The Denver Nuggets made the right basketball decision, but now they face a steep tax bill and second-apron questions.
Denver has decided to match Oklahoma City’s two-year, $11.8 million offer sheet to Spencer Jones, keeping him in a Nuggets uniform for next season, a story broken by ESPN’s Shams Charania.
From a basketball perspective, Denver made the no-brainer move, especially for a team with questions about depth. Jones is a 6’7″ wing who is a strong on-ball defender, shot 39.6% from 3-point range, and started 37 games for Denver a season ago. Plus, he dropped 20 points on the Timberwolves in Game 5 of their playoff series, basically winning the Nuggets the game.
However, this was not a simple decision financially — just matching Jones’ offer jumped the Nuggets’ luxury tax bill from $36 million to $68 million, reports Bobby Marks of ESPN. That tax bill is going to climb to at least $112 million, and that’s if Peyton Watson chooses to play for the $6.5 million qualifying offer. If he and the Nuggets agree to a new deal, the tax numbers only skyrocket from there.
Denver is now eight million above the second apron, according to Marks, and again that is without a new deal for Watson. Nuggets ownership and management have some tough calls to make about this roster and the tax.
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