The Denver Nuggets made their first addition of the 2026 offseason by signing eight-year vet Marvin Bagley III late Wednesday night.
Bennet Durando (Denver Post) has confirmed the deal is for one year at the veteran minimum of $3.5m with about $1m less in cap hit.
Most NBA fans will remember Bagley III as the bust taken ahead of Luka Dončić by the Sacramento Kings in 2018. Heading into the draft, the top high school prospect in the country averaged 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds in one year at Duke, earning him ACC Player of the Year and Consensus All-American nods. His NBA career faltered in SAC, though, as he failed to develop into the perennial All-Star he was projected to be. Despite making the All-Rookie First Team on 14.9 PPG and 7.6 RPG, Marvin only played in 13 games the following year and was traded to Detroit midseason in 2022 having never matched his rookie-year production.
Bagley has been a journeyman since leaving Detroit, where he never played more than 42 games in a season. His best year for the Pistons was 2022-23 when he started 25 games and averaged 14.6 PPG/6.8 RPG on 53% shooting. He was traded midseason the following year and has bounced around since then, with brief stops in Memphis and then Dallas as part of the Anthony Davis trade.
While he hasn’t lived up to the tremendous hype (and unfortunate comparisons to Luka), Bagley has been putting in the work to become a viable role player who still has real upside. In 22 games with the Mavericks last season, he averaged 11 PPG/6.8 RPG and 1.1 stocks/gm. while shooting over 60% from the field and even knocking down an occasional three. At 6’10 and only 27-years-old, Marvin is long and athletic enough to play the 4 or 5, guard bigger forwards on the perimeter, and provide some rim protection and interior rebounding.
His tools were all on display in a 26-point, 9-rebound gem in Portland near the end of last season.
Also of note is that Bagley is represented by Klutch Sports. With a bit of smoke starting to circulate about the Nuggets interest in teaming Klutch’s top client, LeBron James, with Jokić and Murray, there could be another layer to the move. Time will tell.
What we do know today is that the Nuggets have addressed the backup big situation with a low-risk move that won’t interfere with their main off-season goal to re-sign Peyton Watson. Bagley will likely replace Jonas Valančiūnas and be motivated to rehabilitate his career on a contender—perhaps in vital playoff minutes—if all goes well for him and the team in 2026-27.
