The Milwaukee Bucks finally parted ways with the long-tenured franchise cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer when they traded him to the Miami Heat for a plethora of players and draft picks. He, along with Bobby Portis, was the last of their championship core remaining. And with rumors running rampant that the Denver Nuggets cornerstone, Nikola Jokic, is potentially delaying his record contract extension to get out of Denver next summer, comparisons to the eventual demise of the Nuggets are coming, too. But the comparisons don't tell the whole story of why it's a little different for the Nuggets.
On the surface, it does look like a very similar situation unfolding. ESPN made sure to bring up the comparison in their "next three years" power rankings. The Nuggets are running into a salary cap dilemma of their own, just like the Bucks eventually did, forcing them to part ways with their stars. That's why there is a prediction by ESPN that Jamal Murray could be forced out of Denver.
But there are a couple of major differences that are at play, and one of them wasn't even a factor for the Bucks when they "went for it" in the years after their championship season of 2020-21.
The Bucks got two post-title seasons before the apron era
The first problem that the Nuggets are facing in full force is the brutal restrictions on roster building that the Bucks didn't face in their first two years post-championship. The Bucks had two years before the new CBA took effect in 2023-24, when the first and second-apron luxury tax penalty thresholds were introduced.
They were able to sign a free agent on a mid-level cap exemption, the same one that the Miami Heat used on Tim Hardaway Jr. this summer to add to the Heat roster after the Giannis trade. The Nuggets are over both aprons and are limited to signing free agents to a minimum contract only.
The Bucks were also able to aggregate contracts and increase payroll through trades, something the Nuggets are not able to do today. As violators of the old tax threshold, the Bucks' primary consequence of increasing salary via trades was a higher tax penalty at the end of the season. Which brings me to the next difference.
The Bucks owners were willing to pay large tax penalties
The Nuggets have never been big spenders, and over the Nikola Jokic era have only amassed a total tax bill of ~$58 million. Sitting at $3.15 million over the second apron this season, the Nuggets are currently staring down a $75 million penalty. That's why they traded Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers for draft picks instead of extending the potential star forward, and why the speculation is that more roster moves could be coming to save every last dollar.
But the Bucks owners seemed happy to pay, season after season, going for another title with Giannis. The Bucks amassed a total tax bill of ~$219 million in the four seasons that followed their NBA championship, with their 2022-23 season hitting almost $84 million in penalties.
Yes, the Nuggets could end up parting with Aaron Gordon, Murray, or Christian Braun eventually. But without the full context, it's not the same direct comparison.
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