Denver's Draft Capital Is Spoken For. The Apron Isn't
With nearly every future pick pledged to Oklahoma City or elsewhere, the first apron, not the draft board, is where Denver's actual flexibility lives this season.
Denver opened camp carrying $221.1 million in payroll, above the $209.0 million first apron, with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Cameron Johnson and Christian Braun accounting for most of that figure. The only roster move of the week ran through the fringe: Ryan Nembhard signed for $2.2 million as KJ Simpson left.
Above the apron, with little to spare
The first apron sits at $209.0 million. Denver's $221.1 million payroll clears it, and clears the $200.4 million luxury tax line as well, with the $221.7 million second apron now the nearer boundary. Five contracts do most of the work: Jokic at $59.0 million, Murray at $50.1 million, Gordon at $33.7 million, Johnson at $23.1 million and Braun at $21.6 million. Against a $165.0 million cap, that leaves Denver negotiating from above the line rather than below it.
The picks are someone else's to use
Denver's own first-round picks run through Oklahoma City for three straight years: 2028, 2029 and 2030, all protected. The 2027 second belongs to Utah, the 2028 second to Washington, and the 2029 second to Charlotte, conditionally. Even the 2030 second is a swap rather than Denver's outright. Whatever rebuilding tools other franchises keep in reserve, Denver has traded most of them away for the roster it has now.
What comes off the books
Not every contract carries into next summer. DeMar DeRozan's $2.4 million deal, along with Lonnie Walker IV, Marvin Bagley III, Tyus Jones and Trevon Brazile, doesn't appear on Denver's 2027-28 sheet, which clears room beneath Jokic, Murray, Gordon and Braun. But two of those four core deals come with player options — Jokic at $62.8 million and Gordon at $36.4 million — so the size of that room depends on choices that aren't Denver's to make alone.
The move this week was at the margins
Against that backdrop, this week's transaction was modest: Ryan Nembhard joined on a $2.2 million deal as KJ Simpson left. It is the kind of move a team above the apron can still make without touching the numbers that matter. The bigger-dollar questions — what Jokic and Gordon decide on their options, what Denver does with the picks it still owns outright — wait for next summer.
Is Denver over the luxury tax this season?
Yes. Denver's payroll is $221.1 million, above both the $200.4 million luxury tax line and the $209.0 million first apron.
Does Denver control its own first-round picks?
Not fully. Denver's 2028, 2029 and 2030 first-round picks are all protected and owed to Oklahoma City.
