Denver Nuggets 2026 NBA Draft Day Primer and Thread
Welcome to the 2026 NBA draft! The Denver Nuggets, and the remainder of the NBA, will probably be wanting so as to add some key younger items to their championship contending core to not solely bolster their possibilities of successful a title this 12 months, however for a few years past. Draft evening can be some of the lively nights on the commerce market with a number of groups seeking to transfer up, transfer again or parlay picks and gamers to land their subsequent massive piece. Those festivities bought kicked off a day early with the Milwaukee Bucks making a blockbuster commerce sending celebrity Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat in trade for a bundle of gamers and picks, together with the thirteenth general decide in tonight’s draft. What will the Nuggets find yourself doing? Only time will inform (however we have got some concepts).
The Basics
What: The 2026 NBA Draft
When: 6PM MDT
Where: The home that Mikhail constructed (on funds gained from profiteering throughout the collapse of the USSR), Brooklyn, NY.
How to look at: ABC & ESPN
Nuggets picks: #26 (1st spherical) & #49 (2nd spherical)
The Three Ways this may go
Good: The Nuggets are sitting in a bizarre spot for the draft. They are nonetheless chasing an elusive second title for Nikola Jokic and as he heads into his age 32 season, time is of the essence. While the #26 general decide can definitely produce some excellent gamers (Vlade Divac involves thoughts) the possibilities of it producing a participant who will help the Nuggets win now could be much less doubtless. However, they’ve had success selecting late within the first spherical and getting a man who will help instantly. Christian Braun was taken twenty first general within the 2022 draft and turned a key position participant throughout Denver’s title run. Still, current historical past tells us a Nuggets late 1st rounder is extra prone to take time to develop a la Peyton Watson and Daron Holmes. While snagging a contributor at 26 is feasible, a finest case situation for the Nuggets most likely finally ends up as a two birds, one stone sort of maneuver the place they concurrently transfer up within the draft whereas additionally shedding some wage.
All eyes needs to be on Cam Johnson tonight from the Nuggets standpoint. Johnson, who shot 43% from three final season and is on an expiring $23 million contract, is probably going Denver’s most tradeable participant outdoors of Jokic. A lot of groups could possibly be inquisitive about including him to their roster in trade for transferring again within the draft. The tough half is discovering a workforce who needs so as to add him to the roster whereas transferring again and is prepared to tackle further wage. There is sadly not plenty of groups which are going to suit that description plus there’s the complication that any workforce that takes again extra wage than they ship out in a commerce arduous caps themselves on the first luxurious tax apron. Most groups with cap area aren’t sitting in that candy spot of 5-10 picks in entrance of Denver. You’ve bought the Los Angeles Lakers who draft proper in entrance of the Nuggets, or groups just like the Washington Wizards who, even with Trae Young’s new deal, have ample area but additionally maintain the #1 general decide which they’re positively not buying and selling to Denver. The Detroit Pistons are attention-grabbing, they have sufficient area to tackle about $8 million of Johnson’s however with Jalen Duren in restricted free company, arduous capping themselves may make issues sophisticated.
The finest case situation? The Nuggets entice the Chicago Bulls, who’ve ample cap area, to commerce them the fifteenth general decide. Eleven spots isn’t any simple leap, significantly when it requires the workforce buying and selling again to tackle added wage, so Denver’s deal will must be a candy one given Johnson is probably going a one-year rental for the Bulls. Something just like the commerce beneath (check out fanspo.com to attempt your hand at making trades in wage cap apron NBA period). Denver would unencumber the wage wanted to re-sign Peyton Watson whereas additionally permitting themselves to launch Jonas Valanciunas and save $8 million on the non-guaranteed portion of his contract given they’d have Jalen Smith as a prepared alternative for the backup 5 spot. The Nuggets would even be choosing a participant at #15 the place their possibilities of touchdown an affect participant are a lot larger. Still, it’s a must to ask your self, is transferring up 11 spots and getting $13 million of respiration room sufficient of a return for Johnson and one other decide? Tough name however one which may be the very best the Nuggets can do tonight to place themselves in place to win in ’26/’27.
Bad: The second possibility for the Nuggets, which is much less efficient however nonetheless not horrible, is to easily stand pat tonight and take somebody with the twenty sixth general decide. It’s not the worst possibility however it will not do a lot to maneuver the needle. The Nuggets do have some holes to fill of their second unit rotation, significantly on the bookends, and they might look to fill these holes with a rookie. Valanciunas appears prone to be a one 12 months solely participant with the Nuggets. While Big Val wasn’t horrible because the backup 5, he noticed his rotation minutes get lower on the finish of the 12 months and within the playoffs. The approach his contract is structured for subsequent season ($10 million general however solely $2 million assured) makes releasing him the simplest approach for the Nuggets to seek out among the cash they should re-sign Watson. Despite having two youthful bigs already (Holmes and Zeke Nnaji) Denver may look to the draft to discover a alternative for Jonas. Players like Henri Veesar or Taris Reed Jr. could possibly be there at 26 and match the invoice as extra excessive flooring, low ceiling guys who may contribute sooner reasonably than later. Likewise, the Nuggets could possibly be inquisitive about extra of an enormous venture with Nnaji and Holmes already on board and take an opportunity on a man like Chris Cenac Jr. or Jayden Quaintance who’re extra uncooked and want time to develop (or doubtlessly simply heal within the case of Quaintance).
On the alternative finish, the Nuggets are additionally wanting a bit skinny on the guards. They have Jalen Pickett & Julian Strawther who confirmed flashes of being a reliable backups final 12 months, however lacked consistency. Otherwise, the veterans they leaned on essentially the most off the bench, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown, are free brokers as is late season pickup Tyus Jones. There’s a cluster of level/combo guards within the late teenagers to early 20s decide vary and it is not unlikely that one may fall to the twenty sixth decide whether or not that be Christian Anderson, Bennet Stirtz, Ebuka Okorie or Labaron Philon Jr. Anderson falling to 26 can be essentially the most surprising whereas Stirtz most likely matches finest as a “can play now” sort of man, however he has additionally often been projected to go within the high 20. Okorie and Philon are the more than likely bets to slide to Denver’s spot however they’re additionally extra uncooked and doubtlessly would not be capable of assist a lot within the upcoming season. Still, like it’s the case with Denver’s bigs, they’ve some guys they’ll flip instantly in Pickett and Strawther and perhaps somebody like Philon can find yourself being a shock and assist the workforce ahead of they anticipated.
Ugly: Another possibility for Denver tonight, one that can certainly draw gamers from Nuggets devoted, is to make use of the twenty sixth general decide to dump wage. This is the place a workforce just like the Wizards or Brooklyn Nets would possibly come extra into play. Both have two second spherical picks on this 12 months’s draft, together with Washington having the final decide at #60. Both groups even have the cap area to soak up a participant’s wage outright. Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype just lately reported Denver’s signaled willingness to half with their first spherical decide if a workforce is prepared to tackle Nnaji’s wage. His $7.4 million owed this upcoming 12 months is not a ton, until your squeezed as tight to the second apron as Denver is, so Brooklyn or Washington may take him in a wage dump and nonetheless have cash to play with (though it is a bit tighter for the Nets).
It’s positively an possibility that nobody loves, however offloading Nnaji whereas transferring again to the late second spherical does assist Denver accomplish what seems to be their primary purpose this Summer: retain Peyton Watson. Trading Nnaji in a pure wage dump the place the Nuggets do not take any gamers again within the commerce frees up that $7.4 million, add within the $8 million from releasing Valanciunas (or doubtlessly $9 million in the event that they stretch the $2 million owed over the subsequent two seasons with the stretch provision) and the Nuggets begin getting actually near having the cash to convey again Watson with out having to surrender Johnson, which can actually be their finest wager for competing subsequent season. If Watson’s free agent market is somewhat flatter than anticipated or if the Nuggets deal Pickett or Holmes in one other wage dump deal they might get there. Johnson or Watson goes to be a greater participant subsequent season than anybody the Nuggets can draft outdoors of transferring into the excessive lottery so by way of maximizing expertise on the roster it is arguably the very best transfer to perform that. It can be ugly although and one more instance of the Nuggets having to make use of draft picks to dump contracts, a follow that has hardly ever yielded optimistic outcomes for them.
Good, dangerous or ugly, it needs to be a enjoyable evening with Denver having a decide obtainable to them in addition to quiet a little bit of commerce buzz. There’s at all times an opportunity too that they go nuclear and commerce a member of their massive three in an enormous shakeup. I’m not anticipating that however crazier issues have occurred. Stay tuned on Denverstiffs.com all day to speak along with your fellow Nuggets followers about what you want them to do throughout the draft and get everybody’s ideas in actual time because the draft performs out. Make positive to take a look at a few of our participant/spherical profiles whilst you anticipate 6PM to reach and examine in right here after the draft for a full abstract of Denver’s strikes and the gamers they’ve added.
