The Denver Nuggets finally found NBA Championship success back in 2023, but since then, the team have failed to get back to the NBA Finals, and now, they’ve been forced into some major decisions this summer.
Recently, they matched an offer sheet for Spencer Jones, putting the team into the second apron, the only team in the NBA this coming season to be there, and now, it may cost them one of their most important role players. There’s ways for the Nuggets to get around their situation and put a contending team on the floor in 2026/27, but with RFA Peyton Watson drawing interest from rival teams, the Nuggets situation continues to be tougher and tougher to navigate.
RFA Peyton Watson Drawing Interest From Rival Teams
GettyPeyton Watson of the Denver Nuggets.
In the past few seasons, Watson has become a key role player for the Nuggets, and given that he’s earned under $4 million per season over his four-year career thus far, he has helped this team stay out of salary cap struggles as they aimed to get back to the NBA Finals.
This past season, Watson put up career high numbers across the board, averaging 15 points and 5 rebounds a game while playing 30 minutes a night across 54 games, and the prevailing thought around the NBA was that he would be sticking around in Denver for a long time to come. However, the RFA is yet to be re-signed by the Nuggets, and as a result, there’s growing expectations that he could be traded, and according to Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype, there are four teams showing interest in the 23-year-old.
“The Denver Nuggets remain interested in retaining restricted free agent forward Peyton Watson amid sign-and-trade interest from the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, and Los Angeles Clippers,” Scotto writes.
As mentioned in his comments, Scotto believes that Milwaukee, Cleveland, Atlanta and the Los Angeles Clippers are all intrigued by the sign-and-trade possibility, but as of right now, the Nuggets remain interested in retaining him long-term.
Can the Nuggets Contend for an NBA Championship?
While the Nuggets continue to be up against their salary cap constraints, they have three-time MVP Nikola Jokic leading the way, and as a result, they’ll always be highly competitive in the Western Conference, especially in the Western Conference.
However, without the right pieces around him, this team haven’t been competitive when it matters most, and if they lose Watson, a key piece of their bench rotation, things will get even harder for this team, as they would have very little opportunity to replace a player who gave them 30 minutes a night a year ago.
When healthy however, the Nuggets are still a very, very good team, and if they can retain Watson and remain flexible moving forward, they should be able to finish in the top-six in the wide open Western Conference, meaning that the current situation involving Watson will be crucial to the future of the Nuggets franchise moving forward.
Four Teams Showing Interest in Nuggets Wing Peyton Watson