Nuggets offseason primer: A summer of minimum salaries coming up

Two seasons after winning the 2023 NBA Championship, the first in the franchise’s near-six-decade history, the Denver Nuggets are struggling to stay at the top. For the second consecutive season, they have fallen at the second hurdle, losing in the Western Conference semifinals to the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games a year after losing at the same stage to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Nonetheless, this was the third consecutive season of more than 50 regular season wins for the Nuggets, and their eighth in a row of at least 46. They have a title, tons of playoff experience, and a Hall of Fame center in Nikola Jokic who is tied in, going nowhere, and somehow still getting better. Things cannot be that bad in the grand scheme.

If things were that good, though, they would not be rudderless like they currently are. Having taken the unprecedented step to fire both their general manager and head coach merely days before the playoffs began, a deep run never looked like this season for the Nuggets, who need to regroup and retool if they are to lodge another legitimate title build. Their floor is very high, but someone needs to raise the ceiling.

To do so will be difficult considering their payroll expenses. At a projected $203.5 million, the Nuggets are set to have a Top 5 payroll next season, and with that comes restrictions on what they are allowed to do. The front office will need to work the margins and finesse their way through, a task made more difficult by not actually having a front office in place yet. There is work to do if this good Nuggets team is to have a chance of becoming a great one again.

With this in mind, here follows a look at the Denver Nuggets’ roster and spending options heading into the 2025 NBA offseason.