2018 NBA free agency grades: Will Barton will re-sign with Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets made a splash before free agency even began, agreeing to ink Will Barton to an eye-popping four-year deal worth $53 million.

Will Barton was invaluable to the Denver Nuggets in 2017-18. The team’s fourth-leading scoring and second-most prolific assist man, Barton did a bit of everything. He filled gaps, got buckets and stabilized the offense.

In his third full season with Denver, Barton posted averages of 15.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists. He played everywhere, from the point to the 3 (where he’ll reportedly start in 2018-19, a sign that a Wilson Chandler trade could be coming). With no way to replace the Thrill’s production, Denver could not afford to lose the wiry Swiss army knife.

The Nuggets were well aware of that. Comfortably before the slated 12:01 a.m. ET opening gun of free agency, reports of Barton’s return began to permeate Twitter.

Big numbers floated, takes flew, and finally, ESPN’s Chris Haynes had the full details (with several reports later confirming it was actually a four-year deal worth $53 million):

Sigh.

Let’s get one thing straight: Barton is an important piece for the Nuggets. He’s more of wing than just about anyone on Denver’s roster. His creation ability, both for himself and others, has been sorely needed throughout his tenure in Denver.

But when will the Nuggets learn?

In September of 2017, Denver inked restricted free agent Mason Plumlee to a three-year pact worth $41 million. It was September. Plumlee was restricted. His market was clearly nonexistent, and Denver paid a premium to lock him up.

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Now, that contract is verging on albatross status. For no reason whatsoever, the Nuggets burdened themselves with a bloated contract.

It feels like they’ve done the same with Barton. Like Plumlee, Barton is a useful piece. Like Plumlee, Barton is worth keeping at the right price. Like Plumlee, Barton had a limited market. Like Plumlee, Barton got top-dollar.

The implications of the Barton deal are immense. Had the Nuggets let Barton walk, they could have opened upwards of $30 million in cap space next summer (by declining Paul Millsap’s hefty team option and renouncing a handful of unneeded free agents), enough to chase an impact wing, like Klay Thompson or Khris Middleton.

There is also the ever-present elephant in the room: the luxury tax. Denver now sits $22 million over the tax threshold, which would translate to a bill in excess of $50 million. That is simply untenable:

Stan Kroenke’s willingness to pay the tax is admirable and will help the Nuggets conserve precious assets. That being said, Denver will still dump some money, and that’ll be costly.

Barton’s gargantuan contract guarantees as much, as it’s removed previously viable tax-avoidance options (like waiving and stretched Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur) from the table. Barton’s new contract will cost the Nuggets some future assets.

Then there’s the issue of Barton’s scalability. He surely serves a role for this Nuggets team, but he’s not particularly efficient, doesn’t really have wing size and isn’t the sort of perimeter defender you need to insulate Nikola Jokic. Barton’s role on the 2021-22 Nuggets, if they’re as good as they should be, won’t be nearly as clear-cut.

There’s also the player option that Barton somehow got on the fourth year. The Nuggets ceded Barton all control. If he’s great, he’s gone. If he’s bad, Denver’s stuck with him.

Practically, Barton will probably spend four more years in Denver regardless (he won’t be worth more than his $14.9 million player option in 2021), but a player option is just more value that Denver needlessly offered. Player options are tools used to sweeten deals, to secure lower annual values. Yet Barton got premium money anyway.

The list of negatives stemming from the Barton deal extends endlessly.

The Nuggets retained an important piece, which saves the club from a truly abhorrent grade. However, Barton’s contract is an eyesore. It’s massive and inexplicable and will hamstring the team going forward. Worse yet, it’s evidence that Denver is yet to learn from past mistakes, a cardinal sin in the world of NBA team-building.

Next: 2018 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far

Grade: D