The Denver Nuggets were in a whole mess last summer with the Peyton Watson standoff when he went to restricted free agency after they opted not to extend him on a rookie-scale extension before the season started. While that issue isn't likely to be as bad with Julian Strawther, the Nuggets opted not to extend him this season, too. But that's probably the right move for the 2027-28 season.
The deadline came and went, and without an extension, Strawther will become a restricted free agent next summer. Sure, you'd have liked to see the Nuggets lock up the 24-year-old 29th pick of the 2023 NBA Draft. He looked great in the preseason before he was snake-bitten and suffered a left knee sprain that'll keep him out for about the first six weeks of the regular season. At least he'll have plenty of time to prove his worth for next year.
The Nuggets are finally learning from extending too early
But the Nuggets haven't exactly had the best track record with handing out rookie-level extensions. Zeke Nnaji's four-year, $32 million extension after the Nuggets won their first NBA Championship was a bad one, and he's still on the books. And then they have last year's five-year, $125 million extension to Christian Braun that kicked in this year.
It's still too early to see how Braun's extension truly turns out, but between him and Nnaji, you can see why the Nuggets would be cautious. They don't want to strike out and have another player who isn't panning out while they've still got Nikola Jokic in his prime.
The Nuggets can preserve more financial flexibility next summer
The Nuggets are in salary cap hell this year, as they're the only team to start the season over the NBA's second apron luxury tax penalty threshold. And with only Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Braun, Nnaji, Spencer Jones, Trevon Brazile, and Jonas Valanciunas's dead money, they're sitting at $190.6 million for the 2027-28 season. That figure does not include DaRon Holmes II's team option, as it looks like the Nuggets will probably not exercise that given his status on the depth chart in the preseason.
That's already $14+ million over the projected $176 million salary cap with only seven players under contract. It would appear that the Nuggets are trying to keep as much money as possible free going into the summer so they can have flexibility below the aprons.
The Nuggets can still match an offer sheet on Strawther like they did with Jones this summer. It's the smart money play for the Nuggets not to extend Strawther early, even if he does have a great season when he returns from injury. They need their options open next year.
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