Two Numbers Say More About Denver Than Its Preseason Record
A payroll with almost no room left and an MVP missing threes more than he makes them tell the real story of where this roster stands.
Denver enters its game at the Clippers with a $221.1 million payroll pinned above the lower apron and a three-point stroke from Nikola Jokic that has gone cold. Both numbers will outlast any preseason score against Los Angeles.
A Ceiling With No Space Left
Denver's payroll sits at $221.1 million, above the $209.0 million threshold that separates normal roster flexibility from the apron rules, and within reach of the $221.7 million second line. Jokic ($59.0M), Murray ($50.1M), Aaron Gordon ($33.7M) and Cameron Johnson ($23.1M) account for most of it. Lonnie Walker IV's departure freed $3.3 million, a number too small to change the math but large enough to matter at the margin. Three first-round picks, in 2028, 2029 and 2030, are already protected to Oklahoma City.
Jokic's Three Has Gone Quiet
Over his last five games, Jokic is shooting 17 percent from three, well short of the 38.0 percent he posted across 65 games last season. A stretch like that over five games can be noise or the start of something real; last season's averages, 27.7 points, 12.9 boards and 10.7 assists, are the baseline it gets measured against. Nothing about his workload has changed: he remains the only piece the roster is built around.
Murray Still Does the Connecting
Jamal Murray averaged 7.1 assists and shot 43.5 percent from three across 75 games last season, the two numbers that make him Jokic's clearest partner rather than a second scorer. When Denver's offense worked last season, it ranked first in the league at 121.2; the defense finished 21st, at 116.0, for a net rating of 5.2. That gap between offense and defense is the one this roster has not closed.
A Minutes Shift Worth Tracking
Spencer Jones played roughly 10 more minutes a night over a recent three-game stretch, a bump tied to a teammate's absence rather than any change in his own form. He is now day-to-day himself with a hamstring issue, with an estimated return of October 22, the day Denver opens its regular season at Oklahoma City. Whether that minutes bump returns depends on who is actually healthy by then.
What is the Nuggets' payroll for 2026-27?
Denver's payroll is $221.1 million, above the $209.0 million threshold and close to the $221.7 million second line, with Jokic, Murray, Gordon and Johnson accounting for most of it.
Why is Nikola Jokic shooting poorly from three?
Over his last five games he has made just 17 percent of his threes, far below the 38.0 percent he shot across all of last season; the sample is small enough that it could turn either way.
