Nuggets Offseason Preview: Changes Are Coming, And Many Must Be Done

After dropping a second straight Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals — this time to the upstart Thunder — Denver enters the offseason with a familiar narrative: close, but not enough. And now, change is coming.

For the first time since 2015, there may be a new head coach in town. Interim man David Adelman held the team together after the late-season firing of Michael Malone, and by all accounts, deserves to keep the job. But no formal decision has been made, and the front office has its own vacancy after GM Calvin Booth was also let go.

That means whoever steps in will inherit a roster built to win now but financially boxed in. Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and Aaron Gordon account for 82% of the team’s salary. Murray’s new extension kicks in next season, and the Nuggets are once again over the first tax apron, with a repeater penalty pushing their current luxury tax bill to a franchise-high $36 million.

Denver will run it back with 13 players under contract, but the margins remain tight. The Nuggets will need internal development from rookie-deal players like Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson, Hunter Tyson, Jalen Pickett, and the injured DaRon Holmes II, especially considering they had the four most-used players in the postseason.

And when Jokic sits, things crater. Denver was outscored by nearly 24 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs with him off the floor — a glaring red flag for a would-be contender.

The big-picture priority? Locking up Jokic for the long haul. The three-time MVP is eligible for a $212.2 million extension this summer, one that would carry him through 2029-30. Expect that to get done fast.

Next on the list: deciding whether Porter Jr. is a long-term piece or a trade chip. He’s coming off a career-high 18.2 points per game and has two years left on his deal at $38.3M and $40.8M. If Denver wants to improve via trade, Porter’s contract may be the only way forward.

Christian Braun’s emergence also opens an extension window. With Kentavious Caldwell-Pope gone, Braun stepped into a starting role, playing 77 games and leading the league in fast-break points. He’s eligible for an extension up to five years, with a deadline of Oct. 21.

The Nuggets don’t own a pick in this June’s draft, and they owe Oklahoma City a future protected first. But for a team built around Jokic’s prime, the focus isn’t on picks. It’s on figuring out how to maximize every minute he’s on the floor … and mostly, how to survive the ones he’s not.