The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed Denver Nuggets forward Spencer Jones to a two-year, $6 million contract that the Nuggets can’t match.
The Thunder spent most of the offseason trying to shed salary from their roster to stay under the second apron, trading away the likes of Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe, Kenrich Williams, and Aaron Wiggins.
The additional space allowed them to sign Jones to a contract slightly above the veteran’s minimum, something that the capped-out Nuggets might have no choice but to ignore.
Nuggets salary situation makes Spencer Jones’ contract offer almost impossible
The Nuggets are under $4 million away from the punitive second apron, which restricts a team’s ability to sign buyout players and locks their future assets, while bringing a harsher luxury tax penalty.
The Nuggets have 12 players on their roster and can’t complete their offseason without shedding salary to bring back key players like Jones and Peyton Watson.
Jones and Watson are both restricted free agents, but with Watson’s status still unclear, the Thunder have likely pried Jones away by offering him a deal that would force Denver into the second apron.
If Denver is in the second apron, they won’t be able to exercise a sign-and-trade for Watson, who the team definitely can’t afford to retain on a contract worth $25 to 30 million.
With Denver still not finding a passable sign-and-trade to move off Watson, they can’t match Jones and enter the second apron, which will make a Watson S&T illegal.
Jones averaged 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds last season, shooting 39.6% from three as a rotational 3-and-D forward.
The Nuggets still have a day to match this offer sheet, but that can only happen if they find a way to salary dump Cam Johnson’s $23 million expiring contract to have the space to match Jones’ offer sheet and have breathing room to potentially re-sign Watson or fill the roster out with other minimums.
Until they do that, the Nuggets are at-risk of losing one of the most efficient shooters in the NBA for a laughably small contract.
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