NBA Free Agency 2018: Most impactful signings of the summer

5. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets could have saved themselves something in the neighborhood of $20 million if they had just let Nikola Jokic play on the final year of his rookie contract and then re-signed him to a max deal when he entered unrestricted free agency in a year. For a player who’s never given any indication that he ever wants to play anywhere other than in Denver, it would have been a reasonable gamble, especially given the luxury tax issues the Nuggets have faced as a result of giving Jokic his new contract now.

That they weren’t willing to let it get that far is telling. Denver knows what it has in Jokic — a center who had a higher assist rate than Stephan Curry, Kyrie Irving, Tony Parker and Ricky Rubio, among others, and who fired away from deep at a nearly 40 percent clip — and wasn’t about to risk having him bolt the only franchise he’s ever known. His defense remains up for debate, but as Ben Falk outlined earlier this year, it might not be nearly as bad as it’s made out to be.

The real question now is whether Denver can ever put a team around the Joker that makes his inclusion on the top half of this list warranted. Early signs aren’t great. They’re going to bring back the same roster as last year minus Wilson Chandler — who, while really a modern 4, is still a productive player — and the West isn’t getting any easier.

Should Jamal Murray continue to improve? Absolutely. They’ll also (hopefully) get a full healthy season from Paul Millsap, but he will turn 34 this season. They can decline his $30 million team option for next year to try and upgrade the roster, but that still only leaves them with about $20 million in space in a summer where everyone will be flush with cash. If no one of note takes the bait, the Nuggets will have made themselves worse.

Add it all up, and it’s easy to see why Denver rolled the dice on the uncertain but tantalizing Michael Porter Jr. If he comes back healthy, it’s a game changer, and Jokic will be at the center of it all, both literally and figuratively. If not, it’s yet another self-inflicted wound for a franchise with too many of those as it is.