Mile High Tape · Cap watch

Denver Is Paying Like a Champion Before It Wins Again

A $221.1 million payroll and three picks promised to Oklahoma City show a roster spending its title window now, not saving for the next one.

By the Nuggets Nightly Desk · Sunday, October 18

Denver's payroll sits at $221.1 million, above the first apron, with the biggest money already committed through next season. The draft cupboard is just as spoken for, leaving little beyond the current roster to work with.

Nuggets Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Already past the first line

Denver's payroll is $221.1 million, which clears the luxury tax line of $200.4 million and the first apron of $209.0 million. The second apron sits at $221.7 million, close enough that the Nuggets are operating with almost none of the roster-building tools the apron rules take away from teams above it. Three waivers on October 18 — Coleman Hawkins, Dane Goodwin and Emanuel Miller all left the roster — trimmed training-camp bodies, not salary that moves the number.

Five contracts carry the weight

Nikola Jokic's $59.0 million is the anchor, followed by Jamal Murray at $50.1 million, Aaron Gordon at $33.7 million, Cameron Johnson at $23.1 million and Christian Braun at $21.6 million. Those five deals alone total well past the salary cap of $165.0 million, before a single bench contract is added.

The options that decide next summer

Three player options sit on the 2027-28 cap sheet: Jokic's at $62.8 million, Gordon's at $36.4 million, and Zeke Nnaji's at $7.5 million. Each is a choice the player makes, not the front office, which means Denver's planning for that season depends on decisions it does not control.

The draft offers little relief

Denver's first-round picks in 2028, 2029 and 2030 are all protected to Oklahoma City, and the 2027 first is protected as well. Second-round picks are owed to Utah, Washington and Charlotte, with a swap attached to the 2030 second-rounder. There is no clean draft asset to send out to ease the apron math — whatever flexibility this roster gets, it has to come from the current contracts, not the picks behind them.

Is Denver over the luxury tax this season?

Yes. The Nuggets' $221.1 million payroll is above both the $200.4 million tax line and the $209.0 million first apron.

Does Denver have first-round picks available to trade?

Not cleanly. The 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 first-round picks are all protected, with 2028, 2029 and 2030 owed to Oklahoma City.

By the Nuggets Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.