Denver Nuggets: Free agency update on day one of the period

Denver Nuggets: Free agency update, day one

Cleveland Cavaliers v Denver NuggetsDENVER, CO - MARCH 7: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots the ball during the game against the Denver Nuggets on March 7, 2018 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)Getty ID: 929060806 /

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Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)

Nuggets Rumors

Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports reported last night that the Nuggets are “aggressively pursuing [a] meeting with free agent LeBron James”. After news arrived of Paul George resigning for several years in OKC, ruling out one partner for him to join in LA, the Nuggets tried to paint themselves as his best option to his agent, Rich Paul.

While it does kind of make sense on paper, let’s just do a quick dive-in and look at things pragmatically.

The Nuggets have already hit the luxury tax resigning Jokic and Barton, which means they would need to clear up a lot of cap room to make space for LeBron’s contract. He would likely require a max contract to sign in Denver, as it is not as big of a market as LA or New York.

However, he will certainly be enticed by the prospect of playing with one of the most talented young cores in the league, including a rising top-10 player in Nikola Jokic.

The Nuggets are definitely one of his best options in terms of team quality. Let’s see why they’re better than the other LeBron contenders.