Nuggets use new rules to sign a second-round pick with 7.7 million in four years, and the 15-man title defense list is officially released

On July 6, Beijing time, according to Mike Singer of the Denver Post, the Nuggets will sign a four-year, $7.7 million contract with second-round pick Hunter Tyson, of which the first three years are guaranteed, and the fourth year is a team option.

Tyson spent five seasons at Clemson University and was selected by the Nuggets with the overall 37th overall pick in the second round in the draft last month. The 23-year-old Tyson played his best season as a "super senior" to date in 2022-23, playing in a total of 34 games, averaging 34.7 minutes, 15.3 points and 9.6 rebounds on three-field shooting 47.9%, 40.5% and 83.5%, respectively.

It is worth mentioning that the reason why the Nuggets were able to sign a four-year contract with Tyson is related to a provision in the new version of the collective agreement. In previous collective agreements, only first-round picks could ignore the salary cap display and sign a 2+2 contract with the team according to the prescribed system. But there are no similar exceptions for second-round picks, and to sign a three- or four-year contract with a second-round pick, teams must take advantage of salary space or middle-class signing exceptions.

In the new version of the collective bargaining agreement, the NBA and the players' union added a new second-round draft signing exception to address this issue. Under the new rules, teams will have more freedom to sign multi-year contracts with young players without worrying about salary cap restrictions.

The Nuggets have three top-paid players, and Aaron Gordon is also on a big contract, and the total salary has long exceeded the salary cap, and only by taking advantage of the newly introduced second-round pick exception can he sign Tyson for four years. Prior to this, they signed a similar contract with another second-round pick, Jalen Pickett.

After signing Tyson, the Nuggets already have 14 guaranteed contracts on the roster, and first-round pick Julian Strausher has not yet signed, which means that the team's 15-man roster for the new season has been basically determined. Miss last year's rookie Colin Gillespie for the entire 2022-23 season due to a broken leg is expected to sign a two-way contract with the team.

If you count the unsigned Strausser who did not sign, the Nuggets' 15-man roster for the new season is as follows:

Nicolas Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Kentavios Caldwell Pope, Reggie Jackson, Zick Nagy, Christian Braun, Payton Watson, Flatko Chanchar, Justin Holloday, DeAndre Jordan, Hunter Tyson, Jalen Pickett and Julian Strausser.