The partnership between Dario Saric and the Denver Nuggets hasn’t gone as planned for either side.
The Croatian big man chose Denver over reigning EuroLeague champion Panathinaikos last July in free agency, jumping at the opportunity to contribute to an NBA title contender with two other Balkan players in the locker room, including star center Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets were confident they had solved a never-ending existential crisis in their rotation by adding a versatile big who could back up Jokic or play the four alongside him.
They signed Saric to a two-year, $10.6 million contract with a player option on the second season, using their precious taxpayer mid-level exception.
Saric has appeared in only 16 games. He has eclipsed 10 minutes in only nine of them. Even this Wednesday, when more than half of Denver’s 15-man roster was out, he played only seven minutes in a rotation that included multiple contributors on two-way deals.
That player option deadline — June 29 — is creeping over the horizon.
For a franchise facing punitive roster-building constraints, the contract has come to symbolize general manager Calvin Booth’s razor-thin margin for error. Saric is $5.2 million in salary buried at the end of the bench as the Nuggets survey their roster for possible playoff depth. He is penciled in as the team’s sixth-highest salary for 2025-26, too.
Despite reports out of Europe that multiple clubs have courted Saric to return overseas next season, including Dubai Basketball and Real Madrid, multiple sources told The Denver Post that Saric currently plans to exercise his $5.4 million player option with the Nuggets.
“I didn’t sign a contract with nobody. Obviously, I still have a contract with Denver at the end of this season, my option for next year,” Saric told The Post this week. “So you know, me and my family didn’t decide yet. I’m still kind of going through this season, and when the season is done, I’m going to see with my family what’s the best thing, what’s the best choice for me. … I really don’t (know) myself what’s the right choice for me in this moment.”
The NBA informed teams last week that the salary cap will increase by a robust 10% next season, bringing the luxury tax line to $187.9 million, the first apron to $195.9 million and the second apron to $207.8 million. If Saric and Russell Westbrook pick up their player options, the Nuggets will have a projected active roster payroll of $199.5 million, distributed among 13 players with DeAndre Jordan and Vlatko Cancar becoming free agents.
If Saric is off the books, that projected payroll drops below the first apron by a hair. It would leave the Nuggets with three open roster spots and about $13 million to operate below the second apron. Most importantly, it would allow them to use the taxpayer mid-level exception again on a free agent. (Using the TMLE would hard-cap them at the second apron, as was the case when they signed Saric.)
Saric didn’t rule out the possibility of a return to Europe when asked about other teams’ interest in him. But if he wants to go overseas, exercising his player option will inherently risk sacrificing that opportunity. The Nuggets would have to buy out his NBA contract — or trade him to another team that would subsequently buy him out — in order for him to sign elsewhere.
They can’t afford to make another salary-dump trade due to their limited draft assets. They already attached three second-round picks to get rid of Reggie Jackson last offseason when he was getting paid the TMLE. Even if Denver had that many future second-rounders to offer this summer, doing so two consecutive years would be a tough pill to swallow.
So how else can the Nuggets handle the dilemma? They can tell Saric his only path to Europe is to opt out — but if he doesn’t, they’ll have to assess how desperately they need the cap space and the roster spot. Buying out his contract would be conceding a sunk cost; keeping him around for another year would be unproductive, barring a complete reversal from how this season has gone.
Saric turns 31 in April. Denver is his sixth NBA team. He has been to an NBA Finals once, with Phoenix. The experience was cruelly cut short when he tore his ACL after two minutes on the floor in Game 1. The Suns lost the series.
He’s approaching a crossroads in his professional basketball career now. The NBA offers more money, more prestige, maybe even an opportunity to capture what was taken from him in 2021. The EuroLeague and ABA offer more minutes, more opportunity to be a focal point at a high level.
Saric’s role with Denver’s second unit has been a poor fit from the beginning. He struggled to establish chemistry off the bench with Westbrook, who plays at a more frenetic pace. He’s shooting at a 27% clip outside the arc and a 36% clip overall. In 13 minutes a game, his 1.4 assists have been offset by 0.9 turnovers. The Nuggets have lost his 210 minutes by 11.5 points per 100 possessions.
“Obviously it’s been kind of a tough or rough season for me, not being able to have some consistent minutes. … (Michael Malone) is making decisions, and he’s the guy who’s in charge,” Saric said. “Just here right now. Still have my option for next year. And I’m gonna measure everything once the season is done.”
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