New Details Emerge About Jalen Pickett’s Future With Nuggets

Headed into this offseason, the Denver Nuggets will be looking to save money around the edges of their roster wherever possible.

With the bill of their roster continuing to increase next season with hefty contracts to Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, along with extensions kicking in for both Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun, this Nuggets front office has work to do not only to remain under the luxury tax, but also to facilitate an upgraded roster to compete in the West next season while doing so.

Therefore, to round out this roster for next season throughout the summer, the Nuggets will be searching for cheap, productive names to fil into the back-end of their 15-man group wherever they can find them.

And one of those names to fill out their 15-man roster on an affordable deal might happen to be on their roster from this past season already: that's third-year guard Jalen Pickett, who appears to be trending towards a return to Denver for 2026.

The Denver Post's Bennett Durando recently gave some intel on Pickett's pending team option with the Nuggets heading into this summer, crediting his $2 million deal as an "easy" way to save money on the books.

"Another easy penny-pinching move is to pick up Jalen Pickett’s fourth-year team option. His $2.41 million salary is about $40,000 cheaper than the projected veteran minimum cap hit. Cha-ching."
Bennett Durando, The Denver Post

It might not be exactly a foregone conclusion that Pickett's back on the Nuggets' roster come next season, but the situation is starting to feel more and more like he'll be headed towards a return to Denver for the 2026-27 season.

And the reasoning is simple: Pickett is on a discounted deal from any veteran they could add to the free agent market, and he's still only 26 years old with the chance of being a serviceable rotational player for Denver next season.

Jalen Pickett Trending Towards Return to Nuggets in 2026

This past season, his numbers might've not jumped off the page, but they were better than anything he's seen in his career with the Nuggets thus far––averaging 5.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists a night, also shooting relatively efficient splits of 42.2% from the field and 39.6% from three.

Even if Pickett doesn't wind up cracking a consistent role in the Nuggets' rotation next season, there's still value to be had in the contract he's signed to that makes accepting his option the right decision for Denver, if their primary focus is to save money against the cap.

Mar 12, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jalen Pickett (24) shoots during warmups before the game against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

And based on their financial situation in place, sitting over $12 million above the luxury tax line and over $9 million above the first apron, those cap-saving measures will be at the forefront of Denver's offseason to-do list.

That's on top of making the necessary tweaks to their roster defensively and signing Peyton Watson to a new deal in restricted free agency. So the Nuggets will have their work cut out for them to check all of the necessary offseason boxes to get this team fully prepared for an improved 2026 at the right price.

Simply put, the Nuggets will most likely be looking to save money and cut corners financially where it makes sense, and this is a perfect example of doing just that.

Pickett will be able to build off a productive year three in Denver for what would be a contract year, and ultimately save this front office a few bucks against the books this offseason in the process.

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