Nuggets make contract decision on young shooter

Julian Strawther did not agree to a rookie-scale extension with the Denver Nuggets before Monday's deadline

Oct 19, 2026, 8:02 PM

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Julian Strawther will play this season just like Peyton Watson played last year — for his future. But for Strawther, the first goal is getting back on the court and second might be to earn playing time.

The Nuggets and Strawther did not agree to a rookie-scale extension before Monday’s deadline. That puts the 24-year-old on track for restricted free agency next summer. Denver can match any offer sheet he signs as long as the Nuggets gives him a qualifying offer.

The timing is rough for everyone given the current situation. Strawther sprained his left knee in a preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers last week. He’ll be re-evaluated in six weeks, which means he’ll miss at least the first month of the season.

“We were gonna rely on Jules a lot, especially on the offensive end,” coach David Adelman said after the injury was announced. “It’s unfortunate … especially with the timing for him.”

The decision to not extend now wasn’t too surprising. Most players in Strawther’s draft class who were eligible for extensions are expected to wait until 2027 restricted free agency to sign new deals. The 2023 class players who did get extensions early, like Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, Cason Wallace, Brandin Podziemski, Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson, have already proven a lot in the league.

Denver has also made a deadline deal before. Last October, Christian Braun agreed to his extension on deadline day — the shooting guard was a main figure on a title team, and had proved to be an NBA starter. Strawther is still fighting to become a regular rotation player — similar to where Watson was last year, and one of the reasons the Nuggets didn’t sign him.

Denver is also working with a tight payroll because of Braun’s extension hasn’t gone the way the Nuggets have wanted yet and a decision to extend early on the unproven Zeke Nnaji years ago that has haunted Denver for years.

But Strawther is way closer to Watson than Nnaji. The former Bulldog has looked like a rotation player almost every time Denver has used him. Before he got hurt, he was averaging 13.3 points in the preseason, second on the team, and shooting 43.5% from 3-point range on a team-high 5.8 attempts per game. With Tim Hardaway Jr. gone to Miami, Strawther was the most natural fit for the bench shooting role.

But he has missed time after the new year in each of his three seasons. He has played just 123 career playoff minutes, and the Nuggets haven’t been able to count on him in the games that matter most. Teams pay for availability as much as production, and the knee sprain didn’t help his case.

Restricted free agency still gives Denver control. If Strawther comes back in December and shoots the way he did this month, the market will set his price, and the Nuggets will get to decide whether to match. If the injury and inconsistent minutes follow him into another season, Denver will have avoided committing money to a player it never got to see over a full year.

Either way, Strawther gets a contract year and it begins with rehab then earning his way back into the rotation — again.