The Brooklyn Nets continue to lurk as a team that could make another splash move (at least relative to expectations) before the offseason officially comes to an end, and it will be to add Peyton Watson if Michael Porter Jr. has any say in the matter.
Nets general manager Sean Marks has downplayed any urgency regarding Porter’s situation, but also expressed his affinity for the big-bodied shooter.
So far, that has not been enough to get Marks and the Nets to bite on Watson.
RFA Peyton Watson Spotted at Nets Facilities
GettyMichael Porter Jr. continues to make a push for Peyton Watson to join the Brooklyn Nets.
Porter has made no secret about his desire to reunite with Watson, and in Brooklyn on the Nets, no less.
The two won a championship together with the Denver Nuggets.
Denver still controls Watson’s destiny this offseason. Watson is a restricted free agent. Even if the Nets signed him to an offer sheet, thee Nuggets could match it and retain him, perhaps explaining Marks’ inaction.
Nevertheless, Porter and Watson have been hanging out this offseason and raised eyebrows working out together as what appeared to be the Nets’ facilities, based on the branding.
Peyton Watson just posted a pic of himself in the nets practice facility with MPJ
Rocking some weird black and white shoes also.
PWAT to Brooklyn?
“Let’s remember that when MPJ arrived from Denver, he praised the Nets practice facility and dissed Denver’s,” Nets Daily posted on X on July 21.
“And let’s also note PWat is shirtless meaning he didn’t just visit. He worked out!”
Watson averaged a career-high 14.6 points per game in Denver last season, shooting 49.1% from the floor, 41.1% from beyond the arc, and 73.0% from the free throw line, also a career-best mark for the 6-foot-8 former 30th overall pick of the 2022 draft.
The Nets could have to work with the Nuggets on a sign-and-trade for Watson if they truly want to reunite him with Porter, with still has not seemed to be the case.
Nets Poised to Make Move
GettySean Marks is taking a deliberate approach with the Brooklyn Nets’ roster.
While Marks may be reluctant to splurge, be if for Watson or someone else, the Nets are equipped to do so.
“The Nets still have, just a pile of extra stuff from Philadelphia, from the Knicks, from the Nuggets. At some point, they’re going to strike in free agency. And I think their best case scenario this year is their young guys actually look good enough to be somewhat attractive to somebody who’s looking around for a place to go. It’s still New York City,” Zach Lowe said on “The Zach Lowe Show” on July 21.
“I think they have a chance to have their backcourt of the future set in stone with [Mikel] Brown and Egor Dёmin. It’s very early, but already they’ve elevated themselves well above the other guys, and that’s enough excitement for me.”
That begs the question of Watson’s potential fit with the Nets.
The bigger question, though, is just how far a team would need to go to pry Watson loose from the Nuggets.
“The Nuggets have been signaling for months that they plan to match any offer sheet for Watson,” The Stein Line’s Marc Stein wrote in June. “Sources say it would take an offer sheet in the $30 million range in order for Denver to balk at re-signing him.”
That is a steep number for a potential reserve.
Porter and Julius Randle are poised to lead an otherwise young Nets roster, which could use another player like Watson if they want to be competitive this coming season.
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