Nuggets moving beyond luxury tax in 2022/2023?

[Manolito]

Assuming next season Nuggets remain under the tax and no major trades happens, 2022 summer is a key milestone to evaluate Denver roster in the future.

Players under contract in 2022/23 season:
Jokic 33.6M
Murray 31.65M
Morris 9.1M
Nnaji 2.61M

Active roster cap 77M meanwhile luxury tax is 141M, means 64M to build the rest of the roster.

MPJ potential max salary starts at 29M in 2022. Aaron Gordon and PJ Dozier need to be paid, I assume rest of current roster is gone. It depends on his play off performance, but lowest contract I am expecting for MPJ is 80M x 4. Add in the equation that Jokic supermax kicks in 2023 (35% cap)

Basic question is...do you think Kroenkes are willing to move well into the luxury tax for quite some years? If not...looks like Gordon is a two year rental and next season is the peak of the current project

[_Joker]

No. Kreonke is a tight b*stard.

[NuggetsWY]

I do believe he once said that for a legitimate contender, he'd be willing to pay luxury tax - but not for very many years. Or something like that. And I actually believe that. The family fortune is enormous and I think a championship would mean a great deal to them.

But it isn't just about dollars spent, unless a team wants to be in the luxury tax perpetually - which no one has seemed to enjoy. It's about how you spend that money. Superteams have set the model: Two or maybe three superstars then find a few young players that are nearing the end of their rookie contracts, add a mix of veterans nearing the end of their careers, and find just a few role players that meet team needs with out huge salaries.

IMO Murray's contract is too high, but that was pretty much what it was going to take, to keep him. His salary is #40 in the league this year and most of those above him are far more consistent in their contributions. Let's assume he becomes consistent. What does a 2022-23 roster look like, if the Nuggets are contenders?

Jokic & Murray will take around 2/5 of the salary cap.
Porter will probably be looking for a comparable salary by then and if he is producing 20-10 plus, he'll get it.
Gordon, assuming he is the player everyone expects, will want something at least within 25% of those three salaries.
The fifth starter is going to have to be Morris or a role player/veteran seeking a ring without demanding a huge salary.
Morris' salary could hurt a little, but it's possible.

[skywalker33]

KSE has already (once) gone into the Luxury tax for a Nuggets contender, this seems to be a much better team so I could see it happening. This team has a lot of talent but still has some needs and future cap issues to deal with. Guessing how this team plays in the playoffs will determine what happens going forward

[The Rebel]

I think 22-23 is going to depend heavily on what happens over the next 15 months. If we are in the finals than I think they go into the tax for at least 2 years and then sale off some talent at that point.


The much more interesting question is what happens this summer. If Barton opts out we Have the full MLE and the $9 million tpe. You are going to have to replace Millsap, Mcgee, and Barton. Hopefully Nnaji is ready, but a rim protecting backup Center And a bench scorer are going to be big needs.

[psimanic1]

I think 22-23 is going to depend heavily on what happens over the next 15 months. If we are in the finals than I think they go into the tax for at least 2 years and then sale off some talent at that point.


The much more interesting question is what happens this summer. If Barton opts out we Have the full MLE and the $9 million tpe. You are going to have to replace Millsap, Mcgee, and Barton. Hopefully Nnaji is ready, but a rim protecting backup Center And a bench scorer are going to be big needs.

Resign McGee and Bradley + draft SG maybe

[TunaFish]

I think 22-23 is going to depend heavily on what happens over the next 15 months. If we are in the finals than I think they go into the tax for at least 2 years and then sale off some talent at that point.


The much more interesting question is what happens this summer. If Barton opts out we Have the full MLE and the $9 million tpe. You are going to have to replace Millsap, Mcgee, and Barton. Hopefully Nnaji is ready, but a rim protecting backup Center And a bench scorer are going to be big needs.

Resign McGee and Bradley + draft SG maybe

Both Barton and Green have player options. The question is whether either or both exercise their options. I can see a scenario where if the Nuggets are successful this season, they might try to bring them all back (with Millsap on a reduced contract).

This is a balanced club with players that seem to be complimentary.

[Manolito]

I think 22-23 is going to depend heavily on what happens over the next 15 months. If we are in the finals than I think they go into the tax for at least 2 years and then sale off some talent at that point.


The much more interesting question is what happens this summer. If Barton opts out we Have the full MLE and the $9 million tpe. You are going to have to replace Millsap, Mcgee, and Barton. Hopefully Nnaji is ready, but a rim protecting backup Center And a bench scorer are going to be big needs.

They are going to try to renew McGee, otherwise you don´t pay two second rounds for a three month rental. I am not even sure that Barton is gone, foreseen the huge cost this roster will have in two seasons, you can only sign a SG in a friendly contract until maximum 2023 (when Jokic supermax kicks in).

Signing a solid SG with MLE for maximum two seasons or trading for one won´t be easy. Danny Green, Terrence Ross, Avery Bradley, Josh Hart?....this type of player. Therefore if Barton opts in, it won´t be horrible, not many better players available.

It is funny that Malik Beasley could fit perfectly into what we need (contract wise)