The Nuggets were not exactly having the ideal offseason leading into Wednesday night. By Thursday morning, it turned into a nightmare.
Denver had largely been inactive throughout the summer to this point, a result of an already-stacked payroll that had the team very close to the second apron as a starting point. Negotiations with the team’s two restricted free agents—Spencer Jones and Peyton Watson—were limited as the front office searched for ways to keep those guys around without incurring hundreds of millions of dollars in tax penalties. The Thunder forced their hand by signing Jones to a modest deal, which the Nuggets matched even though it sent them over the second apron.
