Let me analyze what I’ve found from the Spotrac and Basketball Reference data.
From Spotrac, the Denver Nuggets’ current contracts include:
– Nikola Jokic: $55.2M AAV
– Jamal Murray: $52.0M AAV (extension signed 2025)
– Christian Braun: $25.0M AAV (extension signed 2026)
– Aaron Gordon: $34.5M AAV (extension signed 2026)
– Cameron Johnson: $23.6M AAV
– Zeke Nnaji: $8.0M AAV
– DaRon Holmes II: $3.8M AAV
– Julian Strawther: $3.1M AAV
– Peyton Watson: $2.8M AAV
– Trevon Brazile: $2.3M AAV
– Tyus Jones: $3.9M AAV (Free Agent signing, 2026)
– Marvin Bagley III: $3.5M AAV (Free Agent signing, 2026)
– Justin Holiday: $3.2M AAV
– Bruce Brown Jr.: $3.1M AAV (Free Agent signing, 2025)
– Vlatko Cancar: $2.4M AAV
– Alpha Diallo: $1.4M AAV (Undrafted, 2026)
– Spencer Jones: $624K AAV (Free Agent Rest-of-Season, 2025)
– David Roddy: $146K AAV (Free Agent Two-Way, 2025)
– K.J. Simpson: $194K AAV (Free Agent Two-Way, 2025)
From Basketball Reference, the roster for the 2025-26 season includes:
– Tim Hardaway Jr. (played 80 games, 6 starts, 13.5 PPG)
– Jonas Valanciunas (on the roster)
– Bruce Brown
– Tyus Jones
– Cameron Johnson
– Spencer Jones
– David Roddy
So it seems like the Reddit post was partially right and partially wrong. Let me reconsider:
The Reddit post claims:
1. Added Marvin Bagley – CONFIRMED by Spotrac (Free Agent, 2026)
2. Added Alpha Diallo – CONFIRMED by Spotrac (Undrafted, 2026)
3. Re-signed Tyus Jones – CONFIRMED by Spotrac (Free Agent, 2026) and on Basketball Reference roster
4. Waived Jonas Valanciunas – Basketball Reference shows Valanciunas ON the roster for 2025-26, so this seems wrong, OR he was waived after the season. Actually, the Basketball Reference page shows the 2025-26 season results (the games listed are from Oct 2025 to March 2026), and Valanciunas is listed on the roster. So if the Reddit post is from after the 2025-26 season (July 2026), it’s possible Valanciunas was waived. But I can’t confirm this.
5. Lost Tim Hardaway Jr. – Basketball Reference shows Hardaway Jr. on the 2025-26 roster. If this is a 2026 offseason post, he may have left in free agency. But I can’t confirm.
6. Lost David Roddy – Roddy is on a Two-Way contract for 2025. If this is 2026 offseason, he may have left. But I can’t confirm.
Wait, let me reconsider the timeline. The Spotrac data shows contracts with start years of 2026 for several players (Bagley, Diallo, Tyus Jones, Brazile). The Basketball Reference page is for the 2026 season (which would be 2025-26). The Reddit post appears to be from July 2026, discussing the 2026 offseason.
So the Reddit post’s claims might actually be more accurate than the Pass-1 research summary suggested. The Pass-1 summary said “Tyus Jones signed with the Phoenix Suns” and “Jonas Valanciunas was never a Nugget” – but the Spotrac data shows Tyus Jones on a Nuggets contract starting 2026, and Basketball Reference shows Valanciunas on the Nuggets 2025-26 roster.
Actually, wait. Let me reconsider. The Basketball Reference page URL is /teams/DEN/2026.html which typically refers to the 2025-26 season. The game results show games from Oct 2025 through March 2026. So this is the 2025-26 season that has already been played.
The roster shows Valanciunas and Hardaway Jr. on the team during 2025-26. The Reddit post is about the 2026 offseason (after the 2025-26 season ended). So it’s possible that:
– Valanciunas was waived in the 2026 offseason
– Hardaway Jr. left in free agency in 2026
– Roddy’s two-way deal expired
But I can’t verify these specific moves from the data I have. The Spotrac contracts page shows current contracts, and Valanciunas is NOT listed on Spotrac’s current contracts for the Nuggets. Neither is Tim Hardaway Jr. (wait, actually let me check again).
Looking at Spotrac’s current contracts list:
– Jokic, Murray, Braun, Gordon (two entries), Johnson, Nnaji, Holmes II, Strawther, Watson, Brazile, Tyus Jones, Bagley III, Holiday, Bruce Brown Jr., Cancar, Diallo, Spencer Jones, Roddy, Simpson
I don’t see Valanciunas or Tim Hardaway Jr. on the Spotrac current contracts list. This would support the Reddit post’s claim that Valanciunas was waived and Hardaway Jr. was lost.
But wait – Justin Holiday is listed on Spotrac with a start year of 2023 and end year of 2023, which seems like an old contract. And Cancar with 2024 end year. These might be artifacts.
Actually, looking more carefully at the Spotrac data, some of these contracts might be historical/expired. The “Start Year” and “End” columns show:
– Holiday: 2023-2023 (expired)
– Cancar: 2024-2024 (expired)
– Gordon (second entry): 2022-2025 (expired)
So Spotrac might be showing all contracts including expired ones. But Valanciunas and Hardaway Jr. are NOT on the list at all, which suggests they’re no longer with the team.
Actually, looking at the Basketball Reference roster again, both Valanciunas and Hardaway Jr. ARE listed on the 2025-26 roster. So they were on the team during the season but may have departed in the 2026 offseason.
Let me also note: the Reddit post mentions a $211 million payroll. I can’t verify this exact figure from the data I have, but the total of the contracts listed on Spotrac would be substantial given Jokic ($55M), Murray ($52M), Braun ($25M), Gordon ($34.5M), and Johnson ($23.6M) alone account for about $190M.
Also, the Reddit post mentions Spencer Jones hasn’t been brought back yet. Spotrac shows Spencer Jones on a Free Agent Rest-of-Season contract for 2025, which would have expired. So he may indeed be an unsigned free agent.
Now, the Pass-1 research summary said the post “contains multiple factual inaccuracies” and that “Tyus Jones signed with the Phoenix Suns” and “Jonas Valanciunas was never a Nugget.” But the data I’ve pulled from Spotrac and Basketball Reference contradicts the Pass-1 summary. Tyus Jones IS on the Nuggets per Spotrac (2026 free agent signing), and Valanciunas WAS on the Nuggets per Basketball Reference (2025-26 roster).
So the Pass-1 summary appears to have been wrong. The Reddit post seems more accurate than initially assessed.
However, I should be careful. The Pass-1 summary might have been referring to a different timeframe. Let me think about this more carefully.
The Reddit post is from what appears to be July 2026 (based on the URL structure and content discussing the current offseason). The claims:
1. Added Marvin Bagley – Spotrac confirms (Free Agent, 2026, $3.5M)
2. Added Alpha Diallo – Spotrac confirms (Undrafted, 2026, $1.4M)
3. Re-signed Tyus Jones – Spotrac confirms (Free Agent, 2026, $3.9M)
4. Waived Jonas Valanciunas – Not on Spotrac’s current contracts; was on 2025-26 roster per BRef
5. Lost Tim Hardaway Jr. – Not on Spotrac’s current contracts; was on 2025-26 roster per BRef
6. Lost David Roddy – Roddy IS on Spotrac with a Two-Way contract for 2025. Hmm, but if this is 2026 offseason, his 2025 two-way deal would have expired. Actually, Spotrac shows Roddy with start 2025, end 2025, so it’s expired. But he’s still listed on the current contracts page, which is confusing.
Actually, looking at the Spotrac data more carefully, Roddy’s contract shows “Free Agent Two-Way” with start 2025 and end 2025. If we’re in the 2026 offseason, this contract has expired. So “lost David Roddy” could mean his contract expired and he wasn’t re-signed (yet).
But the Reddit post says “Lost Tim Hardaway Jr and David Roddy” as if these are departures. And it says they “waived Jonas Valanciunas.”
I think the key issue is: I have some data from Spotrac and Basketball Reference that partially confirms and partially contradicts the Reddit post. The Pass-1 summary was clearly wrong about some things (Tyus Jones and Valanciunas).
Let me also note that the Basketball Reference page shows the Nuggets had a very good 2025-26 season – they were 48-28 through 76 games, which is a strong record. So the “terrible offseason” claim is about the 2026 offseason moves, not the team’s performance.
Now, for the article, I need to be careful about what I can and cannot verify. Here’s what I can say with reasonable confidence:
CONFIRMED by Spotrac:
– Nuggets signed Marvin Bagley III (1-year, $3.5M)
– Nuggets signed Alpha Diallo (1-year, $1.4M, undrafted)
– Nuggets re-signed Tyus Jones (1-year, $3.9M)
– Nuggets signed Trevon Brazile (2nd-round pick, 4-year, $9.3M)
– Nuggets brought back Bruce Brown Jr. (1-year, $3.1M)
– Spencer Jones is on an expired rest-of-season deal (not clearly re-signed for 2026-27)
CONFIRMED by Basketball Reference (2025-26 roster):
– Jonas Valanciunas was on the Nuggets during 2025-26
– Tim Hardaway Jr. was on the Nuggets during 2025-26 (80 games, 13.5 PPG)
– David Roddy was on the Nuggets during 2025-26 (5 games)
NOT on Spotrac’s current contracts (suggesting departure):
– Jonas Valanciunas
– Tim Hardaway Jr.
The $211 million payroll figure I can’t independently verify, but given the contracts on Spotrac, it’s plausible.
Now, the Pass-1 summary was wrong. It said “Tyus Jones signed with the Phoenix Suns” – but Spotrac clearly shows him on a Nuggets contract. It said “Jonas Valanciunas was never a Nugget” – but Basketball Reference shows him on the 2025-26 roster. It said “Tim Hardaway Jr. was traded from Dallas to Detroit” – but Basketball Reference shows him on the Nuggets for 2025-26, where he played 80 games.
So the Pass-1 summary was using outdated or incorrect information, possibly from a previous offseason.
Let me also note: the Pass-1 summary mentioned “losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency and signing Russell Westbrook” – but I don’t see either of these players on the current Spotrac contracts or the Basketball Reference roster. KCP isn’t listed, and Westbrook isn’t listed. This might have been from a previous offseason (2024).
OK, so here’s my assessment: The Reddit post is largely accurate based on the data I can verify from Spotrac and Basketball Reference. The Nuggets’ 2026 offseason moves include signing Bagley, Diallo, and re-signing Tyus Jones, while Valanciunas and Hardaway Jr. appear to have departed (not on current contracts). The team has a very expensive roster built around Jokic and Murray.
The “terrible offseason” characterization is subjective but has some basis: the Nuggets lost rotation players (Hardaway Jr. averaged 13.5 PPG in 80 games) and replaced them with minimum-salary signings (Bagley, Diallo). The team is heavily invested in its core (Jokic, Murray, Braun, Gordon) with little financial flexibility.
Now let me write the article. I need to be careful to attribute claims properly and note what I can and cannot verify.
Actually, I want to be more careful. Let me re-examine the Spotrac data. The contracts listed include some that appear to be from previous years (Holiday 2023, Cancar 2024, Gordon 2022-2025). So Spotrac might be showing ALL contracts, not just current ones. But Valanciunas and Hardaway Jr. are NOT listed at all, which is notable.
Wait, actually, looking at the Spotrac data again, I see 20 players listed. The Basketball Reference roster shows about 18 players. Some overlap, some don’t. Let me compare:
Spotrac current contracts (20):
Jokic, Murray, Braun, Gordon (x2), Johnson, Nnaji, Holmes II, Strawther, Watson, Brazile, Tyus Jones, Bagley III, Holiday, Bruce Brown Jr., Cancar, Diallo, Spencer Jones, Roddy, Simpson
Basketball Reference 202
Sources:
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