1 move the Nuggets still need to make to fill the roster after the 2026 NBA trade deadline

The 2025-26 season was supposed to be a a sort of crowning moment for the Denver Nuggetsas they added several new pieces around their front four of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Christian Brown, and this newfound depth should make them invulnerable, especially come postseason time.

However, this campaign was special inexcusable for the Nuggets on the injury frontwith players like Jokic, Gordon, Brown, new addition Cam Johnson, and now star Peyton Watson missing significant time with significant hits. Of course, the goal for the Nuggets is to simply make it through the regular season in one piece, and even that is far from certain given their current situation.

Either way, the Nuggets have called on some unlikely contributors to step up, and to their credit. But The Nuggets front office knows time is ticking on them. Their salary cap obligations are about to increase significantly, as Watson is set for another big contract. To keep Watson, the Nuggets will have to dive into the luxury tax if they choose to keep their current roster for the next few seasons.

That led them to pull off a salary trade before the deadline, dealing former second-round pick Hunter Tyson along with a 2032 second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets only to cut the luxury tax. They were $1.8 million under the luxury tax after the Tyson trade before making the move they had to meet the 14-man roster size requirement.

Spencer Jones’ Nuggets future is secure … for now

In an ideal world, the Nuggets would have unlimited resources and be able to keep their core together without having to be too wary of the punitive nature of the luxury tax under the current CBA. Alas, the Nuggets don’t live in an ideal world.

Paying the luxury tax isn’t much of a problem once the apron is removed. Of course, that plays a factor, as owners are very adamant about not pouring money at least, but the restrictions on roster moves that entail being in the first or even second platform make building a roster that much more difficult.

At least the Nuggets wanted to get under the tax this season to reset the timer, because their hand will be forced very soon. Still, they completed an easy transaction converting the Spencer Jones contract to a standard onemaking him eligible for the postseason.

Jones is one of the players the Nuggets have relied on to fill in for their injured starters. In fact, the 24-year-old sophomore has made 34 starts for the Nuggets this season, which is nothing short of a huge developmental win for a team in need of cost-effective yet productive players to fill out the roster.

Jones plays unselfishly and shoots efficiently, and it wasn’t hard for the Nuggets to make his deal standard considering how important he has been this season. His impact doesn’t jump off the stat sheet, but as a 6’7″ wing who can shoot and defend multiple positions, he’s very valuable to a team with opposing aspirations.

The problem, however, is that the Nuggets were only able to convert his contract to a prorated minimum contract through the end of the season instead of signing him to a multi-year deal that would keep him in the Mile High City on an affordable deal for the next few seasons.

With this agreement in place, Jones they will be qualified in restricted free agency this summer, and if he completes seven more starts for the Nuggets, he will be eligible for a qualifying offer worth $5.9 million — further reducing the Nuggets’ flexibility amid their current salary cap woes.

At the very least, the Nuggets now have a healthy Johnson and Brown, and have been in good hands with Julian Strother of late, reducing the need to rely on Jones as a starter. The Nuggets will have a hard time keeping Jones out of the starting lineup if things don’t improve on their injury side, but now they have a valid reason to come off the bench.

But it looks like the hard part is just beginning for the Nuggets.

The bill is due for collection in Denver

The Nuggets were thoroughly impressed with Brown’s 2024-25 campaign as he stepped up following the departure of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency. Brown signed a five-year, $125 million contract extension — a significant commitment for the Nuggets who knew their commitments at the time.

Brown continued to struggle this season with 36 missed games and a steep decline from last season. And the Nuggets have since seen Watson take the next step in his development, blossoming as a legitimate shot creator on the wing and a much more well-rounded two-way threat than Brown.

Watson is set to enter restricted free agency come summer, the Nuggets will have to pay more than $20 million per season to keep Watson. Denver has some tough decisions to make, and that’s without considering what it would take to keep Jones under a long-term contract.

Shedding Zeke Nnaji’s salary is one way for the Nuggets to create cap space, as is shedding Johnson. The Nuggets, however, hardly have the assets left to sweeten the salary trade, and losing Johnson would be costly, as he’s shooting over 43 percent from deep this season and has an affordable contract anyway.

Will the Nuggets let Brown go to make room for Watson? That seems to be a potential route Denver could take. But their best bet to maintain their status as title contenders during Jokic’s premiership is to bite the tax bullet for at least a year before making changes if they really have to.

Victory cures all. And for a financially bleeding Nuggets team, all the blood they shed will be worth it if they hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy in June.