Nuggets, Marvin Bagley III Agree To One-Year Deal

An eight-year veteran, Bagley hasn’t lived up to the expectations of being drafted one spot ahead of Luka Doncic, but he has carved out a spot for himself in the NBA in recent years as a reliable frontcourt reserve. After opening the 2025/26 season with the Wizards, the 6’10” forward/center was sent to the Mavericks at the trade deadline in the Anthony Davis blockbuster.

Bagley was productive for both teams, appearing in a total of 60 games (12 starts) and averaging 10.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 20.0 minutes per night. Although he knocked down just 66.0% of his free throws, the former Duke standout was extremely efficient from the field, hitting 64.1% of his two-pointers and, in a small sample, 46.2% of his threes (24-of-52).

The Nuggets have an excellent starting duo at the four and five, with Aaron Gordon playing alongside three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, but the team’s frontcourt depth has been shaky in recent years.

Zeke Nnaji and DaRon Holmes provided inconsistent contributions in 2025/26, while Jokic’s primary backup Jonas Valanciunas almost certainly won’t have his $10MM salary for ’26/27 guaranteed (he currently has a partial guarantee of $2MM). Denver used the No. 35 overall pick in last week’s draft on power forward Trevon Brazile, but Bagley will add more experience up front.

Bagley’s deal will be worth the veteran’s minimum, confirms Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. While it’s possible the Nuggets will have more flexibility later in the offseason if they make a trade or two, they currently project to be a second-apron team — as long as they remain in that position, they wouldn’t be able to offer more than a minimum-salary contract to an external free agent.