All Denver Nuggets fans wanted this offseason was for the Nuggets to spend to win around Nikola Jokic. No offense to Cameron Johnson, but the Nuggets made a downgrade from the fit and size of Michael Porter Jr. last year via their trade, and it never sat right. But instead of another fiasco like that this summer, the Nuggets are signaling that fans' spending wishes may actually, uncharacteristically, be coming true. And it may be because Jokic, and now LeBron James, are forcing the Nuggets' hands.
Marc Stein and Jake Fischer dropped the bombshell in the July Fourth edition of The Stein Line (subscription required) that the Nuggets are not putting out the vibes that they're looking to duck the second apron threshold. I repeat: the Nuggets are not signaling that they are looking to duck any taxes or penalties associated with the second apron. One more thing to celebrate this holiday weekend!
"For all the expectation this spring that Denver was determined to shed salary to make it easier to match offers on restricted free agent swingman Peyton Watson, this is not a team that has been operating in recent days with a determination to stay below the second apron like James Dolan's Knicks," Stein and Fischer said.
Thank you, Nikola Jokic! Thank you, LeBron James! Of course, it's not official, but the Nuggets' quiet start to the offseason aligns with that thought process.
Jokic put pressure on the Nuggets, and James did, too
Jokic may have every intention in the world to come back to the Nuggets and finish his career in Denver. But the fact that he is delaying signing the extension (for now), one season before he could hit the big red button and decline his player option, becoming a free agent, has to be putting pressure on the Nuggets to not have another season of ducking the luxury tax like this past year.
Couple that with the LeBron news, and you have a recipe for the Nuggets to spend every last dime to put together the best team they can for both of them. LeBron's agent, Rich Paul, even drew out a map on a whiteboard that had Cameron Johnson's name on it around the core of the Nuggets, and that's a sign that Cam stays around to attract LeBron. Cam's name has been rumored to be shipped out to make room to duck the second apron to re-sign Peyton Watson for months.
That's not likely to happen for the Nuggets to field their best roster. That means bringing back Watson and going well into the second apron, accepting the penalties and paying a huge tax bill, but having the best lineup the Nuggets can get around Jokic, and hopefully LeBron, for next season.
That's all fans wanted. We wanted the Nuggets to pay the tax bills to give Jokic the supporting cast he deserves, in his prime. It sounds like we might be about to have that wish granted.
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