Denver Nuggets Salary Cap Breakdown & Analysis for Free Agency

The 2026 NBA free agency period is off and running. And while many moves have already been made around the league, for the Denver Nuggets, they've remained pretty quiet–– outside of their latest signing to land former No. 2 pick Marvin Bagley.

A large part of that lack of activity for the Nuggets could be chalked up to their minimal cap space to spend on the market.

Denver has to be methodical in their moves and acquisitions this offseason in hopes of bolstering their roster back to being a true title contender, but how they do so with little money to spend remains to be seen.

Mar 22, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) reacts in the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

But how much flexibility do the Nuggets actually have? And where do they sit in terms of their room against the luxury tax, as well as the first and second aprons?

Let's break all of the Nuggets' cap information down as we wait for them to continue making moves on the free agent market:

Note: All numbers are provided by stats via Spotrac before adding in Marvin Bagley's new contract.

Salary Cap Space: $-97.2M

When looking at Denver's sheer cap space, they clearly don't have much of it— coming out to a raw total of $-97.2 million, with a large chunk of that being wrapped up within cap holds and steep contracts already on the roster.

That means Denver will have work to do by adding in several veteran minimum contracts to fill out their roster, which, without Spencer Jones or Peyton Watson signed onto their expected upcoming deals and their two rookies who have yet to be officially signed, is at nine total players.

Cap Holds: $50.8M

The Nuggets have just a bit over $50 million within their current cap holds; a lot of those still be attatched to names who haven't been on the roster in years.

But the Nuggets do have five cap holds currently on the books from players who were a part of last year's roster; two of those being for their pair of restricted free agents, and three that have yet to be signed back to Denver, or with another team.

Peyton Watson (RFA): $13.0M
Spencer Jones (RFA): 2.6M
Tyus Jones (UFA): $2.4M
Bruce Brown (UFA): $2.4M
Jalen Pickett (UFA): $2.4M

The one name outside of Watson and Jones that the Nuggets could bring onto a new deal for next season is Bruce Brown. He's someone who could be willing to sign onto a team-friendly contract and fill a rotational spot in the backcourt of the second unit.

Trade Exceptions

The Nuggets have three trade exceptions at their disposal from deals made within the past 12 months.

Two of those deals were made this time last offseason, while their other came from a minor shift at February's trade deadline:

Michael Porter Jr. (trade via BKN): $6.8M, expires 7/8/26
Dario Saric (trade via SAC): $5.4M, expires 7/13/26
Hunter Tyson (trade via BKN): $2.2M, expires 2/5/27

Each of these three exceptions could allow the Nuggets to intake extra salary in a potential trade to acquire a player. They cannot be combined, and in the case of their moves with both Porter Jr. and Saric, expire within the next two weeks, giving Denver a hard deadline to work with.

Luxury Tax Space: $-10.9M

The widely-talked about luxury tax space for the Nuggets' roster is sitting at a little over $10 million, which will likely increase if Denver were to make no moves to their currently constructed group, while also re-signing guys like Watson and Jones to new contracts.

Expect the Nuggets to try and lessen this number in a way that doesn't totally cripple their roster and rotation. Cam Johnson and Christian Braun would be the two names to watch as those who could be shipped out if a deal were to be coming up anytime soon.

First/Second Apron Space: $-7.9M/$4.6M

Along with the Nuggets' luxury tax bill, the front office will likely be eager to steer clear of the second apron, in which they only have a little more than $4 million of wiggle room to work with before they cross that line, and place some heavy team-building restrictions onto themselves because of it.

If the Nuggets approach or move past that first apron mark, no biggie. The second apron is where things get tricky, though, and will likely remain key for Denver to stay under at whatever cost necessary.

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