There’s no question that LeBron James showing an interest in Denver has offered renewed faith in the Nuggets’ offseason. A few weeks ago, it seemed like the team was destined to let their free agents walk, salary dump a starter to save money, make a bid to bring back Peyton Watson, and otherwise mostly run it back.
But then a few things happened. Nikola Jokic indicated that he’s not going to sign a contract extension, and then LeBron announced that he was leaving the Lakers, and the Nuggets emerged as a potential destination.
Suddenly, we’ve seen at least an indication that the Nuggets may be willing to spend. That they’re not desperate to shed salary and could be willing to sign LeBron, bring everyone back, and pay an enormous luxury tax bill.
And that’s great news as an organizational direction, but the Nuggets are playing a dangerous game, and they have to be very careful here. I’m not saying they shouldn’t pursue James, but they can’t afford to put all their eggs in that basket, and they can’t overexpose themselves, only to come up empty.
James, Watson, and Bagley are all Klutch clients
Let’s look at the facts. The Nuggets have only brought in one outside NBA player via trade or free agency, Marvin Bagley III. They only seem focused on retaining one of their own free agents, Peyton Watson. And they only seem to be actively courting one player on the open market, LeBron James. And what do those three players have in common? They’re all represented by one Rich Paul and Klutch Sports.
I don’t doubt that James and Paul have some level of interest in LeBron joining the Nuggets, but I know that above all, Rich wants to get his clients paid. He has already gotten one player in Denver a contract in Baglye, and he’s angling for another one for Watson.
The Nuggets can’t simply bend the knee to Klutch in hopes that LeBron will pick them. And while I’d love to see them spend into the second apron, they can’t just handicap themselves for the rest of Jokic’s career for a team that may not be a true contender. Without James, Denver would be bringing back almost the same team as last season, minus Jonas Valanciunas, Tim Hardaway Jr., and possibly Spencer Jones and Bruce Brown.
It’s hard to imagine that’s going to be enough to compete with the Thunder and Spurs going forward, and there’s no reason to think the situation would get better from there. This team clearly needs a spark, but getting in bed with Klutch may not be the best path to get there, and it surely can’t be the only path.
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