Nuggets Get Brutal LeBron James Update From Top NBA Insider

The tantalizing possibility of LeBron James pairing with Nikola Jokic in Denver can be put to rest.

ESPN’s Shams Charania identified the five teams still under consideration for James during a Thursday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. The Denver Nuggets were not among them.

“The teams — Cleveland, Miami, Golden State, Philadelphia, Minnesota — they’re set,” Charania said. “Those are the teams.”

Charania did not explicitly say the Nuggets had been eliminated from the LeBron James sweepstakes. But his description of a finalized five-team field, coupled with his insistence that James has completed the information-gathering stage of his free agency, leaves no other reasonable interpretation.

Denver is out.

“On July 23, we’re literally just waiting on LeBron James,” Charania said. “That’s the choice. His decision.”

That decision will not include the Nuggets, who had appeared on the original list of potential destinations presented by James’ agent, Rich Paul, at the beginning of free agency.

LeBron James-Nikola Jokic Partnership Will Remain Hypothetical

Denver’s inclusion on Paul’s initial list was always easier to understand from a basketball perspective than a financial one.

Playing with Jokic would have offered James an opportunity to share the court with the NBA’s premier offensive engine. Jokic’s passing, screening and interior scoring could have reduced James’ workload during his record-setting 24th season, while James would have given Denver another playoff-tested creator alongside Jamal Murray.

A potential lineup built around Jokic, James, Murray, Aaron Gordon and Cameron Johnson would have carried obvious championship upside.

The Nuggets, however, never had a clear financial path beyond a minimum contract. Their expensive core has kept the organization operating near the second luxury-tax apron, limiting their ability to pursue outside free agents or execute complicated transactions.

Denver waived veteran center Jonas Valanciunas and replaced him with Marvin Bagley III on a minimum contract to remain below the second apron. Even after that maneuver, the Nuggets had little flexibility to construct a competitive offer for James.

Charania said salary is not expected to be the deciding factor. James’ remaining suitors are primarily limited to minimum contracts or available exceptions.

But James is prioritizing happiness, championship potential and organizational culture. He also does not want his next team to dismantle its roster to accommodate him.

Whatever pitch Denver made was not enough to survive the final cut.

Nuggets Can Turn Full Attention to Peyton Watson

GettyPeyton Watson of the Denver Nuggets reacts during a game. Watson’s latest workout with former teammate Michael Porter Jr. fueled speculation about his unresolved future.

Charania also closed off any potential route for the Nuggets to reenter the race through another major NBA transaction.

James and Paul are not waiting for Anthony Davis to get traded by the Washington Wizards or for another star to change teams. They are not asking a potential destination to complete one more move before receiving a commitment.

“They’re not waiting for another domino right now,” Charania said. “They’re not waiting for anyone else to move around anywhere.”

For Denver, that means there is no dormant scenario in which a trade suddenly returns the Nuggets to James’ list. The five finalists have been identified, and the Nuggets are on the outside.

Denver can now direct its full attention toward restricted free agent Peyton Watson, whose unresolved contract situation has lingered into the fourth week of free agency. The Nuggets retain the right to match an outside offer for the ascending forward, who remains one of their most important young players.

That decision carries heightened importance after Denver finished third in the Western Conference but suffered a first-round playoff loss to Minnesota in six games.

James could have supplied the experience and secondary creation needed to extend the Jokic era’s championship window. Instead, Denver must pursue improvement with the players and limited resources already available.

A James-Jokic partnership was intriguing enough to imagine.

It never became realistic enough to happen.

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