Denver Nuggets owner Josh Kroenke set the tone for the franchise’s offseason direction on Friday, making it clear that the organization is prepared to explore almost every roster scenario while keeping one boundary firmly in place.
The message came during a press conference in which Kroenke addressed salary structure, roster flexibility, and the aftermath of a season that ended with a six-game first-round playoff loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Nuggets finished the 2025–26 regular season 54–28, led by another elite campaign from Nikola Jokic, who averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists across 65 games. Despite his production, Denver’s postseason run ended earlier than expected, with offensive rhythm and perimeter efficiency collapsing against Minnesota.
Kroenke pointed to financial structure as a driving factor in recent roster decisions, including last summer’s Michael Porter Jr. trade that broke up parts of the championship core and shifted the team away from a three-max contract model.
“I think that when discussing the tax, you’re also talking about flexibility. And so when you sit here and you talk about our team salary, what we did last summer, and I give a lot of credit to our front office, we finally broke up the core, you could say, of players that provided the first championship in Denver Nuggets history,” he said.
“I think when the rules around the league and the system changed, we had to take a hard look at where we’d committed ourselves from a salary standpoint and understanding that having three max players probably was not something that was going to be continuous for us going forward. Love Michael [Porter Jr.] as a person, love Michael as a player. But that was something we felt the organization needed to do to maintain a roster going forward to establish more depth…”
Kroenke emphasized that those decisions were tied to long-term flexibility rather than short-term swings at the trade deadline, noting that Denver did not identify a move worth sacrificing future assets.
The Nuggets’ core remains centered on Jokic and Jamal Murray, who posted 25.4 points and 7.1 assists in the regular season before increasing his usage in the playoffs. However, Denver’s supporting structure has shifted significantly, with multiple rotation changes affecting continuity.
Kroenke also acknowledged uneven consistency across the roster and linked it to a lack of rhythm during a season defined by change and injuries. He pointed to the team’s inability to fully stabilize its identity before April.
“I think that everything’s going to be on the table outside of trading Nikola… I think we need to have running it back as a possibility. I think this season was in a lot of ways the season that never was because this group never fully got a chance to show any kind of rhythm when you’re going to have the amount of turnover and change that we did last year.”
The Nuggets’ offseason now sits in a wide-open phase, with Kroenke confirming that “everything’s on the table,” including the possibility of maintaining the current roster structure. That aligns with reporting that Denver’s front office is evaluating multiple internal and external paths without a defined timeline for final decisions.
Despite speculation around roster cost control, Kroenke pushed back on the idea of limiting coaching or team spending targets being a fixed mandate, reinforcing that competitive balance and flexibility remain central priorities.
What remains unchanged is the franchise’s stance on its centerpiece. Jokic is not part of any trade conversation, anchoring both the present and future direction of the organization as Denver attempts to recalibrate after an uneven title defense cycle.
