It was a busy day for the Nuggets, for better and worse, as the 2023 champs made some roster moves.
The Denver Nuggets had quite the Thursday, as an awful lot of news came out of Denver with regards to roster moves for the 2023 champs — with a mixed bag in terms of what it means for their quest to get back to the Finals.
The first part of the equation was agreeing to a new 4-year, $209 million max extension with Jamal Murray that should get signed soon after the league year begins in July.
Denver and star Jamal Murray are working toward a four-year, $209 million maximum contract extension this offseason, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Nuggets will present the deal to Murray – a 2023 NBA champion and one of the best clutch players – and sides expect agreement. pic.twitter.com/tOZ7UBWuli
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 27, 2024
Keeping Murray around long-term with Nikola Jokic is obviously important to the Nuggets, as those two have developed one of the best two-man games in the league. However, shortly after that news broke, word arrived that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was (as expected) declining his player option and hitting free agency.
Denver’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is declining his $15.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season to become a free agent, sources tell me and @Tjonesonthenba. Caldwell-Pope – a two-time NBA champion – is expected to receive interest from multiple teams with salary cap space. pic.twitter.com/R1P8fhqBfn
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 27, 2024
While it was the anticipated move by Caldwell-Pope, it does put the Nuggets in a bit of a bind. KCP is incredibly important to what they do and is a part of their starting lineup that has been arguably the best 5-man group in the NBA for the last two years. Teams around the league know how valuable he is in Denver and what he’s done to help them become a perennial contender, and he’s expected to get big offers in free agency in the range of $25 million per year.
The Nuggets would have a hard time meeting that demand as is, and seem to be trying to shed some salary in an effort to create a bit more financial flexibility. That led them to a trade during Wednesday’s second round of the Draft that sent Reggie Jackson to the Hornets along with three future second round picks to offload his $5.25 million salary (after Jackson picked up his player option earlier this summer).
Denver is trading Reggie Jackson to Charlotte with three unprotected second-round picks, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 27, 2024
Keep getting locked, but… Denver is trading the Nuggets’ own seconds in 2025, 2029 and 2030 to Charlotte of move off Reggie Jackson’s $5.2 million salary for next season, league sources told @YahooSports.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 27, 2024
That deal gets Denver down to the tax line, which opens up the mid-level and gives them a few more options to add talent beyond veteran minimums this summer. Whether they can (or are willing) to meet what KCP is able to find on the market is an entirely different question, and if not they’re going to be faced with a very difficult task of replacing what he brings on both ends of the floor.
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