Even if Darrell Arthur opts out of his contract, the Nuggets will have just three unrestricted free agents from this year’s roster – Arthur, D.J. Augustin, and Mike Miller – and none of them are crucial, long-term pieces. That leaves Denver with 12 contracts (nine guaranteed) on its books for 2016/17 and no glaring holes to fill, but there’s still plenty of room for the club to get involved in free agency if opportunities arise.
The Nuggets’ three highest-paid players, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried and Wilson Chandler, missed some – or all – of the 2015/16 campaign with injuries, and it’s unlikely that any of them would be the No. 1 option on a legit contender. But those aren’t albatross contracts, and there are multiple solid values elsewhere on the Nuggets’ roster, including promising young guard Emmanuel Mudiay and inexpensive wing Will Barton. With three top-20 picks in hand, Denver is in good position to continue adding young, affordable players to its roster.
See how Denver’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- Danilo Gallinari ($15,050,000)
- Kenneth Faried ($12,078,652)
- Wilson Chandler ($11,233,146)
- Jameer Nelson ($4,540,525)
- Will Barton ($3,533,333)
- Emmanuel Mudiay ($3,241,800)
- Jusuf Nurkic ($1,921,320)
- Gary Harris ($1,655,880)
- Nikola Jokic ($1,358,500)
- (Nick Johnson $980,431)
- Total: $55,593,587
Player Options
- Darrell Arthur ($2,940,630)
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Joffrey Lauvergne ($1,709,719)
- JaKarr Sampson ($980,431)
- Axel Toupane ($874,636)
- Total: $3,564,786
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- None
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- D.J. Augustin ($3,900,000)
- Mike Miller ($980,431)
- Total: $4,880,431
Other Cap Holds
- No. 7 pick ($2,675,700)
- No. 15 pick ($1,656,200)
- No. 19 pick ($1,356,100)
- Total: $5,688,000
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.