By now, most fans know about the Denver Nuggets' salary cap woes. They're still the only team over the NBA's second apron penalty threshold, and as such, they've been playing with just 14 standard contracts on the roster to save money. They've also had to endure missed games by Spencer Jones, Alpha Diallo, and Cameron Johnson. And they'll be without Julian Strawther until sometime in December. As such, they've been utilizing their two-way contracted players to fill in or be present as a backup. But they'll have to be mindful of the limits the NBA imposes, or convert one of them to a standard contract sooner rather than later.
That's because the NBA limits teams that only have 14 roster spots filled to just 90 total games for their combined two-way players. If they had 15 standard contracts, there would be no issue. But the NBA doesn't want teams like the Nuggets using the two-way players who don't count toward the salary cap as a way of circumventing the cap space.
And the Nuggets have already used 18% of their allotment through just seven games. 16 of the 90, are gone. Even if a player doesn't hit the floor, it still counts against the Nuggets if they dress and get a DNP - coach's decision.
The Nuggets could be forced to promote one of them
Of course, you know someone in the front office is monitoring the situation. But it's still something to file away in the back of their minds. Again, if the Nuggets had 15 standard contracts, they could use the two-way players as much as they want, up to 50 games for each individual player. To make that work, one of them should be promoted.
Bryce Hopkins looks to be the leader in the clubhouse for that promotion. The 49th pick in the second round of this year's draft has looked great with the floor time he's been given. He's physical, gets downhill as good as anybody on the team, and he can knock down a three. He looked fantastic against the Raptors, scoring 18 points and providing an energetic boost. He's used 7 of the 16 games played.
Ryan Nembhard could also challenge for the promotion. The Nuggets only have Tyus Jones behind Jamal Murray at point guard, and Nembhard led all rookies last year in assists with the Dallas Mavericks. But Nembhard would cost more against the cap than Hopkins because of service time, so the advantage still leans to Hopkins. Nembhard has used 6 of the 16 games.
Cam Whitmore has only suited up for three games and looks to be the odd man out of the two-way conversation. His defense is terrible, and it's clear Hopkins has the edge.
The best option is to promote Hopkins. He would become playoff-eligible. He's the cheapest and best-performing. And the Nuggets could then use Nembhard and Whitmore up to their 50-game individual limits.
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