Nuggets Offseason Preview: Denver’s Free Agents, Trade Candidates As It Looks to Retool Around Jokić, Murray

A look at Nuggets who could be on the move this offseason after a disappointing playoff flameout.

Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić remain one of the NBA’s best duos, but the Nuggets must retool around them after Denver’s early postseason exit. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Nuggets have felt the pressure before.

By capturing the 2023 NBA title, Denver made clear that the window for multiple championships was wide open. Nikola Jokić was—and may still be—the best player in basketball. He has an ideal supporting cast, including Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon, and a smart organization committed to building a sustainable winner around him. 

And with that level of success comes immense pressure.

The Nuggets fell in seven games to the Timberwolves in the 2024 Western Conference semifinals. The following year, after a four-game skid to begin April, the team shockingly fired coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth, charting a new path with just three games left in the regular season. They’d win those games under new coach David Adelman, and knocked off the Clippers to begin the playoffs before falling in seven games to the eventual NBA champion Thunder.

Elimination by OKC in seven games, less than two months into a new coach’s tenure, was one thing. This year’s first-round upset defeat at the hands of rival Minnesota, a team that Denver was clearly superior to throughout the regular season, is another. While the Nuggets weren’t officially eliminated until Thursday night, falling by a score of 110–98, it was their Game 4 loss in Minneapolis that proved that this Denver team didn’t have the same championship mettle as the one a few years prior. 

In that game, the T’Wolves lost Anthony Edwards to a knee injury, which will keep him out for weeks, and Donte DiVincenzo to an Achilles tear. Without both guards for most of the game, the likes of Ayo Dosunmu and Jaden McDaniels went toe-to-toe with Joker, Murray & Co. and came out on top with a dominant 112–96 win, one that ended with Jokić being ejected after charging McDaniels due to what he evidently believed was an uncouth fast-break layup late in the game.

Elimination doesn’t shut the door on Jokić and the Nuggets’ championship potential, but it appears that things are moving in the wrong direction ... and as a result, we can expect some real shake-ups in the offseason. How might Denver retool the roster for 2026–27? Let’s take a look.

Nuggets’ 2026 free agents: Can Denver hang on to Peyton Watson?

Peyton Watson enjoyed a breakout season for the Nuggets after offseason negotiations broke down between the two sides entering the year. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The core of the Nuggets roster is fairly intact. Jokić, Murray, Gordon and Braun will likely be the centerpieces of Denver’s 2026–27 roster, barring a shocking development. The team’s depth, especially in the backcourt, is an open question however.

Unrestricted free agents:

• SG Tim Hardaway Jr.
• SG Bruce Brown Jr.
• PG Tyus Jones

Restricted free agents:

• SG Peyton Watson
• SF Spencer Jones
• PF David Roddy
• SG Curtis Jones
• PG K.J. Simpson

Tim Hardaway Jr., who averaged 13.5 points in just over 26 minutes per game, is the most significant looming unrestricted free agent. The 34-year-old thrived in his first season with the Nuggets, finishing third for Sixth Man of the Year honors, but his production slipped in the postseason—though that was a team-wide trend. Brown was a key member of the 2023 championship team, but is no longer as effective as a Swiss Army Knife off the bench.

Among the team’s restricted free agents, Peyton Watson is the clear focus of the offseason for Denver. Negotiations fell apart last offseason, in part because Denver wanted to avoid the second tax apron, he told The Denver Post. A late first-rounder in 2022, Watson blossomed this season while playing on a $4.3 million team option, averaging a career high 14.6 points per game while knocking down 49.1% of his shots from the field and 41.1% from three. 

The impact of Watson’s absence was felt this postseason. With him sidelined by a hamstring injury, the Nuggets struggled to get anything going against an aggressive Minnesota defense, and his perimeter defense would have been a major asset against the likes of Dosunmu, who took over for the Timberwolves after Edwards and DiVincenzo’s Game 4 absences. It is difficult to see Denver improving while letting Watson walk, but fitting him into the picture for next year—while avoiding an untenable salary cap situation—likely requires some rejiggering elsewhere. 

The Nuggets are currently projected to be just $2.5 million below the second tax apron entering next season, per Spotrac, meaning changes are necessary to give the franchise any wiggle room to reshape the roster.

Draft assets

Christian Braun, the No. 21 pick in the 2022 NBA draft, is the last Nuggets first round pick to play for the team. | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Denver has its own draft pick for 2026, slotted in at No. 26 in the first-round, as well as a second-rounder via the Hawks (No. 49). Beginning in 2027, however, the Nuggets owe a first-rounder to the Thunder, of all teams, stemming from the 2022 trade of JaMychal Green to Oklahoma City. The Thunder received a protected ‘27 first-rounder in the deal, while Denver obtained the draft rights to Watson and future second-round picks.

The Nuggets will retain the 2027 first-round pick if it lands in the top five, an unlikely occurrence given the talent on Denver’s roster. Otherwise, it will head to OKC. The pick moves to ‘28 if it doesn’t convey in ‘27. The two sides have a similar arrangement in the 2029 and ‘30 drafts, in which the Nuggets’ ‘29 first-rounder is top-five protected, after a 2023 trade designed to give Denver more flexibility. 

The Nuggets control their 2031 pick, but sent their ‘32 pick to the Nets with no protections as part of the Michael Porter Jr. trade last year.

After the upcoming draft, Denver does not control another second-round pick until after 2032; in ‘28 the pick is protected if it lands between No. 31 and 33, but otherwise will head to the Wizards as part of last year’s Jonas Valančiūnas deal.

Nuggets offseason trade candidates: Could Cameron Johnson be back on the move?

Trading Cameron Johnson is the most logical way for the Nuggets to free up some cap room after his disappointing first year with the team. | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Last season’s big offseason acquisition is the Nuggets’ prime candidate to be shipped out this summer.

Denver acquired Cameron Johnson from the Nets in 2025 for Porter Jr. and the aforementioned first-rounder, a move designed to save cap space (Porter will make over $79 million between 2025–26 and ‘26–27) and bring in a more reliable player after a disappointing playoff run for Porter a year ago. Instead, Johnson never quite settled in with his new team. Johnson was limited to 54 games this season, and averaged just 12.2 points per game—his lowest output since 2020–21, his second year in the league. He shot the ball very poorly in the postseason, and failed to open up the floor for Jokić. Now, he enters 2026–27 on an expiring $23 million deal, and could be a prime trade candidate for the second year in a row.

It is difficult to see how the Nuggets will retain Watson or add another valuable piece without moving Johnson to free up much-needed cap space.

Valančiūnas, Denver’s backup center, is a very likely departure. After dragging his feet when it came to joining the Nuggets last summer, he was a solid backup to Jokić in limited minutes, though his role has fluctuated throughout the season and he wound up playing just over 13 minutes per game in the regular season and was largely out of the rotation in the playoffs. He has a $10 million non-guaranteed deal for next season, and after expressing his desire to return to play in Europe last summer, it feels likely that Denver will let him walk.

Two other potential offseason departures: lightly-used backup forward Zeke Nnaji who makes $7.4 million in 2026–27 and has a player option for the same salary in ‘27–28, and 24-year-old wing Julian Strawther, who saw his role diminish this season. He will make $4.8 million next year before becoming a restricted free agent the following season.

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