Nuggets' forward makes big decision on contract player option
The Denver Nuggets know one player who will be returning for next season.
Dario Saric opted in to his player option on Sunday, according to Marc Stein.
Saric will be paid $5.4 million for the 2025-26 season.
He was a disappointment for Denver after signing a two-year deal last offseason.
The former first-round pick played in just 16 regular season games, and he was out of the postseason rotation entirely.
The 6-foot-10 Saric was a solid playmaker earlier in his NBA career, but it's tough to hold a big-guy playmaker role on the same team as Nikola Jokic.
In his career, Saric is also a 36% 3-point shooter.
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It seems like there's a scenario where Saric still has value in the NBA.
Denver may not be that interested in seeing it play out on their team, so there's trade potential here, for sure.
The Nuggets could look to acquire some perimeter scoring in exchange for Saric if they can find a logical salary to match.
But in the meantime, Saric is on the Nuggets' 2025-26 roster, on a decision that made a lot of sense for him to make to lock in a sure payday for the upcoming season.
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