Free agency opened with a bang as the calendar flipped from June to July and one of the biggest spenders was the Denver Nuggets, who committed more than $200 million to Nikola Jokic and Will Barton on new contracts. The small-market Nuggets are slated to spend with the big boys next season, a situation that will have to be rectified before the February trade deadline. Denver is more than $22 million over the luxury tax line, with a projected tax bill of more than $52 million, after the Jokic and Barton deals are made official and while their luxury tax bill doesn’t lock in until the end of the 2018-19 regular season, their ability to shed that much salary may quickly disappear between now and then.
A trade between the Hawks and Nuggets almost makes too much sense
