The Denver Nuggets received a big jolt in the 2024 off-season when their best perimeter defender Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left for the Orlando Magic. The Nuggets core that won the 2023 championship altered massively after KCP’s departure. On Bill Simmons’ podcast, veteran NBA insider David Aldridge argued that the new Collective Bargaining Agreement(CBA) that has been in effect since the 2023-24 season is to blame for Denver’s woes.
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The second apron rules under the new CBA have made it difficult for teams to sign three players on a max contract. At the same time, the strict clauses under the new CBA also restrict the ability of teams to re-sign their own players.
As per Aldridge, Michael Porter Jr.’s contract extension in 2021 paved the way for Caldwell-Pope’s departure.
Back then, MPJ Jr. signed a five-year, $179 million extension. Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic’s five-year, $276 million max contract also came into effect during the 2023-24 season.
According to Aldridge, the combination of these contracts affected the Nuggets’ ability to retain Caldwell-Pope, who was seeking a $20 million+ per year contract. Aldridge said,
“They gave Michael Porter that contract in 2021. Look they won a championship with Michael Porter Jr., so it wasn’t a bad contract. Doing that contract along with Jokic contract hamstrung them in terms of them being able to keep KCP.”
Aldridge highlighted that prioritizing MPJ curbed their ability to retain important role players like KCP, Bruce Brown and Jeff Green.
This is why the Nuggets have to now rely on rookies like Christian Braun, who are raw and unproven, instead of the veterans that won them the championship.
Signing Jamal Murray to a five-year/$208 million contract(effective from 2025-26 season) has further snapped their chances to bring a quality role player in the long run.
While Aldridge admitted that 3x MVP Jokic still makes the Nuggets a title contender, he said that losing key players like KCP and Bruce Brown will not help Denver sustain a championship model.
“I don’t know if the Nuggets are still, well, they are contenders, as long as they have Jokic, they are contenders. I don’t know if this roster is good enough to win the West. Can’t keep losing key guys… It’s going in the wrong direction for Denver right now.”
The new CBA has indeed put teams in a tangle. The max contracts are shooting up to $60 million per year. Having multiple such contracts seriously limits squads from bringing in a third superstar, which means that the “big three” era could be coming to an end.
If a team ends up paying over $100 million per year to just a couple of players, they get close to the first apron(estimated to be $178 million for next season) and not that far away from the highly restricting second apron(estimated to be $189 million).
Unless teams are way below the luxury tax line, they are unable to sign players like KCP and Brown to $20 million per year types of contract anymore. Therefore, like the Nuggets, many squads are also going to suffer in the long-run under the new CBA.
However, the brilliant Front offices of the NBA will soon adjust under the new CBA and hope that the recently signed new media deal will allow more financial freedom in the coming years.
