Photo: Denver Nuggets/YouTube

The Denver Nuggets are likely to trade Zeke Nnaji in an effort to move below the NBA’s second salary apron after signing DeMar DeRozan, according to Evan Sidery.

Sidery reported Friday that Denver may need to attach draft capital to move Nnaji, who is owed $7.5 million in 2026-27 and holds a $7.5 million player option for 2027-28. The potential move would continue an offseason in which the Nuggets have reshaped their roster around Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray while managing increasingly restrictive salary-cap rules.

Nnaji, 25, averaged 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in 12.0 minutes across 52 games last season, making four starts. He shot 47.0% from the field but converted only 25.9% of his 3-point attempts after hitting 32.7% from deep in 2024-25.

The 2020 first-round pick has spent all six NBA seasons with Denver, appearing in 303 regular-season games. His most productive scoring season came in 2021-22, when he averaged 6.6 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 51.6% overall and 46.3% from 3-point range in 17.0 minutes per game.

His role has declined since then. Nnaji averaged 5.2 points in 2022-23, followed by 3.2 points in both 2023-24 and 2024-25 before finishing at 3.7 points last season.

Denver finished 54-28 in 2025-26, good for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, but was eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in six games in the first round. Nnaji appeared in 52 regular-season games but remained a limited part of the frontcourt rotation behind Aaron Gordon and other interior options.

The Nuggets have already made significant financial decisions this offseason. Peyton Watson departed in a three-team sign-and-trade after agreeing to a four-year, $88 million contract with Cleveland, while Denver later added six-time All-Star DeRozan on a one-year, $3.9 million deal.