHL history, it’ll be fascinating to see how KSE handles payroll in a non-salary-capped sport. (Well, non-capped for now, boys and girls.)

Uncle Stan had reportedly bid for the Dodgers before, and like 99.99% of big-time North American sports franchise purchases, this one feels more like a land grab on Kroenke’s part than some burning desire to become the next Gene Autry. KSE’s SoFi Stadium, home to the Rams and landlords to the Chargers, is the centerpiece of the Hollywood Park entertainment district in Inglewood, Calif.

Magic Johnson, a minority owner of the Dodgers, welcomed Stan into the MLB ownership club via X.com, then thanked him for letting the NBA icon “rent their beautiful yacht named Aquila for 7 years!”

Those Walmart braggin’ rights are in Stan’s court, given that KSE’s got a tentacle in every major North American sports circuit, with the MLB arm (Angels) joining the NFL (Rams), NBA (Nuggets), NHL (Avalanche), and MLS (Rapids).

And given the global reach of the Arsenal brand, only the oceans cover more of planet Earth than the Kroenkes do at the moment.

On the baseball side, wish Stan luck. The Angels are — were? — one of the few MLB ownership situations that might have a more contentious vibe with its fan base than the Rockies do with Denverites. The Halos are on their sixth manager in eight years. The Angels even had their very own Kris Bryant situation in third baseman Anthony Rendon. The former All-Star landed a seven-year, $246-million contract with the Halos after helping Washington win a World Series in 2019 — then promptly fell apart. The infielder, now 36 years old, has spent this season away from the club, yet hasn’t formally retired.

Rendon’s agent? Scott Boras. Yep — the same guy who represents KB23. Small world, isn’t it? If nothing else, the GTW sickos are looking forward to watching Mike Trout run around in a Jokic jersey or a Nathan MacKinnon sweater soon.

Stan Kroenke’s purchase of a controlling stake in the Los Angeles Angels — reportedly for an — is the latest frontier for his Denver-based holding company, Kroenke Sports and Entertainment. The 79-year-old real estate developer is now the only sports owner with teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB.

The Angels will join the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids (Major League Soccer), Colorado Mammoth (Major League Lacrosse) and Arsenal (Premier League) under KSE’s umbrella. Kroenke’s estimated net worth is $24.3 billion, according to Forbes, surpassing the Mets’ Steve Cohen as baseball’s richest owner.

Other current “sports empires” include Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils and Crystal Palace F.C.; Rogers Communications, which operates Toronto’s Raptors, Blue Jays and Maple Leafs; Madison Square Garden Sports, which owns the New York Knicks and Rangers; and Fenway Sports Group, with control of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool F.C.

But KSE already stood tall over the rest, even before its acquisition of the Angels. As of June, it was valued at $26.05 billion, .

Here is a timeline of Kroenke’s expansion across several of the most prominent professional sports leagues in the world.

Stan Kroenke’s sports team ownership timeline

1995:��Kroenke buys a in the Rams, helping majority owner Georgia Frontiere facilitate the team’s relocation from Los Angeles to St. Louis, Missouri. He increases his minority stake to 40% two years later.

1999: Kroenke founds KSE (originally named Kroenke Sports Enterprises) to function as the parent company for his sports holdings.

2000:��Kroenke buys the Nuggets, Avalanche and Pepsi Center (now named Ball Arena) in downtown Denver from Ascent Entertainment Group, taking full ownership of both teams and their home venue for $450 million total.

2003: Kroenke buys the Colorado Rapids from Anschutz Entertainment Group, with plans to build a new stadium for the MLS club that opens four years later.

2007:��Kroenke buys a 9.9% stake in Arsenal, beginning his gradual accumulation of shares in the London-based soccer club.

2010: Kroenke buys the remaining 60% of the Rams from Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, the children of Frontiere, who died in 2008. The franchise valuation is $750 million, meaning Kroenke pays $450 million for the remaining 60% to complete his full takeover. His son, Josh Kroenke, is appointed president of the Nuggets and governor of the Avalanche.

2011:��Kroenke takes over a controlling stake in Arsenal .

2015: Due to the NFL’s cross-ownership rules, Kroenke officially to his wife, Ann Walton Kroenke. His son, Josh Kroenke, remains heavily involved in running KSE’s Denver-based teams.

2016:��The NFL approves Kroenke’s plan to relocate the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, where a privately funded $1.8 billion stadium takes root in nearby Inglewood — Kroenke’s most ambitious sports-related real estate development. SoFi Stadium hosts its first Rams game in 2020.

2018: Kroenke completes his bid for full control of Arsenal, buying out rival billionaire Alisher Usmanov’s 30% stake after a years-long standoff. The 132-year-old team is valued at $2.3 billion as Kroenke becomes the sole owner, .

2019: Kroenke extends his commitment to keep the Nuggets and Avalanche in Denver through 2040, in exchange for control of the land surrounding Ball Arena, which is part of a sweeping plan to develop vacant parking lots into a mixed-use district.

2026:��Kroenke becomes majority owner of the Los Angeles Angels, succeeding Arte Moreno.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Kroenke Sports and Entertainment says it has reached a deal to purchase the Los Angeles Angels from Arte Moreno.

The company led by Stan Kroenke made the surprising announcement Tuesday, saying it expects to close the transaction in early 2027.

Kroenke’s company owns the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, Arsenal of the English Premier League, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids and SoFi Stadium, along with the large Hollywood Park campus around the multibillion-dollar Inglewood arena. The company has now added the Angels, whose turbulent 23-year tenure under Moreno’s ownership will finally come to an end.

“The Angels are a storied franchise anchored in a great market,” Kroenke said in a statement. “We look forward to an exciting future with the Angels organization.”

Moreno, an outdoor advertising magnate from Arizona, bought the Angels from the Walt Disney Company in 2003. While the club had steady success in its first years under Moreno with much of the roster that won the 2002 World Series, the Halos have entered a decline since winning their most recent playoff game in 2009.

The Angels are currently headed to their 11th consecutive losing season and their 12th consecutive non-playoff season, both the longest active streaks in the majors.

They’ve made the playoffs just once during the career of three-time AL MVP outfielder Mike Trout, who teamed with two-time AL MVP Shohei Ohtani for six straight seasons with no success.

A significant portion of the Angels’ struggles can be attributed to the 80-year-old Moreno, who repeatedly inserted himself into personnel decisions. While he spent aggressively in his attempts to build a winner, his biggest moves usually backfired, with a series of high-profile acquisitions who produced a fraction of their anticipated impact.

The Angels have also endured numerous troubles off the field during Moreno’s tenure, from the drug-related death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs to numerous smaller scandals.

The Angels remained a healthy box office draw to their loyal Orange County fans during most of his tenure, but the fan base had lost patience in recent years. Angel Stadium’s slightly smaller crowds this season have regularly chanted “Sell the team!”

The lack of success also began to wear on Moreno, whose children reportedly aren’t interested in carrying on in the baseball business. Moreno publicly explored a sale of the Angels in 2022, only to pull the team off the market in early 2023.

“The Moreno family has been honored to steward the Angels for 23 years, and we believe with KSE’s experience and success, they are the best next owner for the franchise,” Moreno said in a statement. “The Angels organization looks forward to continuing its commitment to the fans, our employees, the players and our business partners.”

Crazy eyes. Brows in attack mode. Nostrils burning like sparklers at an Independence Day picnic. A grown man who’s not gonna take this bleep anymore.

You think the Nuggets would ever sit on their hands over the summer — any summer — if the Joker went at ownership the way a black bear goes at an Arby’s dumpster?

Pay for Peyton Watson, or I walk.

Find us a backup ball-handler besides Tyus Jones, or I’m going house-hunting in Brentwood with Luka Doncic.

“My idea and desire is to stay in Denver. I’ll probably sign (an extension) next year,” Jokic told reporters in Serbian last month after a FIBA World Cup qualifier. “My desire is to play the rest of my life in Denver.”

No, no, no, dude! Angrier! Pretend Lu Dort just stole Delicious Gar! Hulk smash!

The Kroenkes got lucky about 17 different ways with Jokic, didn’t they?  Especially the part about how the best-passing center in the history of the NBA also happens to be a very nice guy. Unless, of course, you stick your leg out to try and trip him.

The basketball gods will never shine on Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke and team president Josh Kroenke again the way they did with the Joker. Ever. And they know it.

You sometimes wonder if they take advantage of it, too.

The way the Nuggets botched their roster-building — the Zeke Nnaji contract and Reggie Jackson-to-Charlotte trade providing the nadir — around Jokic, most NBA icons, by now, would’ve fled our fair landlocked shores. Or kicked up enough red rocks that management started to get the hint.

But that’s not Nikola. An NBA flyover franchise in a proud, provincial, hard-working, no-frills, blue-collar town bags a proud, provincial, hard-working, no-frills, blue-collar gem in the second round of the 2014 draft. A star falls from the sky and lands in your lap while ESPN’s busy cutting away to a Taco Bell commercial. The greatest player in Nuggets history, more often than not, still acts as if he’s just happy to be rolling with the fellas. From his origin story onward, the Joker has become the super-hero movie long-suffering Front Range fans deserved.

, brother, sequels are awfully hard to pull off. We’ve entered the “Nobody Repeats!” phase of 21st-century NBA history, with eight different franchises — including Denver in 2023 — winning league titles over the last eight seasons.

It’s as if the Nuggets, like Icarus, flew too close to the sun, and the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement has spent the last two years melting the wax on their wings.

They’re the only franchise over They’re in a staring contest with Watson, a restricted free agent, that could last until September. Three-point specialist Tim Hardaway Jr. bolted for Miami and backup center Jonas Valanciunas went back to Europe.

Unless the Kroenkes are willing to eat some serious tax money, the franchise is probably going to have to try to trade — and without much leverage — one of wing guards Watson, Cameron Johnson ($23.1 million cap number for 2026-27) or Christian Braun ($21.5 million) to balance the books. Bruce Brown looks like a long shot to return.

If you’re the Joker, is this how you envision spending the winter of a Hall-of-Fame career? Hey, I want Jokic, 31, to retire a Nugget as much as the next fella. Given that he’s still, at heart, a small-town guy with a small-town franchise, the smart money still says he’s not going anywhere.

But we’re talking serious money, too. Jokic could’ve signed a four-year, $278-million supermax contract extension this summer. Instead, he says he’d prefer to kick that gold-plated can to next summer, when he’s eligible for a whopping $359.5 million over five seasons — the largest in NBA history.

What did he say in that second sentence, though? Probably.

Which means between now and next June, the Nuggets have to show him something. Something besides Stan’s checkbook, at any rate.

“I think this team is stacked, still,” NBC/Peacock insider Grant Liffmann, who spent three seasons in the Atlanta Hawks’ front office, told me recently. “He’s a top-5 player in the league. Any team that has a top-5 player in the league has a chance to win a championship every single year, right? And he was the top player in the world pretty much the last five years.”

He was, which is why it feels as if the Nuggets’ title window was 2019-2024. That the S.S. Larry O’Brien just sailed. We just don’t know it yet. Or don’t want to admit it.

Half-full view: They snatched one ring. And it was glorious. A hazy fever dream of confetti and cigar smoke, the time of our lives. The ’23 Finals were over in five games. The Heat rolled over so quickly, we barely had time to savor the moment.

Half-empty: They should’ve won at least two. And we’re one day all going to look back at the fall of 2023 through the spring of 2025 and grimace.

Game 7 against the Timberwolves in 2024 is going to loom larger and larger in Nuggets nightmares. If you don’t blow a 20-point second-half lead to a hated rival, at home, you take care of Dallas in the next round. Then you take out Boston, which didn’t want to play you, in the NBA Finals. Jokic is a back-to-back champ, and even Kendrick Perkins bows down.

Didn’t happen. And now you wonder where No. 2 is going to come from. And when.

Meanwhile, on paper, Denver’s depth is down a peg — maybe several — off the roster it built last summer. Lonnie Walker IV is here, though. So’s Marvin Bagley III. Even if the Nuggets don’t win a division, at least they’ll lead the Northwest in Roman numerals. Is that enough to convince Joker to stay put?

“It’s a great question,” Pete Babcock, the Nuggets’ GM from 1985-90, told me over the phone. “I think when you’re building a team, or you’re trying to maintain a team at a certain level, if you have a key player that you’re building around, to keep that player, you’ve got to really demonstrate that you are building around them, so that they feel like there’s a chance to win another championship.

“I mean, as an outsider looking in, if you got a player like Jokic, I would assume his decision is going to be based on what he sees around him. And if it feels like there’s a supporting cast of teammates that complement him, and help him be successful, then I think he probably stays put.”

Probably. In the meantime, though, you might want to mute anyone you follow on Xwitter that has Lakers ties for the next 10 months or so. Or friends with Lakers ties.

The NBA’s got more leakers than the Pentagon, and the whispers are already circulating that teams are working to clear cap room for next June so they can make a serious play for the best player on the planet. Including one franchise whose home is just a few steps from the

“I cannot stress enough how much the title window is absolutely open for this (Nuggets) team,” Liffmann said. “I would consider them a top-5 title contender next year.”

Unfortunately, the West’s top two contenders, the Thunder and Spurs, keep stealing everybody else’s lunch. This isn’t an Arby’s, sir. If Jokic wants to pop champagne again on this side of the pond, he needs to have a word with the manager. And no time like the present.

“Do they necessarily need the money? I don’t think so,” Marilyn Venard of Littleton, a Broncos season-ticket holder for seven decades, told me Monday when I brought up the concept of personal seat licenses, or PSLs. “If they want to keep happy fans, they wouldn’t charge it.”

Marilyn is one of those orange-and-blue lifers, the spine and soul of ����apountry. She’s had seats in the north end zone at old Mile High, and now Empower Field at Mile High, since 1965. She’s watched a chain of quarterbacks that runs from Jacky Lee and Mickey Slaughter to Bo Nix.

Venard didn’t hesitate to renew her season tickets for 2026 for $3,000, including parking. boasting an estimated net worth of $146 billion, it does raise eyebrows. And blood pressures.

“Let’s put it this way: I think paying for the privilege of paying them money is something I find a little offensive,” Steve Altman told me by phone Monday. He’s held season tickets at Mile High and Empower since 1987.

“And frankly, I think with this particular ownership group, with the money they have, doesn’t really need it. To me, it just seems a gouge on the fans’ side of that.”

In basic terms, PSLs are a one-time fee to pay for the right to then purchase season tickets. In Buffalo, for example, buying a PSL to the new Highmark Stadium grants you those “rights” for a 30-year span. Those licenses can be eventually be sold if the buyer surrenders their season tickets.

Prices vary by stadium and seat location, but the average minimum price point among 18 NFL teams that offered them last September was $2.744, according to PSLSource.com, a third-party marketplace. Per-seat PSL charges last fall on the site ranged from $50 to $50,000.

“Oh, gracious,”  Venard said. “Well, it’s a lot of money. I don’t think I would pay it.

“I understand that football organizations are charging that now, but my goodness.”

“Would that stop you renewing?” I asked.

“It would certainly take some thought,” she replied.

PSLs are a way for owners to defray big costs, such as stadium construction. They’re as much a part of the NFL lexicon now as Bill Belichick, and twice as soulless.

It’s the sort of scheme would set upon the denizens of Springfield, a gratuity to billionaires from the working class, a mandatory tip collected by corporate overlords. In entertainment terms, it’s a 100-drink minimum to watch the latest slice of low comedy served up by the Las Vegas Raiduhs.

With the Walton-Penner Group planning to build a new stadium privately at Burnham Yard, it’s been presumed for years that PSLs were coming to ����apountry, just as standard NFL practice. This past Saturday at training camp, team president Damani Leech said the quiet part out loud.

“It seems like it����ap a pretty likely thing to happen,” Leech told reporters when asked about PSLs, “but we haven’t made any formal decisions on that.”

All we’d humbly ask of Carrie Walton Penner and Greg Penner as they crunch the numbers is to keep Marilyn in mind. To keep Steve in mind.

And the hundreds of thousands of Broncomaniacs who sat through Paxton Lynch, Kendall Hinton and Lord knows how many snowstorms. The faithful who pack hills and metal bleachers on a scorching August day, because by God, they’d walk through Hell in a gasoline suit to see this franchise back in the Super Bowl again.

“I would (ask), ‘What do they really need the money for?'” Altman said. “I mean, are they interested in the Broncos purely as a business matter, or are they doing this because they want the pleasure of owning an NFL team? You’re talking about some of the richest people in the world.”

Given that the Broncos boast a ticket wait-list of more than 100,000, the market’s betting that if you won’t pay a cover charge, somebody else will. While the introduction of PSLs isn’t designed to purge the voter rolls, so to speak, it can have that effect — especially with older and less well-heeled Broncos faithful.

Altman understands why his season tickets in the 300 level cost $2,800 to renew. But he worries about losing ����apountry’s most loyal, about trading the folks who celebrate a touchdown with a beer and shot with, shall we say, more of your wine-and-cheese crowd.

“‘Would they really need (the PSL money)?'” Altman wondered. “The revenue they’ll get from the seats themselves, that’s pretty much all theirs.”

It’s a fair question. The Walton-Penner Group are the richest owners in the NFL, and it’s not close.

In fact, you’d have to add up the NFL’s second-ranked through seventh-ranked owners’ net worths as of February ($126.6 million) to match or exceed the Walton-Penner Group’s clout. To put that number in more context, Rams owner Stan Kroenke, whose portfolio includes the Nuggets, Avalanche, Rapids and Mammoth, checked in at No. 4 on the NFL’s owners list tis past winter, with a reported net worth of $21.3 billion.

To them, the Broncos are a line item on a budget. To Marilyn? They’re family.

Losing her seats would meaning losing contact with old friends, losing a sense of of community. Venard went to Super Bowls with her neighbors in Section 323. To conference title games. Tailgates.

“And you do become a family,” Venard said. “At the beginning of the season, everybody hugs everybody, welcoming them back.”

Time and tide wait for no man, but she’d miss those hugs dearly. You can’t spell “unscrupulous” without “PSL.” You can’t spell “powerless,” either.

Naturally, the value of your neighboring home would rise. This, according to sports-business expert Patrick Rishe, is analogous to the current economic case of the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks — separated by slightly over 1,000 miles across the American West but approximate neighbors in sheer franchise value.

“When a franchise sells, it really kind of resets the market almost instantly for all the other markets,” said Rishe, a former Forbes contributor and the director of the sports business program at Washington University in St. Louis.

How Seahawks’ sale boosts Broncos

Last weekend, , the Seahawks were bought by a group led by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla for a league-record-setting $9.6 billion, a number longtime sports-valuation expert Drew Dormeiler told The Post was likely inflated due to “competitive bidding.” Just four years ago, the Walton-Penner ownership group bought the Broncos at less than half that price, for a then-record $4.65 billion. Valuation of an NFL franchise isn’t merely as simple as projecting off established price points — but several economic experts The Post spoke with agreed the Walton-Penner’s investment in the Broncos has seen massive appreciation since their 2022 purchase.

And Denver’s franchise valuation could rise comfortably into the top third of the NFL, too, if ownership’s plans for a new mixed-use stadium district at Burnham Yard come to fruition in the coming decade.

“The math on that is, what something is worth is what someone’s willing to pay,” Rishe said. “And the Broncos aren’t going to go on the market anytime soon, obviously. But I would say that it����ap safe to say that the team’s new franchise value at this particular moment, is going to be pretty close to 9.6 billion, because they were viewed in the marketplace as being comparable in terms of market size and brand strength relative to the Seahawks.”

In 2025, Forbes ranked the Broncos No. 13 and Seahawks No. 14 in NFL team valuations, at a respective and . Neighbors. And it takes just a basic understanding of real-estate principles, as Rishe pointed, to understand what that means for Denver’s franchise.

“For the Seahawks to sell for 9.6 billion,” Rishe said, “this immediately skyrockets the Broncos’ franchise value compared to the estimate Forbes produced last year.”

In the last 15 years — since Stan Kroenke became the controlling owner of the Rams in 2010 and Shad Khan took over the Jaguars in 2011 for similar, sub-$1 billion prices — NFL franchises have compounded exponentially in sale value. According to decorated economist Andrew Zimbalist, there are three general points contributing to this inflation: the country’s , the popularity of the NFL, and the league’s monopoly on the sport of American football.

That last point is key. Rishe noted that franchise revenues from broadcast and corporate partnerships and ticket sales can increase “only so much,” but valuations continue to increase because the NFL itself hasn’t expanded in size since adding the Houston Texans in 2002.

“Demand grows,” said Zimbalist, a professor of economics at Smith College, “but the scarcity of franchises remains there all the time.”

The power of the stadium

There remains, however, drastic gaps between the 32 teams on the totem pole of NFL valuations. And the Seattle sale doesn’t single-handedly lift the Broncos past other franchises; a rising tide lifts all boats, after all. But even as franchise upside is capped by sheer market size — Denver is — several factors in the coming years could contribute to the Walton-Penner group climbing the ranks.

The Broncos, of course, are regaining brand value from last year’s run to the AFC Championship Game, which creates more opportunities for corporate partnerships. Most importantly, too, franchise valuations are based in large part on the value of a — and the Broncos are now aiming for a modern, owner-controlled gem of mixed-use development at Burnham Yard.

“Expectations have just changed over the past 10 to 15 years, with these newer stadiums that have been built,” Broncos owner Greg Penner told The Denver Post in September, with the team’s preferred-site announcement. We’ll be able to provide all those things as well, from different types of seating — GA, premier, clubs, great (food and beverage). It will have all the bells and whistles.”

That is, naturally, framed as a benefit for fans. It is also, quietly, a direct benefit to Broncos ownership, a group that branches from the richest family in America. All but one team in the top 10 of Forbes’ NFL-valuation list, as Rishe pointed out, boasts some robust combination of market size and historical brand appeal: the top-ranked Cowboys, the fourth-ranked Patriots, the New York Giants and Jets.

All, except for ninth-ranked Las Vegas. So why the Raiders? Because of Vegas’s shining Allegiant Stadium, which hosted a Super Bowl in just its fourth NFL season after opening in 2020.

“Shows you,” Rishe said, “the power of the stadium.”

The Broncos’ Burnham Yard development, in coming years, could single-handedly propel the franchise into a top-10 or top-12 valuation despite Denver’s mid-tier market size, Rishe said. And it’s in the Walton-Penner group’s own interest, as experts told The Post, to further make good on their investment by delivering a stadium district they’ve already spent more than $186 million on just in surrounding real-estate transactions.

“It seems to me like there would be a wider — more real estate assets involved in what����ap planned for Denver than what exists in Seattle, that are contiguous to the stadium,” said Dorweiler, . “So, yeah, I think that����ap real.

“Plus, take into account this is still 2031 … I think most people would expect there to be a significant increase in valuation, even if nothing was done at all between now and then,” Dorweiler continued. “So you’re definitely getting up into the double digits of billions I think for, certainly Denver, and probably many other of the leading franchises.”

Not a knock on the big lug. Honest. The hoops wonks on The Grading The Week staff had nothing but pleasant exchanges with Val while he was a member of the Nuggets — a curious calendar year that came to a curious end this past Wednesday when the franchise waived him.

By doing it when they did, yes, Stan Kroenke and Josh Kroenke got $10 million in guaranteed salary off their books, leaving a $2-million cap hit that they’re likely to spread out over the next three seasons.

And sure, the Nuggets’ problems are largely accounting ones now. The franchise is reportedly aiming to stay below the NBA salary cap’s second apron, a hard-ish cap that freezes future draft picks, wipes out mid-level exceptions — and could leave KSE stuck with paying more than $200 million in taxes on top of projected player salaries in the $210-240 million range.

Valanciunas’ Nuggets era — C-minus

To that end, cutting Big Val was the easy part. While the 6-foot-11 Lithuanian was easily the Nuggets’ most skilled backup to franchise icon Nikola Jokic since Mason Plumlee left for Detroit in December 2000, he was probably the slowest Joker backup of the bunch, too. The former Denver center often looked painfully out of step last winter when facing the West’s best teams.

In three late-season tussles versus Oklahoma City from February-March, when the Thunder were actually trying, Big Val, per NBA.com, posted Net Ratings — points scored per 100 possessions versus points allowed — of -31.0, -120.2 (!) and -62.1. In three matchups against the San Antonio before April 10, when the Spurs were trying, Big Val’s Net Ratings were +13.0, -71.8, and -20.9. In four regular-season tussles with Minnesota, Big Val’s Net Ratings were, in order: -4.7, +13.1, -34.4, and -71.4.

That explains, at least partially, why the big man’s court time fell precipitously late last season. Valanciunas averaged just 13.3 minutes per game in February. That number was down to 8.6 minutes per game in March.

Val was one of the reasons the Nuggets didn’t go off the rails without the Joker for a month this past January. But he’ll also turn 35 next spring.

A year ago, the idea of Val and Jokic on the floor together as dual, pass-savvy, physically strong big men made Nuggets Nation’s eyes light up at the possibilities of creating matchup nightmares. In reality, the Denver coaching staff dealt with the nightmares as smaller, faster opponents knew they could probably blow by either one, if not both, whenever opportunities arose.

In no blueprint does Valanciunas, even at age 34, fit with remits of “getting younger” and “getting more athletic.” Even if those two demands are also front office code for “getting cheaper.” The Nuggets’ next cuts, you have a feeling, will be much harder. And more painful.

Tootle’s Colorado legacy  — A

Denver lost a good man and GTW lost a friend recently when former Regis Jesuit and Colorado Mesa football great Jeff Tootle passed away late last month at the age of 63. An NAIA All-American linebacker who went on to play for the New York Giants, Tootle had tackled a run of health-related issues in recent years. But battles to overcome his leg, heart, and prostate never dulled his spirits, his sense of humor, or his love for his family. Jeff’s medical bills were extensive in recent years, and a GTW tip of the cap to those who have already pitched in to help his survivors with impending funeral costs. If you’d like to assist, there’s

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.