Murray, 27, has one season remaining on his current deal before the extension takes effect, keeping him under contract in Denver until 2029. The two sides paused contract talks earlier this offseason, with the Nuggets planning to offer a max after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics, sources said. Murray suited up for the Canadian national team, which won its group but was eliminated in the quarterfinals without a medal.

Murray’s efficiency struggles from the 2024 NBA playoffs carried over to the Olympics. Averaging 21 minutes off the bench with Canada, he converted just 29% of his shots from the field and 14% of his 3-point attempts for 6.0 points per game.

He was 40% from the floor and 31.5% beyond the arc in Denver’s 12-game playoff run, which was cut short by Minnesota in the second round. Murray was attempting to play through a left calf strain after a season’s worth of minor leg injuries that caused him to miss 23 games, eliminating him from All-NBA and supermax contract eligibility. Nuggets president Josh Kroenke said in August that Murray was still dealing with an ankle injury “among others” during the playoffs and Olympics.

“He was playing through some dings, some pretty good dings, that probably would keep most people out of the game,” Kroenke said.

Murray returned to Denver after the Olympics and participated in workouts at Ball Arena.

“If Jamal is in shape and in condition, he’s a totally different beast,” general manager Calvin Booth said after the season ended. “He obviously wore down a little bit at the end of the playoffs.”

Other than those durability concerns, Murray’s 2023-24 regular season was exceptional. He matched or outdid previous career-bests in scoring (21.2 points), assists (6.5), rebounding percentage (6.6%), field goal percentage (48.1%), 3-point percentage (42.5%) and usage rate (27.3%) to help the Nuggets tie a franchise record with 57 wins. They were 16-2 when he scored 25 or more points and 8-9 when he played but scored 17 or fewer. In the games he missed, Denver went 13-10.

Murray has spent all eight years of his career in Denver, including a season-long recovery period in 2021-22 after he tore his left ACL. His partnership with Nikola Jokic has been the defining characteristic of two Western Conference Finals runs and an NBA championship, the first in franchise history. But he has never made an All-Star Game or an All-NBA team, hindered by injuries and slow starts to his seasons.

That lack of individual accolades is mostly eclipsed by his clutch reputation. In 53 career playoff games before 2024, he averaged 25 points, five rebounds and 6.3 assists on 40.4% 3-point shooting. He registered a 30-point triple-double in an NBA Finals game, scored 50 twice in a memorable 2020 series win over Utah and averaged 32.5 points in the 2023 Western Conference Finals. Even amid his struggles this spring, he made two game-winning shots against the Lakers in the first round, including a buzzer-beater.

The new extension means Murray is guaranteed more than $244 million over the next five seasons, starting with a salary cap hit of $36 million in 2024-25, according to Spotrac. The Nuggets now have a projected $200.48 million committed in salary to 13 players for the 2025-26 season, including three contracts that include player options (Aaron Gordon, Russell Westbrook, Dario Saric) and three more with team options (Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther). That leaves Denver with an estimated $7.8 million in room below the second tax apron.

Gordon is next up. He will become eligible for an extension on Sept. 27, a week before the Nuggets open preseason play in Abu Dhabi. There is mutual interest in getting a deal done, sources told The Denver Post.

After opening the 2024-25 season at home, Denver will play its first road game in Toronto, where Murray is traditionally greeted with applause and appreciation by Raptors fans. He grew up nearby in Kitchener, Ontario.

Bennett, which games do you have circled on the Nuggets schedule this year?

— Daniel, Sloans Lake

I’ll give you five since you asked so nicely (and because I was on vacation when the schedule was released). Let’s start with the obvious: Jan. 21, 2025. That’s the day the 76ers come to town. This game guarantees intrigue and entertainment regardless of what happens with the elephant in the room. If Joel Embiid plays, it’ll be his first time facing Denver on Nikola Jokic’s home turf since Nov. 8, 2019. If he doesn’t play, the peanut gallery will relish every second of it. Ball Arena will be uproarious. Either way, great theater. (My favorite scheduling tidbit: Inauguration Day is Jan. 20, meaning the NBA has guaranteed that an entire American presidency begins and ends without Embiid playing in Denver.)

2. The Grizzlies are the wildest wild card in the league after the high peaks and low valleys of the last two years. And the Nuggets get to visit them on Beale Street for an NBA Cup (in-season tournament) clash early in the season. I couldn’t make this list without highlighting at least one game that’ll be played on a goofy court, and this one is the most fascinating to me. Ja Morant back from the dead, just in time for the Group of Death.

3. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope makes his return to Denver on Feb. 6. It’s a tasty matchup even before factoring in what’s sure to be a tear-jerking tribute video. The Magic swept the Nuggets last season, and the last two meetings between these teams in Denver have both been memorable. Paolo Banchero scored 32 points in his first career triple-double to lead an 18-point comeback last January, ending with Jamal Murray’s last-second miss. The year before, Jokic sank a game-winning 3 with 1.2 ticks left. Orlando is intent on leveling up in the East now with KCP’s guidance.

4. Denver plays a back-to-back series in Oklahoma City, March 9 and 10. Major litmus test a couple of weeks after the All-Star break. The way I see it, the Thunder deserve to be clear preseason favorites to win the West, unlike last year when it felt like they were still in the early stages of their rise, punching above their weight class to hang with Denver in the standings. The Nuggets are back to being underdogs this season, in this matchup at minimum. The back-to-back also takes place during a grueling, make-or-break stretch of the schedule, surrounded by the Celtics, Kings, Suns, Timberwolves and Lakers.

5. Another back-to-back, Jan. 3 and 4 against the Spurs. After the first game in Denver, both teams fly to San Antonio. I for one have my fingers crossed the Nuggets bring Jokic along for Round 2 because it would be devastating to deprive basketball fans of a single Joker vs. Wemby battle from now on.

While the Nuggets got one championship out of the current ownership-GM-coach setup, there seems to always be a 5-10% simmer of conflict between the three dealing with salaries, roster-building and playing time. … Another season of not reaching the expected potential will bring about what: Malone or Booth gone? Trading assets (anyone not including Jokic)? Or more patience and retooling for next season?

— John Steichen, Fort Collins

Ah, the paradoxical question that obsesses every sports fan about his or her team. You pose it while hoping it will never be answered.

Seeing as this is awfully hypothetical and premature for a team that views itself as a top-tier championship contender, I can only give you educated guesswork, not reporting. My sense is that sweeping change would be more likely than complete static if the 2024-25 season went awry. What changes, exactly? Nothing you suggested is impossible, once you wrap your head around the notion that Jokic is the most essential person to any team in the league right now. By that logic, he’s also the only truly immovable object in the Nuggets’ organization.

This is a cutthroat league. Think about Milwaukee, another small market franchise that was lifted to the pinnacle by a transcendent European star. Two summers later, the coach was fired and a player from the championship core was traded. It all started with a second-round Game 7 loss the year after the Bucks won the title. Even in the underdog cities, patience runs thin.

All that being said, I have a hard time envisioning the Nuggets finishing lower than fourth in the West this season, barring major injuries. With a team this good, hot seats are usually a topic reserved for the playoffs, so I don’t see this as an imminent issue. Michael Malone is tenured and beloved in Denver, and Josh Kroenke hasn’t hesitated to speak highly of general manager Calvin Booth in the recent past.

From the outside looking in, it seems Booth and Malone are not aligned. Case in point is Zeke Nnaji. I read that Booth said Nnaji was drafted as a 4 and we (Malone?) tried to make him a small 5, and it hasn’t worked. It seems like Booth still talks as if Nnaji has value, but then he drafts Holmes who he says is a 4 all day. Two questions … Where do you think Booth stands on Nnaji? Are Booth and Malone not in sync on the direction to play youth?

— Michael, Denver

I don’t think it’s any secret that Malone is often reluctant to give extended runway to young players. Booth has placed a clear emphasis on the draft, out of necessity from his perspective. Malone has addressed this friction in his own words. “As a coach, I’m thinking, ‘How do we win the next game?’ That’s my job,” he said after the season. “Calvin, as a GM, is thinking about, ‘How do we win the next couple of years?’ That’s his job.”

Translation: A little tension is inherent and healthy in the working relationship between a coach and GM. Fair enough. It’s just a matter of whether the Nuggets can locate the proper balance. Nnaji might be an example that they haven’t fully accomplished that yet. Doesn’t mean they can’t.

From a game-to-game standpoint during the season, that balance rests on Malone’s shoulders. With DaRon Holmes II injured, there will be no rookie playing time for him to manage this season unlike the last two, perhaps a silver lining for a lousy situation. Instead, this year it’s more about Malone’s approach to expanding players’ roles: Christian Braun to the starting lineup (potentially), Julian Strawther to the rotation, Peyton Watson to the playoff rotation.

As for Nnaji, Booth has been clear that he still believes in him. But the contract obviously looks terrible right now. I think the best Denver can hope for is an enhancement of Nnaji’s trade value early this season — which, of course, requires playing time.

Thank you, Bennett, for your excellent insight to our beloved Nuggets. I know there is much debate about whether or not MPJ is worth his max contract and if he should be traded. I’m wondering what his next contract looks like if he continues to play like he has the past few years (solid offensive option and on the defensive glass while providing little defensively.) If he stays on this trajectory, do you think the Nuggets would offer him another max contract, or something more in line with the kind of contract Aaron Gordon has now? And would MPJ take that? What are your thoughts? Thanks!

— Eric, Parker

Depends on the market for him, right? If Porter makes it to the end of his current contract without getting traded, and suitors aren’t lining up to offer him a second max in free agency, then he might not have a choice but than to accept something less. I think a lot of teams are feeling stingier by necessity about giving out that type of contract right now, with the new CBA guardrails in place.

Based on that logic alone, I think MPJ is a case where it wouldn’t hurt the Nuggets to wait, rather than sign him as soon as he’s extension-eligible. It’s also relevant context that Denver’s current general manager is not the same GM who signed Porter to a max deal the first time.

There are still three years left on the current contract, so a lot can happen before 2027. Everything I hear is that Porter is a relentlessly hard worker when it comes to his body; maybe by then, his injury history is behind him and he’s one of the best shooters in the league without an asterisk. Or maybe the past keeps haunting him. Maybe he’ll be traded before 2027. It’s tough to project his future right now.

Are any local press traveling to Abu Dhabi with the team?

— Grace, Oakland

Let’s just say I’ve been researching neck pillows in my free time lately.

Looking ahead, who do you see having the better season at Ball Arena? The Nuggets and Avs are stacked and ready to make postseason runs again, but my money is on the Avs with Gabe Landeskog making his return. Seems like too many unknowns with the Nuggets rotation.

— Rip, Aurora

Someone always asks me a Nuggets-Avalanche comparison question. This one’s a coin flip, honestly. I’d push back on your point about the Nuggets’ unknowns by saying those are mostly deeper in the rotation, whereas Landeskog and Val Nichushkin are still the two biggest, most expensive unknowns in Denver sports right now (unless you count the buyout money Deion Sanders will owe CU once Florida State has an opening in December).

The West is so good in the NBA that I’d lean toward the Avs having a better regular season. But I’ll always maintain the Stanley Cup Playoffs can be especially cruel or fluky. The Nuggets have a better chance to reach their Finals.

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The Nuggets will test the limits of that question. The focal point of their controversial 2024 offseason was the forfeiture of free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a valuable 3-and-D guard who started almost every game the last two seasons and shot 41.5% from 3-point range. Adding to the apprehension was Denver’s acquisition of Russell Westbrook — a no-doubt Hall of Famer, but also more of a floor-condenser than floor-spacer.

Twelve of the last 13 NBA champions ranked in the top 10 in 3-point percentage during the regular season. (The one exception was the 2020 bubble Lakers, perhaps more of a commentary on how weird that season was.) Eight of those title-winning teams ranked in the top five. Emphasis on the 3-pointer inflated more than any world economy after the emergence of Steph Curry. The Celtics took the trend to new extremes last season by attempting 603 more 3s than the league average.

The Nuggets’ formula in recent years has been low volume, high efficiency. They ranked fourth in the NBA in 3-point percentage and 25th in attempts the year they won the title. Both of those rankings took a hit during the 2023-24 season, but the principle was unchanged. They were still 10th in percentage at 37.4%, teetering on the edge of what qualifies for modern championship legitimacy, but their 2,560 attempts were the fewest in the league.

As the second-most recent champs, they represent a stylistic antithesis to Boston.

Still, even for a team that has seemingly managed to transcend the trend of spamming 3s, the math can’t be neglected. What is the state of Denver’s arsenal entering 2024-25?

In shedding Caldwell-Pope, Reggie Jackson and Justin Holiday, the Nuggets are losing 728 of their regular-season attempts — more than 28% of them. Those three players combined to shoot the 3 at a 38.7% clip. Remove their numbers, and the new team percentage is 36.9%, which would’ve ranked 14th in the league.

That means the Nuggets need to regain at least some of the lost contributions, via returners or newcomers. Start with the latter. Based on 2023-24 stats, they’ve added back 351 combined 3-point attempts this summer between Westbrook and Dario Saric — bringing the net loss to 377 attempts. Denver won’t necessarily want Westbrook shooting a ton of 3s anyway; the two free-agent acquisitions combined for a 33% mark last season, a number heightened by Saric.

So to take the hypothetical team percentage a step further: If you replace the three departing players’ production last season with Saric’s and Westbrook’s, Denver’s new 3-point percentage comes out to 36.3% as a team. That would have ranked 19th.

This is all over-simplified, obviously. A player’s output can be a product of circumstance. Of his role within a system. Of his teammates. That much was evident with Jackson. He shot 44.3% from 3-point range in 23 games as a starter last season, when Denver needed him to replace Jamal Murray. In 59 games off the bench, he was a 31.6% shooter. The Nikola Jokic Effect is good for at least some of that massive gap. It’s encouraging that Saric (37.6% overall) shot 43% on wide-open 3s last season and 38.1% off the catch (the vast majority of his attempts).

As for Westbrook? Even if the Nuggets maximize his minutes alongside Jokic and the three-time MVP works his magic — elevating another teammate’s game just by existing in the same orbit — improved 3-point shooting probably won’t be the area where that takes effect.

More than 70% of Westbrook’s 3-point attempts last season were designated as wide-open, because opponents wanted it that way. He still made only 27.5% of those shots with the closest defender stationed 6 or more feet away — consistent with his overall 27.3% percentage. Jokic’s teammates are still responsible for cashing in on the open looks he provides them.

Russ is in Denver for other reasons. Not that.

So shift your gaze to the returners. (We’re skipping over draftee DaRon Holmes II, who’s out for the year in a stroke of terrible luck.) Any optimistic outlook on the 3-point arsenal needs to mention Vlatko Cancar, who’s also a newcomer in a sense. He missed all of last season with a torn ACL, after attempting a career-high 115 outside shots (37.4%) in his most recent healthy season. Regaining his 2022-23 productivity would be a notable boost. But is that realistic to expect? Cancar’s increased volume two years ago was largely a result of opportunity. His previous career-high for 3-point attempts in a season was 33.

If the Nuggets use a nine-man rotation in 2024-25, Cancar is likely not part of it. He’s certainly behind Westbrook, Saric, Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson. And it’s up for debate whether he or Zeke Nnaji will be the 10th man. There’s more at stake for Denver with Nnaji’s development as his new contract begins. But if floor spacing is a top priority, Cancar might be more of a necessity. At any rate, it’s not a given that he’ll play enough to shoot 37% on triple-digit attempts. He also struggled dramatically during international play this summer. (More on that topic soon.)

The roster decisions Denver made this summer were widely interpreted as a big bet on the organization’s youth. Shooting is a vital aspect of that. Christian Braun is already on an ideal trajectory after his 38.4% sophomore season. Watson was 29.6% overall, but unlike Westbrook, he has a reason for confidence if he’s slightly more selective. He was 37.7% on his wide-open 3s. He’s still young. And he seems to have a balance of shot-making potential off the dribble and the catch.

Strawther looms over this entire discussion as the returning player about to make the biggest leap. He was drafted to be a spot-up sniper but shot just 29.7% as a rookie, despite a handful of electrifying heat checks. Developing his consistency is a clear X-factor. It’s a lot of pressure for a 22-year-old picked late in the first round.

All this roster movement makes it easy to overlook the core, where continuity remains a strength. The same two players have led the Nuggets in 3-point attempts the last two seasons — a distinction shared by only five other teams. And unlike three of those teams, Denver’s duo remains intact.

Murray and Michael Porter Jr. combined for 35% of Denver’s attempts in 2022-23 and 2023-24. They combined to make their 40.7% of those shots (725 for 1,781). Only the Warriors got better efficiency from their two highest-volume 3-point shooters during that two-year span (40.8%), and Klay Thompson is no longer in Golden State as of July.

The confluence of Murray and Porter’s respective injury recoveries was the setup for Denver’s championship season. They are the two most essential perimeter cogs in an offense that functions around Jokic. That was always the case, with or without Caldwell-Pope.

Losing KCP increases the pressure on their durability if anything. One injury to Murray or Porter, and the floor-spacing could start to shrink. It’s already clear that Murray’s shooting is prone to plummet if he plays while hurt. He shot 14% from 3-point range during the Paris Olympics, part of the Nuggets’ ominous trend on the international stage. Cancar was 1 for 14 (7%) in Slovenia’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Even Jokic, who led the Olympics in points, rebounds, assists and steals, suddenly couldn’t buy a basket beyond the arc. He was 17%.

That’s a lot of baggage entering training camp for a franchise that’s already in danger of 3-point regression due to its offseason choices. The foundation of Denver’s low-volume, high-efficiency identity is still there, but it’s thinner.

The 29th-ranked team in attempts last season?

The Orlando Magic — a team that’s trying to remedy that with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Shooting stars

The Nuggets are one of six NBA teams with the same two leaders in 3-point attempts each of the last two seasons. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. have combined for a 40.7% clip during that time. How does that efficiency compare to other teams’ most relied-upon 3-point shooters between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons? Here’s a look:

(Can’t see chart on mobile? Click here.)

* All players still with team | NBA rank in parenthesis | Source: Basketball-Reference.com

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Christian Braun didn’t hurt anyone or anything, let alone Russell Westbrook’s ego, by keeping his No. 0 jersey with the Nuggets. Hey, the kids up in the Grading The Week offices respect Beastbrook’s NBA resume as much as anybody. But they also believe in squatter’s rights.

Especially when said squatter played a key role in a city’s only (to date) NBA title. And is slated to slide, in theory, into an even bigger role starting this fall.

As to who’s wearing No. 0 (Braun) or No. 4 (Westbrook), who really cares? Yes, one of the NBA’s unwritten rules is that younger players or “role” players will defer on things such as uniform numbers to incoming veteran stars. (Sometimes thanks to a healthy check finding its way from the veteran star to his younger teammate.)

But you know what GTW loves about a non-story? How Westbrook went out of his way to make sure it never really became one in the first place.

Westbrook making his “0” issue a zero story — A

After Xwitter started throwing shade at Braun for his alleged disrespect, Westbrook did the bigger thing by calling his own number and throwing a blanket over the whole darned thing.

The veteran guard, who inked a two-year, $6.8-million contract with the Nuggets this offseason, went to his Instagram feed to rebuke any potential issue, writing:

“Let’s please leave our young star alone … (Braun) and I never discussed him passing along the number 0. I didn’t want, inquire, or request the number 0 because I chose to mark this new change with a ‘new’ number …

“The excitement of the new season has already begun, and unfortunately I know that means the offload of many false stories. Not today! CB and I are locked in and ready to get thongs rockin’ in the Mile High City!”

That’s a veteran move right there. A classy one, too.

Ex-Broncos landing on their feet — C

Samaje Perine and Tim Patrick, if healthy, are almost certainly headed to the playoffs this winter. Too bad it won’t be with the Broncos.

Team GTW enjoyed having both guys around the Mile High City, truth be told, and the kids in the cubicles were rooting hard to see the Nix-to-Patrick connection that took flight during the preseason flourish against some real-life, real-speed defenses come September.

Alas, it’s not to be. The Broncos announced earlier this past week that they were looking to move both Patrick, who was playing in August games for the first time in three years after two major surgeries, and Perine, a veteran third-down, block-and-catch specialist out of the backfield. Finding no takers on the trade market, the pair were released.

And very quickly snapped up. Patrick is reportedly hooked on with the Lions, the NFC North’s new money. Perine? That one kind of hurts. While the success of Jaleel McLaughlin and drafting of Audric Estime made the 28-year-old veteran slightly redundant in a deep Broncos running back room, Perine could well have the last laugh here. The 28-year-old former Oklahoma star hooked on with the Chiefs, giving Patrick Mahomes and the reigning Super Bowl champs another viable weapon to work with.

The GTW crew understands that Broncos coach Sean Payton is under a cap crunch because of the Russell Wilson divorce. And that Payton likes a young roster that he can mold in his image, free from the culture of losing that’s permeated Dove Valley for the last five or six years. It’s usually a compliment when other teams think enough of your castoffs to snap them up quickly. But at the same time, why does it feel as if these two cuts in particular could come back and bite somebody on the backside?

The Nuggets All-Star center on Monday received the highest overall rating — a 97 — in the upcoming “NBA 2K25” video game. It’s the second straight year in which he’s received that distinction.

Nikola Jokić is the highest rated player in #NBA2K25 at 97 OVR! #NBA2KTop100 pic.twitter.com/zRSVERNYZw

— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) August 26, 2024

Jokic’s score is slightly down from the 98 he had for “NBA 2K24.” It’s the sixth consecutive year in which he has reached the 90 mark in the initial ratings. He had initial 90 overall scores in the 2K20 and 2K21 editions of the game. He had a 95 in 2K22 and 96 in 2K23.

Dallas guard Luka Doncic and Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo also received 97 overall ratings but were ranked Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. Rounding out the top 10 are Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (96), 76ers center Joel Embiid (96), Lakers forward LeBron James (95), Warriors guard Stephen Curry (95), Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (95), Suns forward Kevin Durant (94) and Lakers big man Anthony Davis (94).

Denver guard Jamal Murray (87) is ranked No. 38. He is the only other Nuggets player listed in the top 50. Celtics guard and Colorado native Derrick White (86) is No. 44 on the list.

“NBA 2K25” is slated for a Sept. 6 release date for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

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It’s been perceived that way by a majority of voices and pens outside Ball Arena, anyway. The Nuggets have been widely declared one of the losers of the NBA summer, owing to a combination of polarizing strategy, internationally staged inefficiency and plain awful luck.

Internally, that’s not how the front office views it. They’re aware of the dice they’ve cast, of course, most prominently in the avoidable sacrifice of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and subsequent additions of Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric. KCP signed with Orlando for three years and $66 million, an offer the Nuggets chose not to equal despite possessing his Bird rights. But if the outcome is a marginally worse (but still elite) starting lineup traded for marginally better depth and lineup versatility, so be it, their philosophy dictates.

That’s especially true with other player retention efforts to consider, even after Jamal Murray. Aaron Gordon becomes extension-eligible starting Sept. 27. Christian Braun and Peyton Watson each have two years remaining on their rookie deals.

Flexibility for future spending is a critical fourth dimension on the chessboard, Kroenke explained Wednesday after the Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am.

“Once we knew that (Caldwell-Pope) was going to opt out and test the open market, we thought it would probably be pretty difficult to retain him,” he said when asked what the determining factor was in deciding what number to go to during KCP’s free agency. “We had some pretty good offers in that we thought made sense for us going forward, but when you hit the open market and there are teams that have space and there are teams that really need a certain skill set, (it’s difficult). We’ve been smart about how we’ve planned, and we think we have young players that can fill in to certain roles, and so we also have to think for the future in the new system.”

He speaks of the 1-year-old collective bargaining agreement, which the league is still breaking in. More specifically: the punitive competitive penalties associated with roster payroll passing the second tax apron.

“It’s much more relatable to the NHL style, even though the NBA’s not a pure hard cap,” Kroenke continued. “In the NHL, whenever you think about contracts and you start to plan, you have to think a year or two ahead. Because if you give up space, and you have to wind up getting off players to give up something you don’t want to give up, that’s not a good place to be. So we’re pretty excited about the group we’ve got — while also planning and keeping an eye on that future and making sure we have our flexibility to retain the guys we want to keep.”

A comparison of salary cap systems in the NBA and NHL spurs an obvious follow-up question: Should the expectation be that Nuggets ownership will not exceed the second apron going forward? Did the KCP situation set a precedent?

Does Kroenke see that second apron as a hard cap?

“Not necessarily,” he said. “But when you talk about our starting five, and you understand the rules of flexibility when you’re in that second apron, it’s a real juggling act. We call it, we’re spinning as many plates as we can, trying to keep those plates as stable as possible. But yeah, it was a different exercise (this offseason). … We were excited about the possibility of retaining (Caldwell-Pope), but we also knew that once he hit the open market, it was going to be something that we may have to step away from to preserve our future flexibility.”

In the meantime, back to the present state of the roster. Forfeiting KCP provided a small bit of immediate flexibility as well. The Nuggets were able to use the taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Saric, a viable backup center for Nikola Jokic. That was their most expensive move of the summer, but nowhere close to their buzziest.

That title belongs to Westbrook, a former MVP, future Hall of Famer and current bench player.

The post-Thunder era hasn’t always been graceful for Russ. Denver will be his fifth new uniform in six seasons. Twice during that span, he has been convoyed through Utah only for the Jazz to waive him so he could promptly sign with a new team (including this one).

At his best, though, every player in the league understands the jolt he can supply. And Kroenke is willing to engage in a little nostalgia.

“I got a chance to meet him for the first time right after he signed, and as I said to him, I’m very grateful that he’s on this side,” Kroenke said. “Because I’ve watched him kind of tear our hearts out for so many years in Oklahoma City, among other places. So he’ll be a really good person for us to have, both on and off the court, with some of the young guys who we’re expecting to take bigger roles this year. Russ has seen it all, in and around the NBA, so he’s gonna be a big part of who we are both in the locker room and on the court.”

Second apron fears aside, the Nuggets are nonetheless over the first apron for a second consecutive season. With all 15 roster spots occupied, any additions to the team at this point would require circumnavigating other CBA side effects to make a trade. DaRon Holmes’ season-ending Achilles injury granted Denver a disabled player exception worth $1.53 million, but that doesn’t make the first-round pick exempt from occupying a roster spot. To take, the Nuggets have to give.

“I think right now the roster’s pretty set for this year,” Kroenke said. “But you never know. Our eyes and ears are always open. The new rules are interesting, and how some of those trades work once you’re over the tax. But it was an eye-opener I think for a lot of teams this summer, in how some of the teams behaved.”

The Big Honey might be the best when it comes to dishing out bling, too.

Despite our crack staff being in the writing biz, Team Grading The Week believes actions speak louder than all the words on this page.

And GTW is firmly in the camp of backing up your brags.

Is anybody — certainly not anybody in the basketball sphere — conquering both fronts better than the Joker is, right here and now?

The NBA’s three-time MVP didn’t just help carry the Serbian hoops squad to a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics. According to the Blic newspaper in his native country, Jokic purchased Rolex watches for every one of his teammates on the national team.

Jokic’s Serbian gifts — A

The kicker? Those timepieces were reportedly worth $32,500 each. Which puts the Joker’s total purchase at an estimated $357,500 for 11 watches.

Jokic and Serbia won the men’s hoops bronze in Paris thanks to a 93-83 win over Germany in the tourney’s third-place game. The Nuggets star posted a very Jokic stat line, too — 19 points, 12 boards and 11 assists.

The Joker averaged 18.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists for his homeland, which finished 4-2 at the tourney. He led all tournament players in points, boards and dimes — the first Olympian to ever top all three categories in one campaign.

Apparently, nobody gives like Jokic gives when it comes to the gift department, either. At least the fantastic gesture was one the Joker could afford: The Nuggets center, per Spotrac.com, is slated to take up $51.4 million in cap space in ’24-’25, and $55.2 million in ’25-’26.

If you’re like the GTW staff, you don’t just want Jokic as your franchise centerpiece now. You kind of want him as your secret Santa, too.

Big Russ’ debut — D

Russell Wilson’s Steelers stats after preseason Week 2: One appearance, five drives led, zero points, three sacks taken.

Bo Nix’s Broncos stats after preseason Week 2: Two appearances, seven drives led, 30 points, zero sacks taken.

It’s early, and we’ll know in a month whether Sean Payton won the Broncos-Steelers game, head-to-head. But the coach is off to a flying start in terms of winning the argument. And in justifying one hellaciously expensive football divorce.

Valor’s Friday — A

Love ’em or hate ’em, this past Friday was a pretty good day to be an Eagle.

Earlier in the day, Valor alum and PGA star Wyndham Clark pulled himself back into the BMW Championship title picture by shooting a 68 during his second round at Castle Pines — including five birdies. Later that evening, his alma mater’s football team opened its season with a 31-14 victory over Pine Creek. The latter had beaten Valor in last September’s meeting, 31-17.

“When you’re going against the best in the world, whether it’s in the NBA playoffs or in the Olympics, you’re gonna get (opponents’) best shot. And if you’re not 100% and you know you want to be out there still, you’re gonna try to fight through it like Jamal is,” Kroenke said after participating in the Gardner Hendrick Pro-Am, part of the BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club.

“But I know he wasn’t 100%. I know getting him back there is a big step toward seeing the Jamal who was throwing up triple-doubles in the NBA Finals.”

With Murray’s extension eligibility still looming over Denver’s offseason, Kroenke didn’t specify when a deal will be done, but he shared how he is weighing the point guard’s recent poor stretch of play against his strong 2023-24 regular season while contract talks are on the mind.

The crux of it: Injuries are easily forgotten context when an athlete plays through them.

“For me in particular, as much as I would love to focus in on the end of the season or the playoffs or the Olympics, I usually think even kind of one step higher. You think about it (in terms of) over kind of the last couple of years,” Kroenke said. “The amount of games that he’s played — the amount of games that all of our guys have played — and the wear and tear on their bodies. So I think that showed up toward the end of the regular season. It definitely trickled into the playoffs. And Jamal was also pretty banged up. I think that’s something that gets underestimated because of how tough he is as a person. He was playing through some dings, some pretty good dings, that probably would keep most people out of games.”

Kroenke identified an ankle injury “among others” that Murray has been dealing with. The 27-year-old was notably hampered by a left calf strain during the second round when Denver was eliminated by Minnesota in seven games. Murray shot 40% from the field and 31.5% from 3-point range across two playoff series, a streak of uncharacteristic inefficiency that continued into the Olympics. He came off the bench for the Canadian national team.

“Jamal’s a great player, one of the best in the NBA,” Kroenke said, “and however he felt personally that the Olympics were for him, just reading some of his quotes, I know he was frustrated a little bit. So I have no doubt that he’ll use that the right way for motivation going into the season.”

Murray is eligible for up to a four-year, $208.5 million max extension. He has one season remaining on his current deal.

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Strahinja Jokic, 42, was charged with third-degree assault after a video went viral on social media that appeared to show him punching a man in the face courtside at Denver’s Ball Arena during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The punch followed a “verbal exchange,” police wrote in an affidavit. The fan who was punched spoke with police three days after the April 22 game. He suffered a concussion and cuts and bruises on his face. The fan initially did not want to press charges but later changed his mind, police said.

Strahinja Jokic was charged in late July. He told police he felt he had done nothing wrong because he was defending an older man he had known for a very long time.

On Wednesday, a Denver County Court judge put a protection order in place that requires Strahinja Jokic to stay away from the alleged victim in the case. He also ordered Strahinja Jokic to complete fingerprinting and return to court in October to enter a plea in the case.

The gameday fight is not Strahinja Jokic’s first run-in with Denver law enforcement. In 2019, he was charged with assault and accused of choking and pushing a woman, then preventing her from calling 911.

In that case, Strahinja Jokic pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing phone service, as well as a felony count of trespassing as part of a deferred sentence in which prosecutors agreed to eventually negate the trespassing conviction if he followed court rules for unsupervised probation and did not commit another crime for two years.

The trespassing charge was dismissed in 2022 after he successfully completed that term, court records show. The misdemeanor conviction stands. Charges of false imprisonment and assault against Strahinja Jokic were also dropped as part of the plea agreement in that 2019 case.

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Denver will head to Phoenix for the holidays to face the Suns in the nightcap of the NBA’s Christmas Day slate at 8:30 p.m. The game was revealed as part of the NBA’s 2024-25 regular-season schedule release on Thursday.

This marks the third year in a row that the Nuggets will play on Christmas — a day generally reserved for the NBA’s marquee franchises — and third time in four years. In all three previous instances, the Nuggets hosted the game.

Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets will be featured on 22 nationally broadcast games on ABC, ESPN and TNT, including the season opener on TNT against Oklahoma City on Oct. 24, at Ball Arena. The Thunder and Nuggets finished with the top two seeds in the Western Conference last year.

The Nuggets will begin the season with seven of their first 10 games at Ball Arena, including a five-game homestand Nov. 2-10 that includes another matchup with the Thunder. That will be followed by 11 of their next 14 away from Denver.

The schedule, of course, also includes the team’s four group games in the Emirates NBA Cup, previously known as the In-Season Tournament. Those dates had already been revealed earlier this summer: Nov. 15 at New Orleans, Nov. 19 at Memphis, Nov. 22 vs. Dallas and Dec. 3 vs. Golden State. The semifinals and finals of the NBA Cup will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 14, and Dec. 17, respectively.

Here’s the complete schedule:

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